Re: [Harp-L] Re:Butter, soul, & overblows

[Michael Easton <diachrome@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Dec 6, 2005, at 8:05 PM, Roscoharp@xxxxxxx wrote:

> Hey list (& Mike),
> What has overblowing got to do with this discussion?? Did I miss  
> something?
> I get the digest version, so maybe I did overlook something.

Hi Rosco,
 chris michalek said, "Frankly I don't understand why people hold
> > > Butterfield in such high esteem.

Rob P. and other gave the reason why and mentioned Butterfield was an  
influence of Howard's,
who Chris holds in high regard.  Butter was also an influence on  
Jason Ricci who Chris holds in high regard.

My comment about overblowers was a knee jerk reaction to something  
that has been bugging me for awhile.

> So anyway, here are a couple rants:
>
> I hear lots of horn players with what I think of as  'no soul',  
> lots  of
> pianists with 'no soul', lots of guitar players,  drummers,   
> chromatic players, &
> yes, lots of blue harpists with  'no soul', & never an overblow is  
> heard.
> Conversely, I hear some so  called "overblow players" who have  
> buckets of soul. At
> least in my opinion. And  it is all only opinion. Playing overblows  
> doesn't
> add or subtract  soul. I would be hard pressed to come up with a "  
> lot of
> overblow players that  learn Howard's  technique but  have zilch  
> for soul" as Mike
> writes.  For that matter, I would have a hard time coming up with  
> "a lot" of
> 'overblow players', period. (I'm not sure there are thirty people  
> using
> overblows regularly & with facility  in their music. I might be  
> way  off.)
> BTW, Good luck trying to define 'soul.'  Your 'soul'  is surely   
> different
> than mine.

Soul, as I would define it is a proper balance of technique and feel  
within the groove of the beat to create harmony within the song.

Too often that balance is offset with more technique then feel.  Just  
because someone can play more
notes doesn't mean they always should.   I'm not referring to playing  
fast or complicated,  but rather playing busy.
Jason proves you can play fast and have something to say.


> Another thing, someone who uses overblows is just a player with a  
> technique
> that gets a few extra notes out of the instrument. Some of these  
> folks are
> inluenced by Howard, many aren't. I love listening to him, but I  
> don't hear much
>  influence in my own playing. I've grown to dislike  the  
> identifying  term
> 'overblow player'.....like overblows are the goal of the music, or  
> there is  a
> monolithic movement to stamp out traditional blues harp or something.

It's not the extra notes but how they are used.  There is a saying in  
photography, "color for colors sake".
It refers to  students use the use of color to create an emotion  
rather then using all the elements or color, light and composition
to create a "feel" for the image.   I think that occurs when some   
players discover how to play the extra notes.
There are a lot of technically proficient musicians in music in  
general that get lost in technique and take a "hey look at what I can  
do" approach to playing.
It can be interesting to hear on the short term but getting boring  
real quick.

> Butter was a very early influence on me.  Like, years before I  
> even  took up
> harp seriously. I sort of don't care if someone else doesn't get  
> it, or
> hasn't gotten it yet.


The problem with having mentors is we sometimes hear the technique  
without hearing the underlying expression of the music.
That comes with musical maturity and that is what separates the  
clones and their ego from those that develop maturity and awareness  
in their playing.

mike
> Later,
> Rosco
> _may.be  au.gust_ (http://www.maybeaugust.com/)
>
> download or stream live recordings: _may.be au.gust_
> (http://www.maybeaugust.com/Live.aspx)
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