Re: [Harp-L] Off the cuff

[Cara Cooke <cyberharp@xxxxxxxxx>]

"On 5/4/05, martin oldsberg <martinoldsberg@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: 
> 
> *... I would still say the rule holds generally: Keep your harps at home. 
> ...(...don´t get drunk and lose your chops, pub´s are a risky environment) 
> and those who are constructively contributing to the instruments reputation 
> -- but they are a small minority."*

 You have brought up a very good point. If one is, in fact, going to 
demonstrate the harmonica, they should be relatively sober and able to 
accomplish something above the expectation of the people who will be 
listening, or the harmonica will remain in the 'toy' dungeon of the 
listener's mind. However, taking a harmonica with you everywhere you go does 
not mean you have to demonstrate it everywhere you go. It is like taking 
your favorite pocket knife to school (before metal detectors). If you keep 
the knife in your pocket and don't show it off, you will be able to keep it 
with you all the time and it will be there when you need it, eventhough it 
may be against school rules. But, if you flash the pocket knife around and 
the teacher sees it, she/he will take it up and you will not get it back, 
and you will be in big trouble with the school.
 I usually recommend to everyone who wants to learn to play harmonica to 
take one with them wherever they go, especially if it is a 10-hole diatonic 
(because they are so easy to carry). The reason I do this is not so much to 
encourage the harmonica player to practice in public, but to help him find 
the time to practice when he thinks he has no time to practice (while he is 
sitting at really long traffic lights, riding a ferry in his car, waiting 
for his wife to leave the department store, waiting to pick his kid up from 
school, etc.). Frequently, these times are short, relatively private moments 
which we tend to waste. At these times, harmonica practice won't disturb 
anyone. However, for these same people, leaving the harmonica at home has 
already led them to frustration and to not take the time to explore the 
instrument, so some change in their behavior is necessary for them to begin 
to advance. If the situation occurs where someone wants them to demonstrate, 
they can still beg off, explaining that they need more time to become 
better, or they can play a tune they are able to play very well, even if 
they are nervous (which at such times they usually are). Most of the people 
I have met who need this advice are not inclined to demonstrate the 
harmonica on demand anyway.
 Cara Cooke
www.cyberharp.isonfire.com <http://www.cyberharp.isonfire.com>