FINALLY!!! Someone who "gets" it!
thanks, Michael! Not that I'm all that interested in theory..having studied
it for piano lessons as a child and disliking it even then...much preferring
to play my harmonica (and keyboard) by ear, for which I seem to have some
innate ability.
But I've been away from harmonica for a very long time, coming back to it
only 4 years ago. To my mind, I'm never going to be a professional or gigging
musician...have no ambitions to go into a studio to record at this particular
stage of my life...so why force myself to 'study' something which leaches
all the enjoyment out of my new (old) found hobby - my reason for which is
simply to make music to please myself on my harmonica...and perhaps not frighten
away friendly animals or other humans ;)
I'm at a point in my life and an age where I find studying theory boring
and a waste of my very limited time....when I'd much rather be playing instead.
Hanging around those harmonica people I am comfortable with however, I hear
those terms, and while they don't think of them as "theory" per se, they
leave me lost, and them frustrated because I'm neither "speaking nor
understanding" their language. So your premise is extremely sound...and for that reason
alone I'd love to hear more about your approach, and would most especially
be interested in a DVD series.
Elizabeth
"Message: 13 Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2007 08:51:17 -0700 (PDT) From: Michael Rubin <rubinmichael@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Subject: [Harp-L] music theory To: d d d _harp-l@xxxxxxxxxxx (mailto:harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx)
I recently went to a harmonica workshop with our hero Tom Ball as an instructor. I learned a lot and had a great time.
Throughout the workshop all three teachers repeatedly stated that the
students did not need to worry about knowing theory and that the teachers rarely
used theory in performance or in communication with other musicians. Within
the next few sentences the teachers would invariably use words like Flat Third,
the four chord, etc.
Everything they said was within my theory vocabulary and I was not lost
once. However, it was clear that many of the students were lost. The teachers
took the time to explain it. The students understood it for the moment.
Perhaps some of them understood it and are now able to converse or think about
the ideas while playing music. I would guess that some of them threw the
knowledge away and will again get confused when someone uses this jargon to speak
of music.
My analysis of the situation is this; the teachers (representing the
standard bar musician's use of theory) are so used to discussing music using
theoretical jargon that the simple aspects of music theory (or what seems simple to
the working musician) seem like common knowledge. Common knowledge is in
this way translated into NOT REALLY BEING music theory, because it is not
difficult for them.
However, most people who do not study music theory know nothing about it at
all. How many harp players have you met with a cheat sheet list of cross
harp keys that they got from a book or harp-l? When they hear the most basic
music theory terms the speaker might as well be speaking in another language.
What I propose is that there is a substantial amount of music theory that
the average bar musician has gleaned without going to school as a music major.
Nearly all bar musicians converse using this theory without being aware that
it is theory. For the beginner to become versed in this he can either read
books, comb harp-l, get teachers or immerse themselves in the music
performance pool, dog paddling until he can swim.
Therefore I put my intention out on the internet to create a DVD series
entitled "Meat and Potatoes Music Theory for the Performing Harmonica Player".
Now, to create the money and time to do it.
I do give phone and webcam lessons. (Hopefully that plug is within the
rules of harp-l, it is the only time I have done it and I will not make a habit
of it.)
Sincerely, Michael Rubin Michaelrubinharmonica.com PS my lessons are free at SPAH "
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