Re: [Harp-L] Dangerous harp -- not

["Ben FELTEN [ML]" <lists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Keeping in mind I haven't seen the offending culprit, being in France as 
I am...

I think there's a fundamental lie about the harmonica that may help the 
guys who sell harps but helps no one else.

And I do say lie and not misconception, because although it's a fine 
line between the two, I think a lot of people are deliberately 
maintaining this falsehood. And I think it's harming the instrument to 
some extent.

The lie is that because the harmonica is small, cheap and you can whip 
it out of your pocket in a second, it's easy to play.

We all know here that it's not. It's a lot harder to play even twinkle 
twinkle little star or brother jacob on the harmonica well than it is on 
a piano.

So recruiting people into playing the harmonica by suggesting that it's 
easy - which is what seems to be Phil's argument - no matter how awful 
whatever is "easy" sounds is, to me, serving only those who sell 
instruments.

Let's assume for a minute that Phil is right and that following this bit 
of harp "playing" 100 people go and buy a harmonica. How many of these 
100 are going to find enough pleasure to seriously pursue the instrument 
just blowing and drawing chords ? My bet is none. They will realise very 
quickly that it's damn tricky to play something decent, and since it 
cost them so little, they will drop it then and there, for the delight 
of future harp collectors who will pick these abandoned 'never used' 
diatonics in garage sales 20 years from now.

I don't think that people are motivated to buy an instrument by bad 
playing - no matter which instrument. I think they are by music that 
sounds good. And it may not be complicated stuff, and it may not be 
blues (thank god for that), but it has to sound good.

Where I agree with Phil is that there's a subset of this lists that 
thinks (and has always thought, for the 10+ years I've been on Harp-L) 
that if it's not blues it doesn't sound good. To me, that's both stupid 
and not serving the development of our beloved instrument (and I love 
blues, I should add). And no matter how bad you want him to be 
technically, Bob Dylan sounds good on the harmonica. So does G. Love. 
And so does Springsteen (as opposed to Neil Young and Alanis Morissette, 
IMO) They may play stuff that is technically easy, and not as 
proficiently as others might. But it fits the music they play, and it 
SOUNDS GOOD.

That's the key to getting people to pick up the instrument and want to 
do something with it.

We should not confuse bad playing for simple good sounding playing. They 
are not the same thing at all. And no matter how much bad playing you 
get on TV, you won't get people seriously taking on the instrument. Not 
all media exposure is good.

But if we as a community could remember that this is harp-l and not 
bluesharp-l, maybe we'd be serving the needs of the instrument (if there 
is such a thing, as Phil seems to think) better.

Benoit
> I disagree with all the comments so far about how bad this guy was on 
> American Idol.   All he did was    inhale and exhale chords. What were you expecting? 
>
>
> While you elitists are badmouthing this kid for his wretched harmonica 
> playing a few hundred people who never even considered the harmonica are on their 
> way to the music store to buy a harp. 
>
> Why? Because they saw a guy do it on American Idol and maybe THEY CAN TOO.
>
> This reminds me of all the dreck   that comes up on the Harp List every time 
> the names Bob Dylan or John Popper are mentioned. Yet they are probably 
> responsible for more people taking up the harmonica than Little Walter.
>
> The Harp Lists represents a very knowledgeable and experienced group of the 
> total harmonica community. This guy is a rank amateur -- but he may encourage 
> other rank amateurs to take up the harp.
>
> But the average person who knows absolutely nothing about the harmonica 
> doesn't know he or she is supposed to despise "poor harmonica playing in public." 
> These people just see the harmonica on TV and are intrigued by it -- and maybe 
> they will join the community.
>
> They don't see a Bad Harmonica Player; they just see a Harmonica Player.
>
> Phil Lloyd
>
>
>
>
> In a message dated 3/19/08 2:24:24 PM, harmoniman@xxxxxxxxxxx writes:
>
>
>   
> > I watched Chicheze of American Idol pull out a harmonica during a song last 
> > night and  he showed the world  that harp playing is not as easy as it 
> > looks.It reminds me of something my friend Big Nancy says;" A harmonica in the 
> > wrong hands is a dangerous instrument" .
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