Re: [Harp-L] Hunting for a bucket of ice in the Summertime

"Rick Dempster" <rick.dempster@xxxxxxxxxxx> · Tue, 21 Oct 2008 13:23:22 +1100

Dave;              
           I thought we were looking for a word that described licks, phrases etc. that were suggested by the instrument rather than the imagination of the player: ie chestnuts, cliches etc.  which is what Iceman was trying to imply by his ghastly invention: 'Harmonicaeee' (which suggests more to me the response by a not inconsiderable number of persons upon hearing the thing played:"Harmonica?!Eeeeeeeeeeeee!!")  
            'Harply' has poetic resonances of 'shapely', 'comely' (combly?) which suggests something elegant and admirable (homely? ....ah!) 
           Your response to the exercise I set you reflects this word's most obvious application: admiration & praise.
           Good word, but not the right one here, I think. 
           Anyway, what is an American doing inventing new adverbs? You lot have been largely instrumental in expurgating them from the language.
           If it's going to be 'harp' rather than 'harmonica', then, for the use of which Ice & Buddhah have recently had need, I think 'Harpish' the better one, resonating 'Irish',' Scottish', 'Flemish', 'Spanish', etc.; in other words, something that is defined by it's origin, birth etc.
           By the way Dave, what do you write ? (perhaps you better answer that one 'offlist' before this turns into 'literature-L')
Cheers,
RD

>>> David Payne <dave@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> 21/10/2008 11:43 >>>
Adjective: Jason Ricci is very skilled in the harply arts. 

Adverb: Man that is some harply playing!

Dave
______________________
Dave Payne Sr. 
Elk River Harmonicas
www.elkriverharmonicas.com 

----- Original Message ----
From: Rick Dempster <rick.dempster@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: David Payne <dave@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>; Harp L Harp L <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, October 20, 2008 8:09:08 PM
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Hunting for a bucket of ice in the Summertime

Dave;
          An excercise: Use 'harply' in a sentence. On my desk in 5 please.
RD
>>> David Payne <dave@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> 21/10/2008 10:44 >>>

>Ice Block  writes:
>"that gunslinger can learn to fire less bullets and
>consistently hit the target more often dead center in the bullseye."

Something my dad taught me when I was a kid, "You aim small. You miss small."

Now Rick, the rascal, is down there in the approaching Australian summer right now, laughing at me freezing up here in West Virginia, while getting his upside-down, reverse 4th of July barbecue rockin' and rolling, hanging out down at the beach with the salt-water crocodiles, swatting cane frogs, drinking a Foster's and playing "Waltzing Matilda" on a Boomerang harp- all while milking the platypus - yet he has managed to find the time to defend the purity of the English language. As a guy with quite a bit of booklearnin' in the English language and someone who has made a career out of it (writer), I gotta say I'm with Rick on the importance of selecting an alternate word. I offer the word "harply," which would work as either an adjective or an adverb, I think, although it lacks the fanciness of Rick's upside-down plethoric linguisic pantheon. lol

Dave
_____________________________

Dave Payne Sr. 
Elk River Harmonicas
www.elkriverharmonicas.com 

----- Original Message ----
From: Rick Dempster <rick.dempster@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: Buddha <groovygypsy@xxxxxxxxx>; harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx 
Sent: Monday, October 20, 2008 6:39:31 PM
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Hunting for a bucket of ice in the Summertime

"harmonicaee"..........???!!!  Sorry....the literary pedant in me must out! If we're going to make an adjective out of 'harmonica', howsabout: 'harmonica-ish'?? or 'harp-like'. Hmmm....harminicaizationary? harmonicaisms?  harmonicaismistic? harmonicaismisticalizationary?
RD

>>> Buddha <groovygypsy@xxxxxxxxx> 21/10/2008 5:42 >>>
Icemaker writes:
"Most of what I've heard from harmonica players has been, get through the
"head" of the tune in some fashion and then let me show my stuff - speed
patterns, use of OB's, big vibrato, wah wah, hands waving in the air, etc."

http://www.suncoastharmonicaclub.org/Video_Clips/ICE/index.html 

Larry, you talk about being or not being "harmonicaeee", on that point
I totally agree with you. However, maybe you've improved your
"harmonicaeeeness" since this video clip of summertime but you're not
demonstrating how you are playing outside of the harmonicaee box. Yeah
you're note choices are correct but that doesn't always make for a
great performance.

I'll take passion and energy over "bullseye" notes any day.
Christelle may not have the musical knowledge that others possess but
she has feeling in her playing and that's what does it for me. Her
passion cuts the air like a knife and it's infectious.    Look at all
of the people that are blown away by Popper and Yonnet...  great
energy and passion in their playing... phrasing and note choice is
often iffy at best. Fans are drawn in via energy not bullseye notes.

Why not take 1/4 of the time spent on telling people how to stop being
so "harmonicaee" and expand vertically with learning a few patterns
and speed chops so you can hit the correct target.  A bullseye in the
center of a tree ain't no good when you're hunting deer.
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Harp-L is sponsored by SPAH, http://www.spah.org 
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_______________________________________________
Harp-L is sponsored by SPAH, http://www.spah.org 
Harp-L@xxxxxxxxxx 
http://harp-l.org/mailman/listinfo/harp-l 
_______________________________________________
Harp-L is sponsored by SPAH, http://www.spah.org 
Harp-L@xxxxxxxxxx 
http://harp-l.org/mailman/listinfo/harp-l