[Harp-L] Is playing the harp well a health hazard?

["Aongus Mac Cana" <amaccana@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Throught the Harp-l list I have been introduced to a lot of gifted players
(via YouTuble links and the like) that I had never heard of . Then before I
get around to getting their CDs I hear (again through the list) that these
players have passed on - and usually well before they have achieved "three
score years and ten"
In the Irish Traditional Music scene it can be difficult for performers with
what we euphemistically call "a weakness for the drink". The typical venue
for trad gigs - even on TV is pubs, where the booze flows freely. Very often
members of the audience like to show their approval of a good performer by
calling to the barman "give that man another drink on me" You can sometimes
almost judge how well a session is going down by the number of full pints of
beer accumulating in front of the musicians.
Reading between the lines in the condolences expressed for harmonicists who
have died I get a feeling that in the Blues Scene players may find
themselves exposed to stimulants/depressants even more destructive than
alcohol.
Beannachtai
Aongus Mac Cana