Re: new harper/tongue blocking

[Barry Schaede <barrys@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I disagree they might have sounded much better with cheap acoustic guitars
with barb wire for strings.  There's a local group that just got a west 
coast gig opening for Taj Mahal.  They have extremly cheap instruments 
and aren't the most awesome players you'll ever hear,  but they've got 
the feel. At least if thje other guys had had cheap acoustic guitars 
they'd have been quieter.  People tend to use equipment as a diversion.  
The real issue is trying to communicate feelings through music.  Bob 
Dylan's a good example of this.  Not the best harmonica player you'll 
ever hear but he meets and exceeds the standard of having a feeling 
playing a few notes and communicating those feelings.  I can't fault 
anyone that can do that.  There are an awful lot of technical monsters in 
this world that fail to move me musicaly.  I'd rather play like Jimi 
Hendrix than Jeff Beck.  Jimi Hendrix played upside down guitars.  Would 
he have sounded better playing a proper lefthanded guitar?  Earl King did 
the same thing.  These guys wanted to play guitar got one and made it 
work.  There seems  to be a tendency on this list to generalize 
discussions about technique.  My feeling is that this is a dangerous 
trend.  There isn't any best one way to do anything.  Technique is 
personal and what works for you might not suit another.  By the way 
Little Walter's been dead for 30 years and if he were alive today I 
suspect he'd be using digital effects and inovating like crazy like he 
always did.  FJM