Re: I'm new here... so be gentle. ;-)

Jack Ely <SYS_ELY@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> · Tue, 23 Aug 1994 17:04:00 -0400 (EDT)

Hey all,

>    Yes, as you can or will probably be able to tell, I'm a new guy to
>this list. <.....>

Craig, welcome to HARP-L!
I'm a "lurker" on that other list and believe me, I know how you feel - the 
subject knowledge and experience over there overwhelms me.

>    I also want to commend Jack Ely not only on the <.....>
>I was wondering if you, Jack, have any more "tips/lessons"-type...

Thanks for the kind words Craig. Unfortunatley I don't have anything for 
diatonic that is any more advanced (yet). Hopefully I filled a void that was 
pretty much ignored in most harmonica methods - at least that was my intent. 
There is a wealth of information on this list and various harmonica 
publications available. I would recommend you sign up for "HIP" published by 
Winslow Yerxa, "MississippiSaxophone" by Tim Moody and/or "AHN" by Al Eichler. 
All are worth the subscription price. There are others but these are the top 
three that come to mind now. With HIP you will get all four issues published to 
date - packed with good stuff. Subscription information is somewhere in the 
HARP-L archives - or E-mail Winslow or Tim directly.

>That's another thing I wanted to ask you guys;  When you have a 
>wife in the house and two cats that aren't quite fond of the harp's higher 
>frequencies ;-) , how (or where) can you practice so as not to disturb 
>them (or the neighbors - we live in a townhome)?

You mean you're ALLOWED to play indoors?   ;-)
Seriously, a friend in Dayton was faced with the same dilemma and was trying to 
muffle his harp with foam rubber. I don't know how well it worked out but it 
seemed like a good idea. Also, if you want to practice amplified you could mic 
the harp and listen to yourself through headphones - provided you can control 
or cut out completley the amp's speaker volume. Or if you own a "Rock Man" [I 
think that's the name] type device it should work for practice plus give you 
some effects.

>I can't wait to actually get better and get more "harp knowledge"
>under my belt so I can carry on intelligent conversation with you people
>about harps and harp playing! :-)  Being a guitarist for 13 years...

Thirteen years guitar? Wow - I wish you lived in Columbus - we would chain you 
down and force you to learn chord harmonica. We need a chord player badly. I 
feel a guitar player is a natural to learn chord - they already know the chords 
and rhythms.

>So please people... excuse my ignorance on the subject and be gentle. ;-)
>I'll get there eventually.

>Later,
>Craig S.

Enjoy your harp and don't be afraid to ask harmonica questions - we're all 
learning here - just at different levels. As someone once said, "There's no 
such thing as a stupid question".

Tip of the day - Start saving your quarters and plan to attend a harmonica 
festival, preferably SPAH, real soon. Also - check to see if one of the four 
Harmonica clubs in Alabama is near you.
								jack