Re: HARP-L Digest V94 #286

[skt2@xxxxxxx (Rod Thomas)]

     Well Harp People, it's about time I jumped in and said Hi.  I've been
lurking since Sept.94
not because I'm shy, but because I'm computer illiterate.  My savy
sweetheart will have to help
me out for awhile here.
     I love this Newsletter!  You've made me laugh, you've made me cry,
you've changed my life.
Well, perhaps I exaggerate, but you certainly have changed my Harp playing
life.  I am hooked
anew, like I've never been hooked before
    I picked up the Harp about 20 years ago after my older brother bought a
John Mayall album
called The Turning Point.  It features a song called Room to Move that
truly cooks.  When I heard it,
my fate was sealed.  In a couple years I was playing in a High School blues
band with a growing collection
of Harps.  My biggest influences then were James Montgomery and Magic Dick,
with a dash of John
Mayall and Paul Butterfeild for good measure.
     I played all through College but then it was "real world time" and my
playing fell to about once
every houseparty.  So it was for the past 15 years.
     How things have changed.
    This summer my love for the Harp rose like a phoenix from the ashes and
I decided to treat myself
to a bass harp if I ever could find one.  I wrote to Hohner and they sent
me a lot of info.  I was stunned
by all the harps I'd never heard of, especially all the special tunings.  I
was also stunned by the price
of a bass harp.  My wife posted a want ad on the USENET bulletin board and
one of you guys directed us
to Harp-L.  The rest, as they say, is history.
     The discoveries I've made are as follows...
1.  Cross harp ain't the only position to play in after all.  My 1st and
3rd position playing has really
 taken off.
2.  Kevin's Harps!  Who'd a thunk it?  Heaven on earth, located in N.J.
Harps and anything harp related
are just a phone call away.
3.  Hohner is not the only harmonica manufacturer.  I love my new Huang
bass.  I love my new Lee Oskars.
4.  The Richter tuning ain't the only tuning.  I'm digging my couple of
Melody Makers and my couple of
Natural minor harps.  I don't think I'll ever play them as much as my
Richter tuned harps, but they do
open up some musical doors.
5.  10 hole harps ain't the only harps for a 10 hole guy .  I love my Steve
Baker Specials, and I'm really
lovin' playing 3rd position on my old 270 Chromonica.  (you know, the
conversation piece that's been sittin'
on the mantle gathering dust.)
6.  Steve Baker's HARP HANDBOOK and David Barrett's HARMONICA TECHNIQUE are
two awesome books for
the intermediate player.
7.  There are dozens of awesome players I'd never heard of, some in Harp
Heaven, so many more still
kickin'.

I owe it all to you folks, you have my thanks and warmest regards.  Happy
New Year!
later,
Rod T.

--
Rod Thomas                              email:   skt2@xxxxxxx
Illustrator                               phone:  (617) 449-0480