re: Same Old Thing

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Andy Vincent wrote:
<I can't help it, I have to say I *like* what some here refer to, as the
<same, old thing. 

I do too.  I just don't want to hear nothing but that all day long
forever.

<Some harp "innovation" I've heard (i.e. overblows/draws,
<unusual positions, 
<processors), for my humble 2 cents, sounds like its being done
<not so much to meet 
<a musical aim but just for the sake of being innovative. 

Yes, I agree.  In defense of the innovators, when you're on traditional
ground, you know what works and what doesn't.  Innovators don't find out
what works until they try it.  Most mutations in art as well as nature
don't work very well.

I'm grateful for the guys who keep trying, even when the results are
obviously mutated.

<Are there lots of Harp-L posters who regularly use overblows in
<performance? 

My belief is that most top-level pros use overblows frequently in
performance.  They may use them in very limited ways -- I don't think a
lot of top-level pros, or working players in general, play in 12th
position more frequently than 2nd -- but the technique is in their kit. 
It's certainly in mine, and I use it frequently for passing tones, much
less often for important melody notes.

Thanks, Richard Hunter
http://www.hunterharp.com