OK! OK! ENOUGH!

[Roger A Gonzales <gonz1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

OK allright!  Enough!  
Now that we have beaten the s**t out of the Dylan/Young subject, how about this list talking about the playing at hand...your own.  
The one thing that I see on this list that is not talked about enough is our own playing and what everyone is doing to improve it!  
I see endless posts about gear...come on guys...no one should be THAT concerned about gear as much as they should be concerned about how they sound as a harmonica player.  The operative word here is player.  I know that everyone wants to have the best gear and everyone wants to have the best harp but the goal of any musician at any level is to consistently and persistently improve at your instrument.
  
Being in a college atmosphere has showed me that there is no substitute for practice and hard work.  I am graduating this semester with my BA in Music education and being a harmonica player, I had to achieve my degree as a singer.  However, I have been able to play on several occasions with the Jazz bands, choirs and small combos in performances during the pursuit of my degree.  At the college level, there is very little room for error, especially when you are in front of a 75 voice choir in a tux.  You had better know what you are doing and that takes hard work and daily practice and dedication.  

I get the feeling that more players on this list are concerned about talking about others playing and not their own.  Ladies and Gentleman, lets get real with ourselves and start to look at ourselves as the best ambassadors of our instrument that we can be and as a list, I do not think we are putting ouir best foot forward.  Our instrument is still so misunderstood in the music world at large and without good representation  of our instrument the music world will always consider it a toy when, we that play, know that it is so much more than that. 
 
I just returned from the Reno Jazz festival where I was the only harmonica to play in any type of emsemble for the entire festival.  This is not a bragging session, it is to let you know that there is a place for the harmonica in a college setting.  Many of the players of all ages who hear me play were asking me questions about the harmonica as well as the adjudicators making favorable about the sound and color that the harmonica brings to a jazz ensemble.  There are far too many people out there that are still misinformed about the harmonica and it is up to us to represent our instrument as best as we can, especfially to a younger generation!  This means support and open dialog about playing and what to do to improve it and how to get this instrument exposed to a younger generation.
   
  Nothing is going to change the way we play except for work and studying music. Not great gear, not the best harmonica in the world in the hands of someone who cannot play it, nothing.  and dare I say it, even learning a different harmonica like diatonic players picking up a chromatic and chro. players picking up a diatonic as well.

Studying music is will never hurt your playing it will always help it....and some of you hard heads out there...don't give me the stuff that it isn't necessary to learn to read, write, compose and arrange music.  It is.  At any level, it is.  The best harmonica players in the world read music.  Especially players like Howard Levy and Toots, Bonfiglio, and Turk.  

Ok I am off my soap box now.  
It has been a long time since I have felt like writing this much on any harmonica list.  But I cannot go on seeing countless gear posts and hitting the delete button along with the lack of sdesire to talk about your own playing and not someone elses.  
Ask yourselves the questions; What do I have to do to get better?  How good can I get?  Am I doing what it takes to get better?  What can I do to change what I am doing if I want better results?  

regards,
Roger Gonzales 
Fresno, CA