[Harp-L] Bob Dylan's poor harmonica skills - loooong post.

["samblancato" <samblancato@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dan Writes:

It is my opinion that Bob Dylan does more harm to the harmonica than good.
All
this talk about "it's right for his style" .... ok, maybe.... perhaps, I
respect
that opinion, but I disagree.

"What he's trying to do can be done and done well. What he actually
accomplishes
is pathetic, un-trained garbage."

What Dylan does with the harp is not garbage.  That's not just my opinion.
That's the actually the truth.  I put it to you that Dylan's loopy, breathy,
chording is not the result of his reaching the panicle of his harp chops but
is, rather, a studied, self conscious part of an overall posture that is in
fact derivative of an entire folk tradition, one that has a completely
different sensibility with regards to the harmonica than where you're coming
from, Dan. Woody Guthrie played his harmonica in much the same way and there
are whole "box car" loads of folkies from the 1930s through the 1950s who
utilized the harmonica in the same way.  Primitive is the word we want here.
The harp was used by these guys - and probably by Dylan more than any other-
as a form of rough coloring. They don't want it to sound real sophisticated.

"It's this garbage that has helped to create and perpetuate the poor image
that is commonly held around our instrument. Most people don't know the
harmonica or what its capabilities are. Most people, however, can tell what
sounds "good" vs. what is pretty much dissonant crap."

I think your wrong here too.  More people know what good harp sounds like
than you are supposing.  And Bob Dylan isn't responsible for helping to
perpetuate a poor image of the instrument.  I've heard his style parodied
enough times so that I know lots of people know what his style is about -
you have to understand the elements of his style before you can make fun of
it. The people who have chosen to play the harmonica in a rack while
strumming the guitar are legion, really. You need to accept the fact that
for many, many people, of several generations, this is what the harmonica
is.  And it can be that; it's not a crime that people like to play it in a
simple way.  People like to play simple cords on the guitar too.  For some
people this is all they want to do.  You don't hear Sonny Landreth or Jr.
Watson getting all bent out of shape because people like to just strum the
guitar.

"Because Dylan was at the head of a movement...."

Dylan was NOT the head of any movement.  But some people who were liked his
music. Are you sure you aren't Bill O'Rily?


"(protest, the rise of folk, the
electrification of folk, poetry... all huge and timely things given our
society's direction at the time) Because he was doing other revolutionary or
highly influential things, we are supposed to just accept his abuse of the
harmonica. I refuse to accept the notion that his playing is acceptable
simply
because of WHO he is or what was happening."



Trust me, very few people loved Bob Dylan's music because of the harmonica
work.  But his playing is acceptable because IT IS ACCEPTABLE to play that
harmonica that way. It doesn't matter if you accept it or not; it has
already been accepted and embraced by millions.  Strumming the harmonica is
OKAY.  It's not what I want to do.  I love all the technique that is in the
Chicago style, that's for me.  And there are whole worlds of other harp
styles out there that require a tremendous amount of discipline.  Bob's
isn't one of those styles.

"I'd also like to ask, in general, why John Popper seems to get such a
negative
rap amongst so many of you guys. Here's a guy with incredible command of the
instrument. He worked his tail off, (owes a lot to Sugar Blue) to take the
instrument in a direction. His fluidity, use of the whole harp, and timing
are
impeccable. I don't like when he tries blues. I also don't love his tone. He
is very polarizing when it comes to questions of style. But he learned his
history, worked his way up, and actually created with the harp. (whether you
like it or not ) Honestly, how long do you need to play harp to cop Dylan's
"playing"? A week? Maybe two? If med school was so easy, we'd all be driving
around with "MD" on our plates."

Lots of people on this list like John Popper.  I like his playing a lot.  I
wish I could do some of the stuff he does - maybe I will some day. But I
disagree with you about his learning history.  What I think annoys some harp
players about Popper are these things:  1. His style and it's context
"seems" to turn it's back on a lot of harp traditions and he doesn't "seem"
to care about where he is as a harmonica musician in history.  Most artists
(this is particularly true of blues and jazz musicians as well as visual
artists) are very conscious of where they are at within the historical
context of their art form.  Popper seems to a lot of people like a pop
musician.  You know, a young kid with no real history of his own and so not
much concern for a historical context.  History and tradition become way
more important as we mature and you can hear this attitude in may musicians.
Look at Tom Petty, for instance.  Consider his music in the late
seventies/early eighties and then consider what he's up to now.  Petty is
not a pop musician any more; he's matured into a pretty serious song writer
and you can hear the nod to so many traditions in his music now.  That is
absent in Poppers music. Yeah, that would be my main criticism of Popper -
he's immature. (somebody's going to smack me for that)  The other thing, 2,
about Poppers playing that I think annoys other players is that there isn't
enough of it.  I read recently, on this list I think, the phrase 'a side man
in his own band'- that's Popper.  I know that's something I don't like about
Blues Traveler and one of the reasons I won't buy any of their CDs (I have
"Four" and that's the only one). When I think of John Popper's harp playing
and it's impact on the public's esteem of the harmonica I think about a chef
that works really hard on  this roast Duck, rolled in pepper corns and
almonds with a really great sauce and shitake mushrooms with rice cakes with
caramelized onions.  The Chef seasons the dish just right and someone's
going to really savor it. Meanwhile, on the other side of the dining room
everybody's going ga ga over some flaming hunk of salmon with origami swans
and sparklers made by the kid who just graduated culinary school. Get it?
There's a lot of labor with the swans and all, maybe there's even an ice
sculpture.  But there's no maturity there.  On the other hand there are
times when I've been really satisfied with an Islie's chipped ham sandwich
on white bread with mayo.  Bob Dylan's harp playing is like a chipped ham
sandwich; a very meaningful chipped ham sandwich.

"Dylan on harp was not like painters who study past masters, practice, copy,
then
hopefully expand upon what they've learned to actually create art. Randomly
tossing paint on a canvas... You can call it art. You can call what Bob
Dylan
does to the harmonica music too."

Can we gather from what you've written so far, Dan, that you don't like Bob
Dylan's harmonica playing? Dig this Dan, no one who ever randomly tossed
paint on a canvas ever got any credit for it.  The people like Jackson
Pollack, abstract expressionists, who's art looks to YOU like it's been
randomly thrown on the canvas knew what they were doing and were, in fact,
very aware of their historical context. AND THEY ACTUALLY CREATED ART! Dan,
do you have any idea how the above statement makes you sound?

"I respect the right of everyone to have an opinion."

Great, thanks Bill O'Rily.

"This is simply mine."

Yes, it is.

"It's based on my own ego,...."

Yes, it is.

"....and the fact that I believe in working hard at the
harmonica."

Now if you think Dylan didn't work hard at the harmonica then I totally
agree with you there, Dan. I think he did work hard at other things though.

 "I believe in encouraging others to work hard too. I am insulted by
those who trivialize that work. (I could work a lot harder too.) I consider
Bob Dylan the leader of harmonica trivialization along with Springsteen and
Alanis Morrisette."

Aw, leave Alanis out of it. She wasn't even playing it; she was just
breathing through it.  As for Springsteen, I think his little sprinkles of
harp are very tasteful.


"I once again call upon you to rise up in arms to form SPHA.
SPAH's evil stepchild. The Society for the Prevention of Harmonica Abuse.
lol"

You really need to lighten up, Dan. We actually don't need to rise up in
arms against any harp players.  This is America and everybody's free to play
exactly how they want to play.  In fact, I'd say your intolerance of some
styles of harmonica borders on harmonica Fascism.  And since there is a lot
of Fascism going around these days I have to really, really, REALLY implore
you to lighten up - and maybe read a book on art history.


Sam Blancato, Pittsburgh