Standardizing...Going to Spah etc

["Robert Paparozzi" <chromboy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.


    I will be attending as well as performing at SPAH 41 in St. Louis =
this August.
I have been a proud member for the past 30 years and have watched SPAH =
grow in many ways. I encourage Harmonicists' of varying styles, shapes =
and sounds to JOIN SPAH and see for yourself how supportive, educational =
and just plain fun the experience is! Looking forward to seeing all my =
friends and making some new ones as I always do when going to a =
convention.

   As a player, I'm pretty impressed as well as humbled to be in the =
company of so many masters of the instrument, I ALWAYS come home with =
some great 'new' licks, tips and tricks,-)=20

    The line up for this year looks spectacular, so go to the SPAH site =
and check out the ever-growing lineup.=20



    Regarding the Harmonica Standards and educational thread, I thought =
I'd weigh in as I've been reading with interest. I now have a little =
less than 40yrs. playing experience, as I started messin' around with =
this Tin Sandwich in 1965'. I don't for one minute regret where I am =
today on the instrument.

    But, what I DO regret is HOW I got there, I have to join in with =
WVBob and Paul Farmer and Prez Tate....... in that, waaaaaaaaay too much =
history, info and technique has gone undocumented in the past which =
translates into a 'serious' waste of time when  new & intermediate =
players are trying to learn proper techniques in practicing etc.

      As a student of Harmonica in the 60's & 70's, I thirsted =
desperately for clues, tips or morsels of data that would make my =
journey at mastering this little beast a bit easier.
Were there any books, CD's videos out there to assist me?? VERY few!!
In the 60's I could only find (like many others of us) Tony =
Glovers-Blues Harp Handbook.

    Don't get me wrong, Tony did a brilliant job but was just covering =
one small area and genre on the Harmonica. Luckily, in the 70's Richard =
Hunter and Tommy Morgan & Cham-Ber Huang saw a need to help out and =
started to open up the terrain a bit with their publishing's.=20

Much Later to be assisted by Blackie Schackner, Phil Duncan, Jon =
Gindick, Doug Tate and Dave Barrett and Jerry Portnoy and Madcat.....and =
I thank everyone of them for taking the time to put their years of toil =
in to a substantive methodology in an effort to make learning a more =
pleasurable and less haphazard experience.

    In the 70's 80's and 90's Huang, Bonfiglio and Myself continued =
teaching at The Turtle Bay Music School in NYC. Along with Bob Shatkin, =
Adam Gussow and Bob Meehan down at the New School. Today, we are lucky =
to have Barrett & Gindick out on the road employing stellar =
player/instructors like : Iceman and Gruenling to Levy and Oskar etc.
Iceman doing the Augusta seminars as well as Filisko's  "teach =
ins".....we are in good hands..(even though much more is needed in =
Classical and Jazz)......BUT.....

  Bottom Line is we need "Standardization" NOT so we can SCORE or give =
out report cards, but to ADVANCE the instrument in an educational =
context. If we are going to teach the harmonica in Elem. School and than =
have a Harmonica Major in College, these are the building blocks.

    I'd love to see committees formed by masters in Classical, Jazz, =
Blues, Country & Bluegrass, OB Diatonic...etc....(hey, how about a Major =
in Jazz Harp and a minor in Altered Tunings or Bass Harmonica?) in an =
effort to produce study techniques for on the Diatonic, Chromatic, Bass =
& Chord similar to that which we already have for Trumpet or Flute, =
Violin etc............(These would be a another job for Spah  to =
tackle.)

    All this, does not detract from a player who has learned to play =
Harmonica by ear or by his/her own study methods. There will always be =
GREAT self-made players and bravo to that! But we must "raise the bar" =
in an effort to get writers, artists, arrangers and composers educated =
to what IS we exactly CAN do on this axe and THEN have competent players =
out there to get that job done!

    Yes, I Know, the Harmonica has done just fine all these years =
without all that 'classroom mumbo jumbo'. But now that we've been around =
100+ (chromatic 80+) years, there are a myriad of styles, techniques =
etc. that have gone undocumented and this a 'positive' way to collate =
some of this beautiful music and knowledge into a format we can call our =
own in the context of History. It is by studying History that we are =
enlightened.

    Bottom Line is we need MORE players, when someone makes a decision =
that THEY want to play an instrument, having THIS kinda of ammo will =
allow us to take 'new recruits' before they choose the "French Horn" or =
"Guitar",-)))

   As Ken Wolman's post suggests, a few more teachers to study one on =
one with wouldn't hurt either.

    Well, sorry for rambling, my soap box and bandwidth are about to =
give out,-)

See some of you at SPAH and "wail on me brethren",!!
Harmonically,

Rob Paparozzi
Student