Re: Standardizing...Going to Spah etc

["Bob Maglinte" <bbqbob917@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi,
Now I can seriously relate to this posting quite well. I'd also like to add
that the standarding of skills approach also needs one other ingredient far
too many music schools often don't teach particularly well, if at all, and
that is with the exception of the classical and now the jazz oriented
schools, not just teach technical proficency, but how these things relate
PROPERLY within the context of the various OTHER genres of music being
played, basically meaning how everything relates to, and FITS IN WITH  THE
GROOVE, as some genres require being right on top, some ahead and/or behind
in varying degrees, and in many years dealing with musicians who come from
many music schools, including a few well known major ones, this is an area
that's ALWAYS seems lacking, regardless of the instrument. Good teachers are
important as they shape the students, and some teachers aren't well schooled
in this area either, and knowingly or unknowingly perpetuate a snob attitude
at genres other than what they specialize in, and not enough teachers
encourage experimenting enough and sometimes are too much of a stickler of
doing everything by rote, and so by doing that, it's no wonder you see too
many who are totally helpless without the sheet music in front of them. In
NO way am I dissing the skill of learning sight reading skills, and
definitely not theory, because at least in my experience here in the US (the
east coast anyway), too many harp players are seriously theory challenged
and perpetuate the stereotype of the harmonica player being the dumbest,
most undisciplined musician on the bandstand.

Anyway, enough of my ranting for a while!!!

Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
MP3's: http://music.mp3lizard.com/barbequebob/


- ----- Original Message ----- 
From: Robert Paparozzi
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Friday, June 11, 2004 1:48 PM
Subject: Standardizing...Going to Spah etc


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.

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,-)