5 minutes a Day!

[Ian Wilks <ian@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I have been drawn into this post and have found it very curious.

Harp playing for myself is a direct line to the Blues which is where my 
music has almost always resided. The harp is a unique instrument in so 
many ways - so personal, very close as it is a wind instrument, so 
emotional with bends, so lively and bright in the treble end, so 
versatile and compact and easy to transport. When I was in my teens I 
met Canadian dudes all over Australia who could whip out a harp and 
produce so much energy and fun - I couldn't resist - I was hooked! The 
guitar went home on a train and I hitched around with those 20 notes in 
my hip pocket. I literally sucked and blowed between rides, jobs and 
meals...

What actually drove me was not science or a deep mental state of 
needing to aspire to anything in particular - it was just the fun and 
great sound that makes the harp what it is. I had never heard of the 
Walters - maybe Sunny Boy and a few white dudes like John Mayal... but 
harmonica was so portable and so much bang for the buck (it still can't 
be beaten!)

Today after over 35 years of playing I struggle to play 5 minutes a day 
- - but I get 3 hours a week with my band rehearsals plus gig time when 
we do the live thing - which is not as often as it used to be here in 
Brisbane Australia as venues (and audiences) seem to have turned away 
from the blues...

Back to 5 minutes a day. If it is a grind and not fun... don't do it. 
If you have to play it - wherever and whenever you can - do it every 
day.

I personally found practicing alone difficult but we didn't have the 
net - Sony walkmans (tape decks weren't too reliable or portable - 
forget reel to reel) so it really was "Fly Fly Floozie..." over and 
over again until I was able to manage jamming with second instruments. 
Now with backing tracks so freely available in almost any key or style 
from the web it would be very easy to eat up 5 minutes every day...

My point I guess is that you really have to enjoy the harp to get the 
discipline to make the 5 minutes every day - but if you do get into it 
there is no doubt that once you get the buzz of playing with other 
people, then audiences (large or small) the drug called "performance" 
takes over... and really it all starts with that 5 minutes every day!!!!

Cheers - Ian Wilks