Re: Get a chromatic?

[Joe and Cass Leone <leone@xxxxxxxx>]

On Jun 27, 2004, at 2:21 AM, d.m.fairweather wrote:

>
> Phil wrote:
>
>> If all you want is the  ability to play chromatic notes, get  a 
>> chromatic. In
>> fact, get one in every key. That way you can play the chord that goes 
>> with
>> the notes. But that's another story ...
>
> But I can't carry all those chromatics in my pocket

  Maybe I'm missing something here but I don't get it. Don't diatonic 
players have a harp in every key? I mean isn't it advantageous? This 
way you have every key covered, and assuming a couple high ones and low 
ones, the number can easily reach 18 or more. To me THAT sounds like 
quite a lump.

  Or are we talking about having only ONE diatonic and attempting to 
play IT in every key? Why DO this? Someone posted a few months back 
about how Howard Levy can play ONE diatonic in any key. Then why does 
he carry a BUNCH? I remember back a couple years someone posted how he 
almost missed his part of the show (Trossingen) because the fellow who 
was supposed to be working on his harps hadn't returned them (as yet) 
and someone had to drive (at high rate of speed) over to the Hohner 
dorm to pick them up.

  OK, the word was "Harps". How MANY harps? Was it 2 or was it 
(probably) more? Were they ALL the same key (I doubt it) or were they 
different? IF they were different, why? (see above - any key on ONE 
harp)

> -  in fact even one chromatic
> doesn't fit very well in my pocket.

  So then we're talking about just carrying one to play while messing 
around doing other things? OK, this is plausible but why does a person 
let the fact that they can only carry around one harp at a time dictate 
a mandatory life sentence of FORCING themselves to do everything the 
hard way.

  I never understood why a person felt they had to play all keys on one 
harp except to show that it could be done, and (therefore) gain 
notoriety. But now that someone HAS done it, why try to duplicate this 
when the amount of effort expended is incongruous to the amount actual 
need. How many people would realize what you were doing? and better 
yet, why should they care?

  I'm not afraid to admit that I play only 2nd & 3rd position. I don't 
see a need to row a 7 foot dinghy UP Niagara Falls. I would pull out a 
chromatic. I also don't understand why chromatic players will play 
diatonic, but many diatonic players persist and insist on playing 
diatonic (seemingly at ALL costs).

  There are some forms of music friendly to EACH type harp and why don't 
people use the tool best suited to the job. I wouldn't try to replace a 
reed with a pick axe, so why use a small hammer to dig through rocks? I 
used mostly chromatic tonight as it was friendliest for Jazz. The few 
non jazz numbers allowed diatonic. On some tunes I used BOTH, so what's 
the deal?

>    And I can't drive around in my car and play along
> with any song that comes up in the radio -- but maybe some of you 
> chromatic players
> have mastered the art of one-handed button pushing playing while 
> driving better than I.

  Yes, but that's a whole nother story.

  smokey-joe & the cafes
>
>
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