Michael Peloquin wrote:
How many of those great players that eschew OBs do so
out of laziness, unwarranted fear, traditional integrity
or some other weird reason? I can't understand why a great
player would not want to utilize all of the notes that are
available on their instrument.
I can speak only for myself in this regard, and I'm no "great
player". I was "comfortable" with my own playing, as I had been for
years. I was sure I was a pretty good player, and didn't see any
reason to change. It was only when I saw people doing things I
wanted to be able to do -- finding those notes I had been missing
all those years -- that I got inspired to really do it.
Interestingly, Howard Levy wasn't an inspiration to me, because I
don't want to play that kind of music. I have to say it was really
George Brooks who first opened my eyes. And I'd guess that George
was a little out of his preferred element at the SPAH blues jam in
Columbus in 2002.
When I started aspiring to integrate overblows into my playing there
were lots of challenges. In the end, it changed everything, which
isn't where I thought I was going when I started. I even ended up
building myself entire new sets of harps, or modifying existing sets
as I developed technique. It became hard to play my old harps
because they wouldn't do the things I came to expect. At one point,
I ended up with only two harps I could play, and about 200 that I
couldn't (or didn't want to). It pushed the envelope of my harp
building too.
-tim
Tim Moyer
Working Man's Harps
http://www.workingmansharps.com/
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