[Harp-L] harp-l as a stage to exploit talent/no BS allowed

["Frank Franze" <Franze52@xxxxxxx>]

To whos ever brain this may concern, let the picking begin? 

How  about this ideal?  Each month a different style of music ( rock, blues, jazz, country, funk, jigs/reels, classical ,swing, new age, - etc.) of a  3 minute backing track song  would be featured for the entire month to improvise with and solo over!  One way to do this would be as a "free for all" You decide how you would like to present your rendition of it to the harp-l forum...It's entirely your choice - use any type of harp, any positon, any effects etc.  

Another way would be to make it more of a dicipline.  In other words, there would be certain rules imposed that each person who entered must follow, and 
of course the backing track to be used would have to be inviting or should I say user friendly to the musicians improvisational oppurtunity...For example, you could feature a backing track where 3rd position chromatic harp playing would shine, or 1'st or 2'nd pos...Or a backing track that was just begging for some simple but tastey pentitonic work, and the rules would be that you could not stray from using pentatonic grooves and melodys, and maybe add that it has to be played acousticly.

Another month could feature a track that was solely designed to be used exclusively for players who would like to show case there hard work and skills of the altered tuned XB's...The next month would feature a backing track that would be used only for playing fifth position improvisations...The next devoted entirely to a track were to enter the compitition your soloing must be comprised completely out of over blows and over draws! The next month a backing track that only octaves are allowed to be used to construct your master piece...The following month the solo must be improvised and played only with a single note tongue block for left side playing for anything from 6 blow down, anything higher your allowed to use right side block, and any bends must be executed with in a tongue block.

So, as you can see the skies the limit.  I'm sure some one can expand on this and hopefully use it for the betterment of mankind, BEWARE, do not use it for evil intent or you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of Harp-l forum law!!!

Frank