RE: [Harp-L] My Name Is Rooty and I Am a Harmonica Owner

"Bill Hines" <billhines4@xxxxxxxxxxx> · Sat, 16 Apr 2005 08:23:04 -0400

Here's another list of instructional stuff. Warning, some of the
harmonica instructional stuff for sale is *really* bad. Either just bad
quality wise, or very monotonous and boring. That's why I liked
Gindick's stuff, it was fun. Amazing, the guy never seems to get any
credit, for example you don't see his stuff listed here. Poor Johnny
Appleseed! I do hope they find a way to recognize him at SPAH.
http://www.rockchapelmusic.com/Harmonica.htm

Also, you might check here on the board if there is someone in your area
that does lessons. Even if you are learning on your own, it's good to do
a spot-check with a real live person once in a while for an hour. If
there is nobody local, folks like Gindick will do a 1/2 hour phone
lesson for a very reasonable price, and the folks that have done that
with him have raved about what can be accomplished with him in a half
hour. Sorry to keep gushing on Gindick, but really he's such a great,
humble and fun guy and a great teacher. His jam camps which are in St.
Louis next week, then Jacksonville FL and California, are a great way to
get started, his instructors are all A-list guys like Jason Ricci,
Dennis Gruenling, Larry "Iceman" Isenberg, Adam Gussow, etc (names you
should recognize from this list!). If you're near one, I highly
recommend it (the awesome and great Dennis learned from one of Gindick's
old book/tape sets!).

Bill Hines
Hershey, PA

-----Original Message-----
From: harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of Rooty Baegga
Sent: Friday, April 15, 2005 10:12 PM
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [Harp-L] My Name Is Rooty and I Am a Harmonica Owner

My Name Is Rooty and I Am a Harmonica Owner.  I bought a harmonica
today.

Because I know none of you will be able to sleep until you hear all
about 
it, I thought I'd spare you a sleepless night.

I went to my local musical instrument emporium to see what they had in 
stock.  I blanched when I saw the starting price of 12-hole chromatics 
($149.99 and up, but that's Canadian money).  I knew my budget was not 
going to withstand that.

That left my choices to be either a diatonic, or a diatonic.

I chose to get a diatonic.

I asked to see a number of them, including the recommended Horner
Special 
20.  I must have looked like such a dork, opening each harmonica case to

look at them.  To these eyes, they all looked pretty much the same.
Then I 
cradled each one in my two hands the way I've seen harmonica players do 
since the beginning of time.  To these hands, they all pretty much felt
the 
same.  I don't think I fooled the gentleman waiting on me at all.

To be perfectly honest, so many people recommended the Special 20, I had

already decided this would be the one for me.  However, they didn't have
it 
in the Key of C.  Being an instant gratification kind of guy, I started 
looking at the ones they *DID* have in C, because almost everyone said
that 
was the best key in which to buy a starter harmonica *AND* I wasn't
leaving 
there without a harmonica.

I eventually settled on a Horner Blues Harp MS.  Why?  To begin with, it

felt just as good as any other when I held it.  Secondly, and this was
the 
clincher, the guy behind the counter (who was really, really old.  From
all 
the framed newspaper articles and 8x10s on the wall I gleaned he was the

founder of the store way back when) told me that it was easier than any
of 
the other models for bending notes.  Say no more!!!

I also figured that at $29.99 (Canadian money still), it didn't break
the 
budget and I can always get a Special 20 in the Key of C, or any other
key 
of my choosing, at the same price later.

I haven't had a lot of time with it on my lips yet (less than 10 minutes

overall), but I am already frustrated.  I've been trying to pick out
Mary 
Had A Little Lamb on it.  I have the first note....I just don't know
where 
to go from there.  Moreover, I am not even sure it's the right first 
note.  DAMN!!!  This is going to be harder than I thought.  I learned
that 
song within 5 minutes on the touch-tone phone.

I was going to try and pick out the scale, until I realized that I only
had 
the white keys on the piano.

To quote Lenny Bruce: You need the white keys and the darkies to play
The 
Star Spangled Banner.

Any advice for where I should go from here?

=========================================
Rooty Baegga

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