[Harp-L] XB-40 talk

[Blueharp1@xxxxxxx]

The XB-40 definitely IS a "different animal."
Spot-on nailing of in-betweener notes is iffy at best.
That being said, in my experience, you gotta swing like crazy to get the most 
out of it. The approach I've found most productive (and creative and fun) is 
similar to playing a slide or pedal steel guitar. Or tombone or trumpet. It's 
not so much an exacting instrument (nor, I think, is it intended to be ~ of 
course many or maybe most musicians playing those instruments CAN be 
exacting...Miles comes to mind, or Wynton Marsalis, so there is cetainly a bit of slack 
in the characterization... ), as it is a wild and loose more intuitive thing. 
On a diatonic or standard Chromatic, a slight variance in breath or attack 
alters the tone very little. With the XB, it's as sensitive as the human voice. 
Everything is magnified, and the slightest twinge of doubt is instantly and 
vividly audible. Yes, darlings, to play the XB40 is to be courageous and bold. Not 
for the meek! 
 Brings to mind Carlos Santana's recollections of his band's debut at 
Woodstock. Someone had offered him some acid baackstage, and he accepted, knowing 
that at just about the time his band was scheduled t play, he'd already have 
peaked, settled, and leveled out. He hadn't expected the spontaneous last-minute 
schedule shuffle..."Carlos, we need you to play ~ right NOW."
  "My guitar was like - like an electric snake!  So that's why you saw my 
face, you know, like making all these ugly faces, like, 'Stand still,' you 
know....That was my mantra," Santana says amid laughter. "It was a very, very 
frightening experience. I don't recommend it to anybody."
  While I'm personally no longer likely to choose a chemical path to get 
"there", I do heartily recommend Getting There. Finding that zone with the XB-40 
is for now less a process of buckling down, than of learning to let go...After 
working for so many years toward "precise", I find it liberating and exciting 
to take it by the tail, chase it, and wail. And yes, it can be almost 
intimidating, definitely a whole new thing. Not always pretty, but I think in time, 
after rolling around with it in this context, "pretty" will find its place too. 
First things first: Explore, map out the terrain via free exploration. Grab on 
and go. As fun and inspiring as that is, at some point I'll have "been there, 
done that." It'll be time to tame the wild pony more more civilized 
adventures. And by then I'l have familiarized myself with all the places it'll go.
 In the meantime I'm putting on my Robert Randolph jams, taking it "out 
there" and really deeply enjoying the ride.

Jeff G
Denver CO