Re: Re: [Harp-L] re: Improv in Blues]

["Planet Harmonica" <lists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

<< Chris Michalek wrote:
> Yeah, I'm trying to tell y'all to stop listening to other harmonica
> players and stop listening to the blues.  :-)

Sounds a bit absolute, don't you think?  :-)  Many a harp player has
made his (or her) mark by listening very carefully to the masters
grabbing licks, riffs, and melodic lines from the previous generation of
musicians, learning to play them in various contexts and then imbuing
their music with personal expression, filtered, as it were, by the
individual player's talents (or lack thereof) along with the other
elements of interpretation to innovative original solos.

IMHO Listening to other music and other instruments is a widening of the
circle not a substitute for being aware of history. The point is to be
cognizant of other harp players and what's been done in the blues in the
past and use that as a context from which to base innovation, no?>>

On this I must say I agree with Chris.

Of course many a harp player grew up musically by listening to other harp players. Unfortunately, of that many, very very few have their own voice. I'm not going to name names, but I suspect those who have found a voice have had a wider range of influences than just other harp players. 

This is what I tell to my students : listen to other instruments. Horn players, guitarists, whatever. Emulate.

If you must listen to harp players, do not under any circumstance listen to the same player repeatedly.

The issue with harp playing is everyone is listening to the same few masters. Little Big Sonny Boy Walter, as I call him. Guitarists have dozens of heroes to get influenced from. We have four. So if we listen to them only, we all sound more or less the same.

Ben