[Harp-L] Re: harp the hardest instrument

["Hurricane Ramón" <party_man1@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Hurricane sez : 

At first I reacted thinking 

- - naw , yeah , naw , yeah  -- 

Then I thought about the chromatic and how it was at first as hard over all as the diatonic before I was fluid with it . These observations were made long ago . 

I never thought of these two different but akin musical instruments  in terms of being difficult at all ( well sure at times when your at a " dead end " all musical instrumets are impossible it seems in the begining stages right but we're talomg much deeper here in this cade I hope ) just mysterious . Before I thought the trumpet was the most difficult compared the my harmonica(s) as one forum member brought out the fact that you can't see the playing area like a piano , sax , or a guitar player would .

That statement was one point of view I first took many years back . I thought it was a true no brainer at first , but then after remembering legends like Stevie Wonder , Ray Charles & George Shearing made that thought seem not as valid a point of view to base one's conclusions on so ....

I begain to re think on this topic Randy Singer threw for us to chew on and this is my take :

I have been knocking out some pretty tastie guitar chops now after 6 going on 7 years of serious practicing . The first year I sucked big time , no fooling myself or the faces on my friends & family ( who suffered the main onslought of the first 3 years and lived to tell , or was that , [I lived to tell ] ? :)

In comparing the harmonica to the guitar : 

It took me what seemed only a few hours off playing my first ever harmonica to pump out one of my kids songs at 4 years of age , it was clearly made out by my family the moment I did it . I added many songs through out the years and never really quit . What I had to develope in " breath control , tone , technical mastery of single notes then , double and three note chords took a long time to develope as well a " nuance's " for dee clean soff stoff . And it took me one year to learn " Lady's a Tramp & Over The Rainbow on my guitar . On my diatonic I ripped Ladys A Tramp on a dare on afternoon at a jazz jam session when I realized I had it down on OB's OD's and other stuff like that there  . 

Keybords were a quick study but fluid mastery --

-- no cigar after 4 years at it --

Guitar eclipsed it heh heh . But the arm strength needed to play was brutal after I went from nylon spanish acoustic and then a year and a half I took to a acoustic steel stringed guitar , man that steel stringed guitar was a killer on the forearm's developement ! Over all the total time for this dog to develope the needed arm strength to do a 3 set show was 3.5 years  , thank God I play a lot of harmonica to give my arm a rest ! ! 

Chromatics have " patterns " in certain keys ( the Chro's ) that are difineable as well the diatonics . They both can play chords ( albiet more limits are on a chromatic here on chording but that's a hair splitting issue for others to ponder and debate ) .

The guitar as well has " Patterns " that to a harmonic man show themselves quickly across the gutar's fret boards surface in time  :) 

What it took to really know in my mind & heart that I was " there  " on harmonica is yet to be defined to myself on the guitar , but , ......

What the harmonica has provided me with to take to my guitar playing has really openned up my guitar playing faster than most have learned in the same amount of time at I have thrown down though out these past 6 years according to many guitar players I know and who have known me before I started on the guitar .

I don't really know where I would be on the guitar in 6 years had I not learned the harmonica first . I do know it will be another few years before I am as proficiant on guitar as my harmonica . Maybe the level and degree difficulty of developement will be the equal in the same relative time respectively :)

Once a person has achieved and demonstrated their musical prowes  , it seems some how to them ( me at least ) that it wasn't that hard after all . What makes a person think and act like that is that the disire far out classed and hid the difficultly in the first place in ones novice years I would venture a guess . 

All things being equal I think every instruemnt is as impossible to play as the next , desire is the key to finding the correct way of openning up that " paricular  " instrument to one and making it sing no matter if it's an ocrina .

Desire conquers time barriers all the time and chops them up as you go on your merry way learning something new and unique . 

Those intial years I spent on my harmonica and trumpet were in retro spect " super fun years of discvovery " , something I had no felt in years till I took up the guitar . 

When I started getting that " old feeling " is back in my blood AGAIN ! ! I knew I was gong to have a blast on my guitar as well and I was right ! :)

Thanks for a great topic Randy but the jury is still out on this question for myself for at least 4 more years , by then I should be able to make a objective statement on this qustion heh heh stand by ......... :) 

Sincerely :

Hurricane Ramón


Pax Fraternos Mios      

Aka :

Party_Man1@xxxxxxxxxx

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