Re: [Harp-L] San Francisco/Amateurs and pros

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Bill is absolutely right when he says no one is born knowing how to play
with a band. I well remember a jam I had in the summer after my first
year in college where the leader of the session shook my hand at the end
of the night and said -- in a voice loud enough to be heard in the back
of the room -- "LISTEN!  LISTEN!  LISTEN!"

Of course, it's smarter to learn from other peoples' mistakes than from 
one's own, and I hope the members of this list who are just learning to
play now are smarter than I was then.

Regards, Richard Hunter
hunterharp.com

Bill Hines wrote:
> 
> Right, but before we get on a long train of messages here denigrating
> the "blues jam hacks" and others who are trying to learn, let's add that
> most "pros" probably learned NOT to do this stuff at those blues jams
> (or performing poorly in their first bands!). Ya gotta start somewhere,
> and the blues jams are a good place to do it once you've spent the
> requisite time in the woodshed learning how to play (yeah, some folks
> come out too early, screw up jams, and that's wrong too).
> 
> I think many of these jams have become showcases where the "pros" from
> various bands show up and jam with each other, rather than a place where
> "hacks" can learn chops and how to perform in a group setting. It's
> discouraging for the ones trying to learn, because they get the dirty
> looks and other negative issues (like the "pros" don't want to play with
> any "hacks" in the jam lineup). Let's keep the genre alive and support,
> encourage. None of you guys were born with this knowledge, share it with
> those who want to learn, be careful not to put them down in subtle ways.
> Think about who took the time to help you, in a long ago and far away
> galaxy...
> 
> Bill Hines
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx] On
> Behalf Of Bob Maglinte
> Sent: Tuesday, January 25, 2005 4:26 PM
> To: Richard Hunter; harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: [Harp-L] San Francisco/Amateurs and pros
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Richard Hunter" <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: "Harp-L" <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>; "Harptalk" <harptalk@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Tuesday, January 25, 2005 11:49 AM
> Subject: [Harp-L] San Francisco/Amateurs and pros
> 
> > Thanks to all who responded with offers of jams, gigs, and
> > companionship on my latest trip to San Francisco.  In the actual
> > event, I wound up spending my time from 8AM-11PM every day on
> > work-related stuff, so was unable to take advantage of the great
> > opportunities offered me.  I'm going back in April, and perhaps we can
> 
> > hook up then.
> >
> > Two of the work-related things I did in SF actually involved musical
> > performances.  I was asked to sit in with the band playing at a party
> > for my colleagues, and I was asked to organize and lead a band of my
> > colleagues playing at a company party.  The first performance was very
> 
> > professional, and the second was thoroughly amateur -- at least one of
> 
> > the players had only played once with other musicians in front of a
> > live audience.  The contrast between the two events prompted me to
> > think about a few of the things that separate pro players from
> > amateurs.  Here they are:
> >
> > 1)  Pros listen better.
> > Pros are constantly aware of what everyone else on stage is playing.
> > They listen carefully and respond fast.  I had a hell of a time just
> > getting the amateurs to look up and pay attention to what was going on
> 
> > around them -- they were much too absorbed in what they were playing
> > themselves.
> >
> > 2)  Pros play less, and they don't step on the singers.
> > The pros are perfectly content to play one note every minute, if that
> > happens to be the right note for the song.  The amateurs played every
> > second, no matter what else was happening.  I had to constantly remind
> 
> > the guitarists not to solo while the singers were singing, for
> > example.
> >
> > 3)  Pros don't play all-out all the time.
> > Pros know that you can't climax all the time -- like Debussy said,
> > music has to have some boring parts for the big moments to work.  The
> > amateurs played lots of notes at top volume all the time, unless I
> > signaled frantically to bring it down.  (See item #1 above.)
> >
> > The main message here is this: some of the biggest things that make
> > amateurs sound like pros have very, very little to do with riffs and
> > instrumental technique.  It's all about listening, paying attention,
> > and playing just enough to make the whole band sound good. Anyone who
> > can play at all, regardless of technical accomplishment, can learn to
> > do that, and make a bigger contribution to the sound of the band.
> >
> > As it happened, both performances were successful.  With the amateurs,
> 
> > I made sure everyone on stage knew it was a party, not a concert, and
> > the audience appreciated the opportunity to party with their friends.
> > After all, you can't spell funk without fun.  With the pros, I made
> > sure not to screw up the very polished performance they brought to the
> 
> > stage, played my one big solo, and otherwise did my best to lock into
> > the horn section of sax and trumpet.
> >
> > Thanks, Richard Hunter
> > hunterharp.com
> 
> Hi.
> Excellent post, Richard, and from one pro to another, it is RIGHT ON THE
> MONEY!!!!! It's what seperates the men from the boys, or in a somewhat
> harsher way of putting things, the average Sunday blues jam hack from a
> real musician. Words of wisdom from a musician that I have the utmost
> respect for!!!
> 
> Sincerely,
> Barbeque Bob Maglinte
> Boston, MA
> http://www.barbequebob.com
> MP3's: http://music.mp3lizard.com/barbequebob/
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Harp-L is sponsored by SPAH, http://www.spah.org Harp-L@xxxxxxxxxx
> http://harp-l.org/mailman/listinfo/harp-l