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

["Bob Maglinte" <bbqbob917@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Howard Chandler" <chandler@xxxxxxxxx>
To: "Bob Maglinte" <bbqbob917@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: "Bret Littlehales" <blittlehales@xxxxxxxxx>; <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, January 25, 2005 8:07 PM
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] San Francisco/Amateurs and pros


> Bob's right about the big ears thing.  The same big ears that a pro (or 
> advanced amature) uses to really dig what's going on, can make the same 
> player squirm like the a worm if it ain't ON.  It's really easy to blame 
> the pro for being a primadonna, but you really have to give him a break. 
> He's there for fun, just like everyone else.  Trouble with the harp is 
> that anyone that can breath thinks they can play it, and the tin ears 
> can't tell the difference if it's good or bad.  My hat's off to the guys 
> with the patience or whatever it takes to run a jam.
>
> Howard

Hi,
When I started out some 30 years ago, I sure as hell remember getting my 
share of being dissed and some of the older musicians who were pros got 
right in your face about that quick. The pros and advanced amateurs who have 
developed the BIGGER EARS can QUICKLY spot clams, like a drummer dropping a 
beat, someone losing the time, hitting a really bad note, and so on, but the 
other side of the coin is that the very same person with the bigger ears can 
appreciate someone who may be doing something the average Joe in the 
audience wouldn't pay a bit of attention to, but is playing exactly what is 
appropriate to what's going on around them every single minute, and they 
will often let you know before the night's through if they can find you. 
Howard definitely is correct that the harmonica too often gets the 
disrespect because of exactly what he just posted, and far too often 
deservedly so, because it's an instrument nearly EVERYONE thinks you can 
master easily in a few minutes, and it is easier to sound absolutely GOD 
AWFUL on it than sound really good, and it takes HARD work to sound truly 
good on harmonica, make no mistake about it. Running a jam, much like being 
a bandleader, can often times be among the most THANKLESS jobs in the world, 
especially just to deal with fragile egos of jammers and even pros, and to 
put it politely, it ain't no cakewalk.

Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
MP3's: http://music.mp3lizard.com/barbequebob/