RE: [Harp-L] Subject: Who decides who is Bad or Good?

["Robert Gaustad" <robertgaustad@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I've been playing harp for almost 35 years...on and off, and it wasn't until
I played some acoustic blues about five years into my playing with an
excellent guitar player, that I realized I would not embarrass myself
playing with anybody.  For the first couple of years of my playing, I
learned strictly from listening, for the most part, to "The Paul Butterfield
Blues Band" album and a Sonny Boy Williamson anthology, finding the right
keys and playing along as best I could...over and over. And the first time I
got lick for lick the harp in "Mellow Down Easy" and "Blues With A Feeling",
I got a tingle.  When I started moving easily into Sonny Boy runs, I might
have even gotten a little cocky for a moment at least.

But the best I've felt about my playing is when our very own Danny Wilson, a
most excellent player, came up to me after I played a song or two during a
jam at a small club on Lincoln Blvd. in Santa Monica, and said something
like "you're really good".  It was probably more like, "hey, you don't suck
too bad", but I was honored to hear that from a pro like Danny.  And I've
never forgotten it. 

Even though I had been playing for years, mostly as an amateur, and I didn't
need too much validation, it was a great feeling to be told by a real
harmonica player that I may have moved somebody during my playing.

And Danny's, of course, on the list, so it goes to show there is at least
one and probably 96% of listmembers who will tell you're great when you're
good, and you're good when you're just struggling to put some notes
together.  I always encourage other harp players and I don't mind getting
encouragement back.  

So keep playing and playing and playing and pretty soon you'll be getting
into your own groove...and we'll all dig it.

Robert Gaustad



> -----Original Message-----
> From: harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx 
> [mailto:harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of EGS1217@xxxxxxx
> Sent: Saturday, July 02, 2005 10:03 AM
> To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [Harp-L] Subject: Who decides who is Bad or Good?
> 
> I'm not sure I care who said this:
>  
> "But a bad player will always sound bad no matter what gear he uses"
>  
> ....but as a recent newbie who reentered the harmonica world 
> as a strict amateur  fully expecting to remain so, and only 
> recently began to learn  some techniques and some diatonic 
> blues after playing chromatics for years  -- how on earth is 
> someone like me to ever know whether I'm "good", "bad" or  
> merely "passable", especially after hearing this?  
>