[Harp-L] Re:Transitioning from Diatonic to Chromatic

[bon@xxxxxxxxxx]

What a nice post by Rob Paparozzi about:
Transitioning from Diatonic to Chromatic

or as HE put it, "adding a button to your arsenal!"

I sometimes feel as a harmonica community we lose out  a great deal of 
knowledge because we isolate ourselves from each other by catagories of 
msuic, i.e., the "Harmonicats" vs "Jazz Chromatic Players" vs the "Chicago 
Blues Players" vs the "Overblowers" vs the "Classical Players" vs the "You 
Name It Players" and we all feel protective and yet defensive so we 'dis' 
every other group.

The result might be as small as a great "lost" switch corner solo on blues 
harp or in the jazz field; but worse is just not getting to know the 
players from some other area.  I remember seeing William Clarke play 
because I was playing a concerto in the same town he was performing in and 
I went down after rehearsal.  We exchanged CD's and his chromatic playing 
really surprized me.  I remember Musslewhite playing "Willow Weep for Me" 
on a blues record.

I remember going in to a commercial session and being asked to play "Tiger 
Rag" just like the "Harmonicats" - the guy had the recording.  I said 
"These guys have been smoking that piece for 30 years; I can't just come 
in a sight-read that!"

It's not only a one way street - my students like Paparozzi, Singer, 
Hoover, Turk, Sugar Blue, etc have opened my eyes.  I steal from them as I 
hope they do from me.

When Rob and I went down to see Meurkins play jazz, I never thought I 
would hear that kind of Coltrane 'sheets of sound' coming out of a 
harmonica and there was Hendrik blowing it.

And what about Madcat expanding the place the diatonic goes or Richard 
Hunter who plays both instruments.  The list is long.

I would like to see a more respectful harmonica community for other 
players' styles. Without this we all lose.  Maybe the rule should be for 
example: don't come out after the 'chromatic' until you can play the 
'hell' out of it.  If "Toots" told me he couldn't stand the way a certain 
piece sounded, I might consider dropping it from my repertoire.

On the other hand I did hear a "whiny" female singer in Starbucks over the 
speakers play some very lame harp that should be relagated to a small deep 
sea island.

Harmonically yours,

Robert Bonfiglio







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