[Harp-L] RE: The way you see it / AKA Papa's got a brand new opthamologist

[backbender1 <backbender1@xxxxxxxxx>]

Chris makes some interesting points, like these: 

>>Take a simple tune like Jingle Bells, play any note
other than the correct note BUT play the rhythm and
you along with everybody else will still be able to
identify the song.

>>A note can be played in several different ways
harsh, thin, heavy, strong, soft, quick, long,
tapered, squeezed etc... this is shape and
texture. Learn to use it at will and you will be
amazed at how easy this little instrument really is.

His remarks on color are also interesting and
insightful, and maybe helpful to some, but a few
comments made me do a double-take. Like following the
first quoted section above with this:

>>NOTES and Position do not matter. 

And he follows the second quoted section with this:

>>Technique doesn't matter it only give you more color
with paint with.

Hopefully, Chris is talking about the general public's
perspective and not from a harp player's (and/or
musician's) perspective. Saying that notes, position
and technique don't matter in general is pretty
far-fetched, in my opinion.

Also, in my opinion, the first comment about people
recognizing the rhythm is about the rhythm being
fundamentally easier to recognize than the individual
pitches (or notes) for the general public. You'll only
need to watch the auditions for American Idol to find
this out for sure! But saying it doesn't matter...I'd
say you may want to look again at how you see this.

But, perhaps what stood out the most to me was this,
which he preceeded the second quote with:

>>The most important thing I have learned is people
react to emotion
and rhythm NOT note choice. Notes mean nothing and
rhythm joined by emotion is everything.

Well, where are the emotion holes on the instrument?
The holes in my harmonica only have notes in them. I
have found that note choices can be used to express
emotion just as much as your tonality. And the
greatest musicians in American music have used note
choices in addition to tonal changes and rhythmic
changes to express emotion.

It's possible that Chris meant some of this, but it
was unclear to me.

Sorry to rant on & thanks for listening!

-Dennis Gruenling
www.dennisgruenling.com





	
		
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