Re: [Harp-L] "playing"

["Bob Laughlin" <rlaughlin@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

JR writes:

"So, the question then becomes can my dog play music
on the instrument?  Perhaps, depends on how you define music."

My response:

My dog has fleas, so based on that, he can tune a ukelele.

I think you're trying to define a "professional" level. This becomes
relative, as one who plays harmonica on the street corner, with a box at his
feet for change,,well,,one may say that he/she is playing his/her harmonica
as a "profession", and legitimately so, in a relative sense.

My sister recently retired from the executive directorship of Spivey Hall, a
world-renowned concert hall in the Atlanta area for purely acoustic
classical and jazz performances. She was knighted by the French government
for her work promoting the fine arts, music in specific, on an international
level. She would, of course, never have hosted a performance by the
street-corner player, regardless of his competence in playing the harmonica.
It has to do with something called "prestige", and "marketability", in a
business sense. However, I myself oftentimes play damn good "street-corner
harmonica" in my corner of the world, and am known locally by various and
sundry supermarket employees as "the bluesman", when I am standing in line
for groceries. I commonly play a few bars of good blues, by request, for the
customers over the store PA system as I'm checking out at the local Smart
and Final. (I've renamed them "Fart and Smile", by the way).

My level of playing is, I would say, fairly good. I've played in bands
before, made some money doing it, and still go on stage locally every once
in a while, if I get bored at home and want to go out for a thrill. My level
of professional taste, as far as performances are concerned, has been honed
by having been raised by two working opera singers, who sang leads at the
prestigous "Met", back in thirties and forties, who sang overseas for the
troops in Okinawa and Japan at the end of WW2, and who consistently exposed
me to what I would call the finest classical music. I played cello in an
orchestra as a youth, and guitar and blues harp later on. I've heard the
best of both worlds, classical, jazz, and blues.

Blah blah blah,,

All this to say that I feel that I can make a competent decision as to
whether or not a diatonic harmonica player is actually "playing"
chromatically, or "not".

Being a man of the people at heart, and not a "stuft-shirt elitist", by
choice, I would say a resounding YES for the "player" who chooses to work
through a situation not ideally set up for the 10, 12, or however many hole
diatonic. I've done it myself, and call it both "talent" and "skill", as
well as "artistic license", of which we all are welcome to partake. It all
depends on the audience, as far as I'm concerned. If they walk out on you,
that's their choice as well, and you've learned your lesson, hopefully.

Professionally speaking, there are NO RULES. It's just a matter of the
convention of the time. Who's getting what recognition, by whom. Who's
selling tickets. Etc. What's rewarding to you may not be for the next Bozo.
To each his/her own. Defining "playing" is anyone's guess, judging from what
can be commonly maketed by the media.

For the purists, there are concert halls, with pretty posters and ticket
prices which may or may not exclude the common man, depending on what we
call "common". For those just looking for a little fun, there's always the
bar down the street, with "Sallie Mae and the Nutcrackers" appearing on
Friday nights.

It's all good, I suppose, unless you're the "gusser" trying to breach the
stage with a volley of "bad harmonica". Even there, it's clear that you take
your risks, and who knows, maybe you actually ARE that "undiscovered talent"
that nobody's heard of yet. Then again, the band members also have the right
to toss you on your head, if you negatively affect their performance, and
their livelihood.

There are all these checks and balances, and rest assured, no "bad
harmonica" will ever make it to Spivey Hall. You won't end up where you
don't belong, and even if you did, you wouldn't last too long. Pity is, some
who deserve to be recognized may not ever be, because of elitism,
exclusivity, narrow hearts and wounded souls.

Bob Laughlin,,a legend in his own mind,,er,,time.

(By the way,,from what I hear,,this upstart "Howard Levy" can "play"
diatonic harmonica chromatically,,from what I hear.)