Re: [Harp-L] Getting More Harmonica 'Out There'

["Alexander Savelyev" <Alexander.Savelyev@xxxxxxxx>]

My 2 cents, 

partly in response to the topic "Miller is a 12-Year-Old Harp Monster"


1. as for having harmonica on TV, radio, etc. In our local club we
managed to get on TV six times within a year. 3 times on National, 3 on
local. And that's even harder than in the U.S. -  nothing's done without
money. However, it happened that we had a good PR friend who published
article about our club and the article was so intriguing that
journalists went crazy and started to invite us. And the reason was that
we declared our service and loyalty to the local community, that is, not
just playing a harmonica, but being a good citizen of the city by
uniting people around one common goal. Of course this approach can't
boasts high level of performance on a professional stage, etc., and may
not count as a qualified TV appearance, but anyway it happened. 

Moral: probably there  should be some alternative approaches in
popularizing the harmonica, rather than just playing it for money, etc.



2. as for the harmonica perception in the world. I gree with Toots's
prudent remark about harmonica players -  music and art of the performer
is of value, not the fact that a person plays harmonica. 
So, here the approach would be - study music, the instrument and then
play in public and not vice versa. I mean on the professional scene. I
notice that many performers grab harmonica just to add some juice to the
song without a serious harmonica background, but it spoils the show
quite often.

Moral: think "music", rather than just a "harmonica".


3. as for the popularity, for instance, of the blues harmonica - on one
end there are performers with advanced technique, vocabulary of nice
licks and deep blues feeling, on the other end - audience that is not
fully prepared to guage the level of the performer based on the
technique used, complexity of the licks, etc. Pleople just hear what
they used to hear, as it appears without having a clue what's going on.
Probably they just have to feel, not really understand the mechanism,
etc., but my experience is that trained or at least informed audience is
much responsive than any other - whether it concerns starting harmonica
courses, supporting of harmonica events (sponsors), or TV broadcasting,
etc. 

Moral: inform and instruct the audience. 


In general, I think that harmonica will have it's future, the other
question is in which form. And it's another discussion already.


Best, 

Alex




>>> "paul" <paul@xxxxxxxx> 15.07.2006 21:19:20 >>>
Michael Peloquin and Rosco bring up an all too painfully obvious
point:
there just ain't all that much harmonica coming out of the world's
'studio'
output (other than the trademark blues or campfire licks that
Producers
occasionally call for) . . . 

 

It's my 'opinion' (which would then have me 'opining' in case Buzzy
wants to
do some more dictionary work) that, if we as a community want to have
Producers call us for more than the occasional blues or campfire licks,
than
we as a community have to give them a reason to 'hear' harmonica in
other
contexts . . . 

 

We, as a community, have to begin hearing and recording harmonica
'parts' in
well-written tunes (in contexts other than that which blues or
campfire
enthusiast will want to hear) that establish harmonica as an
interesting (or
compelling) 'sound' that will REPLACE the sax or guitar or keyboards
that
are getting the 'calls' right now . . . 

 

In short, we've got to get out of our own rut, and we've got to
convince the
musical community (and most importantly the 'Producers' of that music)
that
the harmonica is an instrument that the public will want to 'hear'
playing
'lines' and 'flavors' instead of just solos and standard licks; and to
do
so, we've got to become better songwriters (in context other than blues
or
'campfire), in order to create contexts within which to 'place' these
'lines, 'parts' and 'flavors' . . . 

 

Not to appear as a cheap endorsement of a friend, but I encourage folks
to
listen to projects like Maybe August (Roscoe), that start to take
those
steps (using harmonica as part of the texture and fabric of a body of
music
rather that the music merely serving a a context for the harp player
to
blow), and get to work creating the next generation of what harmonica
should
sound like and in which contexts it can be used . . .

 

Comments???

 

Regards, Paul Messinger/Chapel Hill NC

 

 

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