Re: Re: [Harp-L] feasible goals

["Tim Moyer" <wmharps@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Richard Hunter wrote:
> Virtuosity per se is largely a 19th-century phenomenon that 
> flourished through the 20th century, during which periods it 
> was essential to realizing big compositional ideas.  In the 
> 21st century, when producers are making hit records in their 
> bedrooms with sample libraries, it's a lot less important.  
> It is indeed about results and nothing else. Playing an 
> instrument is just one way -- probably not the most important 
> way where pop music is concerned -- of realizing the idea in a 
> composer or producer's head.

This isn't really what I read from Jonathan's comments.  Although 
this is one part of it (JRRoss: "Thus, the biggest movement in music 
for the last ten or even fifteen years has been anti-technique"), 
what I read about musicianship was this (again quoting JRRoss): "For 
the most part, great technical skill is expected, and with that 
comes the idea that it isn't particularly interesting".

This last point is what drives most pop music, except maybe in the 
hip hop arena.  There are thousands of studio musicians who are 
skillful enough to play whatever's put in front of them with 
stunning virtuosity, therefor it's unremarkable when we hear this 
happen.  Take any recording from Jessica Simpson or Taylor Hicks, 
Madonna or the Dixie Chicks, and they are not distinguished by the 
quality of the musicians who accompany them, but by their musical 
style, their lyrical content, and their personnas.  

The lesson here for harmonica players should be that if you want to 
work in the studio you need either flawless technique or a highly 
recognizable style.  Ideally, you'll have both.  When you hear 
harmonica on studio recordings these days, the biggest names use the 
most recognizable players they can find, like Stevie Wonder or John 
Popper.  They either ask you in to play what you want (if you're 
already famous), or they ask you in to play what they want (if 
you're not).  The truth is that there aren't that many highly 
recognizable harmonica players, when it comes to the general public, 
so the few that there are get most of the play.  

-tim

Tim Moyer
Working Man's Harps
http://www.workingmansharps.com/