Re: [Harp-L] Duets, Diatonic-sounding chromatic?

[icemanle@xxxxxxx]

Excellent comments.
 
If you focus on the songs (melodies) in a pure sense, where the music is primary and instrument secondary, switching diatonics to find all the notes as "givens" is the way to go (as are specialty tuned diatonics). 
 
The "Art of Harmonica Switching" is truly beautiful to behold. Try to find a video of accomplished Asian Tremolo harmonica performances. It almost looks like a ballet, the way they do it. I saw it in Trossingen at one of the World Harmonica Competitions in the 90's. Visually and aurally, the tremolo performances were surreally beautiful.
 
If you focus on playing a diatonic as primary with the music as secondary, then you follow the path of solving the problems inherent with the instrument to get it to achieve all the notes necessary for the music. This leads to incomplete seamlessness, as some notes created through techniques will sound notexactlythesametonewise as notes that are "given".
 
Today, I like the challenge of playing a diatonic to achieve the music. Tomorrow, who knows?
 
The Iceman
 
 
-----Original Message-----
From: lcharmonica@xxxxxxxxx

  All those Asians who play tremolo harmonica this way can't be wrong.
   
  I think a lot of Americans who play diatonic are hung up on developing 
technique because of the idol-worship factor when they hear guys like Levy-- and 
they are not devoting enough to simply learning and playing songs.  Or they are 
just content to play a few blues riffs.  It reminds me of when I was a teenager 
playing guitar- a lot of guys wanted to learn Eddie Van Halen's guitar-hammer 
move and they could make cool sounding noise for ten minutes, but if you asked 
them to play a single song from start to finish, or try to sing and play at the 
same time, they were clueless.  
   
  Have fun- let me know your progress.
   
  Larry  

 
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