Interesting thread. As it goes on and on, it seems there are many songs
that people think of as being "non-standard". Yet, many of these I find to
be, not only terrific songs for the harp, but also songs that are played
with some regularity. Does that make them standard? "Ain't No Sunshine"
is a good example. To my thinking, that's a very standard song, because we
do it in our band. And that's the point. It seems, if you do the song as a
regular part of your repertoire, then it's a standard. If not, then it's
non-standard. Extrapolate this out to include all bands and, all songs
eventually become standard songs for the harp.
Consider the following. Compare Chris M's CD "Monk Alters Chi" with Steve
Shaw's "Blowing Through the Reeds". I can't think of two CDs more
different. On "Monk", jazz rules. It is the standard for this CD and this
player. On "Blowing", gaelic/Irish rules. It is the standard for that CD
and player. Yet another direction would be Robert Bonfiglio. His standard
is classical symphonic music. Chris M's standard is a non-standard to
Steve. Bonfiglio's standard is a non-standard to the blues honkers of the
world. Sounds like I'm leading toward a definition of standard by player.
I'm not. One might argue that all three of these examples are non-standard
to the harp.
To deem something non-standard is to imply that there is a defined standard.
Compared to what? (another fine example by Oscar Peterson). Defining a
standard, inherently limits what is or is not "standard". So really, what
is "standard?" As the harmonica moves into more and more musical realms,
the notion that a song (or genre) is non-standard tends to fade.
"Non-standard" becomes a personal experience. If you've never heard a
particular song played on the harp, you may think it is non-standard. But
to the millions of people who have heard it before, it's quite standard.
Play Well All,
Larry Boy Pratt
www.parkhousejam.com
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