Re: [Harp-L] Woops,,one more thayyng,,

["Bob Laughlin" <rlaughlin@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> On Mar 13, 2007, at 5:33 AM, Bob Laughlin wrote:
>
> > My 19 year old plays classical guitar, performs, gigs, etc..
> >  I've told him that he needs to learn "crazy", like
> > Jagger, or Joe Cocker, waving arms, hands, and such antics to go
> > along and
> > maybe help the tones come out.
> > Bob Laughlin


> > ---Why ruin his personality?
> smo-joe

I don't see it that way. He's fairly independent in his thinking anyhoo,,so
anything I have to offer gets filtered through his own sense of  propriety,
taking my opinion with a "grain of salt". In fact, I've noticed that,
somewhat like my wife, he won't immediately receive anything I'll suggest,
until he hears the same thing from another, trusted source. That's good, and
part of being nineteen, as I recall.

He's not used to singing "rock" songs. His assignment was to pick a song
from amongst the r&b, rock, or country styles. They get piano accompaniment
supplied. He asked me what he should sing, and I gave him some possibilities
that I thought would be fun to listen to and ruminate over. Amongst these
were Marvin Gaye's "Ain't it Peculiar", Bill Withers "Lean on Me", Jr.
Walker & the All Stars "Road Runner", Elvis' "Jailhouse Rock", Bob Seger
"Ramblin, Gamblin Man", Glen Campbell "Gentle on My Mind", and just about
anything by the Beatles or the Rolling Stones. He's familiar with most of
these, and has my musical tastes for the most part, along with some of his
own.

Since he's never sung in the rock, mode, I was emphasizing mostly rhythm and
blues, and some country. He chose Jumping Jack Flash as soon as he heard it.
I knew it would present problems, as he's not stretched his vocal ability to
that level of intensity up til now, and I didn't want him to hurt himself.
So,,after hearing him doing rather "tentative" versions here, practicing,
and even asking me for feedback, I told him that he'd need to push it more,
and suggested the body language as a help "getting loosened up". As it
turned out, the teacher agreed with me, and told him to use his "abdomen"
more in "forcing out the notes". It's a rather percussive song, after all.
"I was Boooorn,,,in a Cross-Fire HurriCaaaaane,,,". Just crazy lyrics, meant
to produce a kind of image, and feeling.

Anyhoo,,he's taking a break, he caught a full-on sinus/chest cold since his
first audition.

But as to the harp content. I see this as similar to learning to play the
ten-hole, using the diaphragm to move air.

Unfortunately, his natural personality, and speaking voice, is not
automatically suited to the song he chose, so he'll need to stretch a bit,
learn a few tricks. I don't consider it "ruining" his personality, as he
fully realizes it's just a performance.

Bob