Re: [Harp-L] By the way,,

[IcemanLE@xxxxxxx]

In a message dated 4/9/2008 12:21:49 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
rlaughlin@xxxxxxxxxxxx writes:

again,  there's no prohibition on wiggling, dancing, standing on one's head 
or  tippitoes while playing. I just have a "personal radar" for anything that 
is  purely and solely derived from a sense of "salesmanship". To me,,it's more  
about the music than anything else, regardless of one's need to sell oneself  
to an audience for the sake of pecuniary gain, financial security, tips,  
etc..
 
Selling music visually works - remember, the bulk of the population (The  
Citizens) perceive music differently than musicians. To them, fancy clothes, big  
hair flopping, sparkles, dance moves, etc, add to the experience, as they 
don't  listen with the same attention we do.
 
I remember studying with a Brazilian Classical Pianist at College - he was  
very emotional and wanted the body to move and reflect the passion in the music 
 - he would bow to the keyboard, raise his hands in the air after striking 
the  keys to "draw the sound up", etc. It didn't resonate with me. Luckily I was 
also  studying with the legendary Howard Lucas privately in Detroit. He was 
all about  the sound - eliminate any extraneous movement that doesn't directly 
affect the  sound and concentrate on the sound fully. 
 
This is ultimately the philosophy I've adapted the rest of my life in  
working with music and it works for me. It's the introverted approach rather  than 
the extroverted one.
 
The Iceman



**************Planning your summer road trip? Check out AOL Travel Guides.    
  (http://travel.aol.com/travel-guide/united-states?ncid=aoltrv00030000000016)