[Harp-L] Re: Harp-L Digest, Vol 60, Issue 51

["Jonathan Metts" <jonathan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Bill and Harp-L,

I mean no disrespect to the blues; it's just not what I want to play.
Unfortunately for me, it's pretty much the only thing I can play.  Right now
I don't have the time, energy, or motivation to seriously pursue other types
of music that are more difficult.  So my answer to the topic is as honest as
it is simple: I play the blues because that's all I can play.  The chord
structures, patterns, melodies, etc. are among the simplest in all of music,
and the harmonica naturally lends itself to a bluesy sound.

There is no doubt that some of the best harp players in the world primarily
play the blues, and that there is an enormous amount of creative potential
in the blues style of music.  But I was not raised on the blues, did not
have a religious experience when I started listening to the blues, and get
VERY tired of playing and hearing the blues with other people who seem
singularly focused on that style.

I would compare this rift to an example we probably all know: the trained
musician who can play almost anything on sheet music but is helpless without
the notes on paper.  That person may feel constrained by the music or the
instrument, and it may take him or her years to get out of that box and
learn to play freely.  That is not to disrespect his or her ability to play
written music or the quality of the music itself.  That's how I feel about
playing the blues: it's a learned habit that I can't easily break.

Honestly, I've barely played at all this summer and feel disconnected from
the instrument and from music in general right now.  I'm hoping that a
return to Harp-L will push me to start playing and growing again.  SPAH
would have done the trick too, but I couldn't afford to go this year.

Jonathan Metts
Boulder, CO