[Harp-L] Re: Why do you want to play blues? In defense of the blues.

[Robert Coble <robertpcoble@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

> Date: Fri, 22 Aug 2008 03:54:39 -0700
> From: Gary Popenoe 
> Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Why do you want to play blues? In defense of the
> 	blues.
> To: Richard Hammersley 
> Cc: Bill Kumpe , Harp-l 
> 
> Guys, I play all of the genre and, while I am not expert in all, I  
> have learned that the simpler forms are every bit as challenging as  
> the more complex for many of the reasons you have already mentioned.
> 
> A minimalist heart felt solo in the manner of Big Walter Horton takes  
> so much feel and specialized technique it will only be mastered by  
> someone with great experience both in life and with the instrument.
> 
> The very same can be said about mastering the other genre.
> 
> I think it was the great percussionist Airto who said something like  
> it takes a great musician to make great music just banging two rocks  
> together. (If some one can source that quote, let me know. )
> 
> One of my favorite challenges is backing up singer songwriters. This  
> role often excludes solos and is limited to gracing the song with  
> color notes and some simple figures. It is a true excercise in "less  
> is more." There is no forest of notes to hide my mistakes. Everything  
> must be reduced to only that which is essential to the message.
> 
> What is interesting and compelling is that I have learned that this  
> must be my goal whether it is blues or bebop.
> 
> When I get it right, the audience listens.
> 

I started playing harp at age 53 (and am now 60). I didn't know there
were organizations (like SPAH and various harmonica clubs) for the
first couple of years that I tried to learn. I looked for CDs with harp and
"discovered" Kim Wilson, Paul Butterfield, etc. I absolutely LOVED the
emotional content of their playing-and still love it more than any other
music I like-and I like a lot of different styles and genres of music. For
example, a player like Smokey Joe can move me to tears, because his 
playing is filled with just the right techniques to convey a message about 
how HE feels about the song, and I can FEEL it too! He's not one of the
ODBGs, but he can PLAY MUSIC that reaches to the core!

My own playing tends more toward songs with an established melody,
such as gospel, country, bluegrass, rather than the blues, which is more
about a feeling rather than a specific melody (IMHO). When I succeed in
conveying the emotional flavor to the audience, often I'm left in tears at 
the end of the song.

To me, the "blues" format (chord progression) is somewhat similar in
nature to Japanese haiku (poetry). Haiku has a very strict (restricted)
form, yet the masters of haiku can create entire worlds of emotional 
content within it. The same is true of genuine blues players. For ME,
a player is "genuine" when he//she can convey the emotional content
of the song to the listener, causing the same emotions to be felt as part
of the music, REGARDLESS of the genre. I've also heard several 
technically brilliant harmonica players who cannot (IMHO) play the blues.
Playing a bajillion notes just to show off ones chops as a speed freak just
turns me off. The chops are there, but it ain't got no soul. (I qualify that 
as the opinion of a genuine "white bread" kind of guy; what would I know 
about the blues?!? It's not like I've ever experienced any tragedy in my 
"short" life - ROTFLMAO!)

For those with a dismissive attitude toward the "simplicity" of blues, I'd
suggest a deeper LISTENING to all parts of it, rather than focusing on the 
external, somewhat limited form. Minimalism is extremely hard to work 
toward in any field. Elegance arrives when everything unnecessary has
been pared away.

I've seen the same kind of attitude in martial arts. Minimalist techniques 
that "git'r done" are deprecated in favor of "flash," the Hollywood fiction
that requires multiple cameras and lots of retakes to get "right." I much
prefer one simple technique that stops the fight cold to ten thousand
flashy techniques that leave the opponent still fighting 15 minutes later.
And on THAT subject, I'm a 4th-degree black belt, so I AM qualified to have
an opinion.

My $0.02 worth,
Crazy Bob
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