[Harp-L] Harmonica and Respect all depends...

["Emile D'Amico" <edamico@xxxxxxx>]

I have found harmonic respect all depends on the other person.
When I was at the Ester Boyer College of Music of Temple
University I always had respect from the teachers and
students in the Jazz Department. Some people in the classical side didn't want me to be admitted. The overall
head over the jazz department, the jazz department's boss was
the head of Composition. He was a big supporter of mine.
It wasn't always easy just being in the jazz department back then. The Jazz department had a stigma with the classical side and we had
to take a  lot of traditional classes. History, Conducting etc.. Now the Jazz Department is well
respected 20 years later.

    Disrespect can take many forms. The one I like is
do you play any other instrument. A few years back I
played at the Tritone in Philadelphia with Rick Iannacone and his charector wee group. The first ten
minutes featured myself and another guy playing six string banjo. I called the music hillbilly beatnic.
I played my ass of on diatonic and chromatic.
After I'm done this string player from curtis asks
do I play any other instruments. On the other side
my friend that plays violin in the Delaware Symphony
Orchestra is always amazed  what I play on the harmonica.
She's a highly trained classical player but couldn't
improvise to save her life.

Go figure

Emile Diggs D'Amico