[Harp-L] Re: Dangerous Harp

["Jonathan Metts" <jonathan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Luckily, 2/3 of the judges called him out for putting the harmonica in the
song and not really being able to play it.  I almost physically cringed when
he said that he picked up the instrument in the past week and would be
playing it on national TV.  The guy deserves some credit for taking such a
risk and trying something new, even if it was ill-advised.  Unlike some of
you, I don't have a problem with the perception that harmonica is an easy
instrument to pick up and play -- that is a major source of its enduring
popularity.  It is clearly a double-edged sword, though.  The only thing
that bothered me is that he clearly didn't know what he was doing on the
thing and yet somehow thought that would be acceptable in the context of the
song, when in fact it sounded quite bad.

Now that American Idol is allowing contestants to play instruments during
their performances, it can only be a matter of time before an actually
talented and experienced harmonica player takes the stage.  Taylor Hicks is
an above-average player but rarely got to play on the show, since it was
against the rules at the time.  (He could only play during group numbers,
candid segments, etc.)  I was hoping there might be a harp player this
season, with the new rules in effect, but apparently not.

-- 
Jonathan Metts