[Harp-L] Wonderful (?) harmonica

[martin oldsberg <martinoldsberg@xxxxxxxxx>]

I fail to see why the world would "become a better place" if everyone owned a harmonica. From the harmonica production industry´s point of view it´s crystal clear, but there seems to me to be no intrinsic merit in having billions of lousy harp players roaming the city streets, blowing and drawing, blowing and drawing (presumably on their sub-standard diatonic harps, as chromatics would probably be a tad too expensive for the shantytown dwellers of Nairobi and elsewhere?).
    I quite think there´s a great risk the world would become a worse place.
    John Walden´s tale about being chaffed by collegues at a Musicians Union meeting because his instrument was a harmonica is a pertinent indication that what we need is not more, but better harmonica players. (No reflection of John W, who appears to have been playing several decades and should be awarded more respect by people who should have known better.)
    Of course, even I´d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony and all that jazz, but as of now nothing much would be gained if the death cries from various members of the warring factions in Bhagdad were emitted through a harmonica, even if it´d been presented with a Coke and a smile. 
    There are other "issues", as you say in the US, with harmonicas and harmonica playing; and I think leaving the stigma of it not being an "instrument" is in no way adressed by mass distribution, rather the contrary.
   
  Martin

       
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