Re: [Harp-L] Hunting for a bucket of icy ice

[IcemanLE@xxxxxxx]

Excellent comments and very accurate up until the "(and disparage)"  
insertion. This insertion feels like a personal opinion seeping into what  Winslow 
usually keeps as an impersonal observation and fact based  approach.
 
I'm not disparaging anyone who wants to honk, wah wah, wail, wave their  
hands in the air, bend into notes constantly, etc. I, personally, feel that  it is 
overdone - maybe because of habit and not so  much from intent. When I teach 
students, I try to emphasize they  approach every sound they make on the 
harmonica be from a conscious intent and  not from a habit of (for example) bending 
into 4 hole inhale from below every  time the note is hit. Once they 
understand this, if they CHOOSE to always bend  into this note, that is their choice 
and is (IMO) valid. 
 
Remember, I'm not trying to be the ULTIMATE BEST SUPERIOR spokesperson. I  
have my opinion and attract those that share a similar philosophy. For instance, 
 I tell my students if they want speed chops, patterns, train sounds, 
traditional  whooping, that I'm not the teacher for them and suggest a Filisko, 
LaVoie or  Michalek to study under. However, when most students "get" what I'm 
trying to  convey, they really enjoy it and stick with it for a while.
 
 
In a message dated 10/21/2008 1:07:37 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx writes:

You guys  are thinking too hard.

When something has the quality of goo, you say  it's gooey.

If it has a lot of lumps, you say it's lumpy.

If  it's like ice, you say it's icy.

I think that Iceman was going beyond  simply describing a harmonica-like 
sound, though. He's trying to identify (and  disparage) something all too many 
harmonica players do - going out fo their  way to play a characteristic harmonica 
sound just because they can (or doing  it without even thinking about it 
because it's habitual) - instead of being  musical.

Hence "harmonicaeee."

Yeah, it looks bad on the page.  But try saying it out loud: "Ugh, that 
sounds all harmonicaeee. Don't get too  close, it might spatter on you and it's 
nasty stuff to get  off."

Winslow 


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