[Harp-L] RE: Sounding harmonicky and an exhubert "Oh hell yeah" for Ben

[Buddha <groovygypsy@xxxxxxxxx>]

The foundation of my "sound" is the fact that I hate the way the
harmonica sounds. What I find even more disgusting is the way most
harmonica players play. Of course I understand levels of ability and I
certainly was at a point years ago where I sounded like crapola most
of the time and am happy to report that I have graduated to sounding
like crapola all the time to some people and sometimes to others. To
me when a person's art is divisive then that means the artist getting
somewhere and with an original voice, so I'm happy.

There is certainly a time and place for sounding harmonicky and to me
that's camp fires and the Big River score. "Ah...harmonica player...
could you please sound less like a violin and more like a harmoinca?
Thank you"  - That's a quote from conductor during the last time I
played it.  Blues Clubs deserve that fantastic death mourn of a
harmonicky sound so it's appropriate there. BUT when a person starts
to branch off into other forms of music being harmonicky will always
add a country or bluesy tinge to the music and that's not always a
good thing.

How to conquer sounding harmonicky?  Stop listening to and trying to
copy harmonicky sounding players. Which diatonic harmonica players
don't sound harmonicky? IMO- Howard Levy, Brendan Power, Carlos
delJunco, Jason Ricci and I know I'm missing a few.

Secondly, stop playing everything in second position.  Even really
good players can sound really harmonicky in 2nd position when they are
playing something that doesn't fit well within the natural scales
found within that position - Clint Hoover is a good example here.
Great player, but for some reason he roots most of his diatonic
playing in 2nd position.  If there is a "best" root position for the
harmonica then 12th gets my vote. It sounds great major and minor and
even still I wouldn't play a tradition style blues in it.

Think about those "Yeah" moments.. why do people yell "yeah or oh yeah
or oh hell yeah that's it"  Do you think its any coincidnece that most
of those moments are non-harmonicky moments?

Listen to this very nice rendition of Summertime. It's mostly
harmonicky but has many "Yeah" moments.

http://www.box.net/shared/p7ye159289

the first "Yeah" moment is when Ben nails that high note with sweet
vibrato. I love that!!!  Imagine playing were every moment is a "yeah"
moment. I try to play like that and whether or note I achieve it, it's
still what I strive to accomplish.