Re: [Harp-L] personal epiphany - was re: Sounds like Harmonica

["michael rubin" <michaelrubinharmonica@xxxxxxxxx>]

Silence is the thirteenth note.
Michael Rubin
Michaelrubinharmonica.com

On 10/24/08, Seth Galitzer <sethgali@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> The path of this discussion I am finding very interesting.  It sounds like
> what people are saying is not necessarily a harp-only thing, but a
> musicianship in general thing.  I play in a 7-piece band.  That's a lot of
> people to squeeze onto a stage (at least in the dives we play in). It also
> means a lot of sound if everybody isn't listening carefully and adjusting as
> they go.  If somebody is playing a solo, the rest of us know it's time to
> back off and give them space (even, ahem, the harp player).  If I'm not
> singing, I'm playing sax riffs, and know when to shut the heck up.
>
> I think it has more to do with being aware of what's going on around you
> than what instrument you're playing.  I know I'm new to this, but maybe harp
> players just have bigger egos than other musicians so it bears extra
> discussion.  I highly doubt this, personally. :)
>
> I'll listen to anybody good, no matter what they play.  (Krummhorn ensemble
> may be an exception to that rule.)  And any good player should know when to
> step away from the mic.
>
> Seth
>
>
> Bradford Trainham wrote:
> > The parallel between conversation style and treatment of one's instrument
> is
> > intriguing to me.  I find long-winded conversationalists seem to fall into
> > two types.
> > One has a difficult time getting to the proper word or phrase that best
> > expresses what he/she wants to say.
> > The other has a hard time honoring the personal aural space of the other
> > hapless participant in the conversation. To try to draw the parallel, for
> the first type, imagine me in a lesson with
> > Michael Rubin wherein he has me attempting to improvise a solo in say
> fifth
> > position Dorian on a C harp on top of a Band-In-A-Box progression.
> > I'm on a safe note...  The proverbial clock is ticking.. But there's a
> > lag/disconnect between my musical intuition's sending the right signal to
> > the part of the brain capable of propelling me to the next note and the
> part
> > of the brain that attempts to police my conduct from within the particular
> > constraints of the scale. For the second type of conversationalist's
> parallel in the harp world,
> > consider any "Gus"... Or any harp player at a jam who can't stop to
> > accommodate a singer or other instrumentalist.
> > I guess what we might get from this artificial comparison is that while we
> > tend to think of solos as our moments to shine as individuals, we're
> still,
> > in the best cases parts of musical conversations and we'd do well to
> > properly consider the musicians we're temporarily asking to assume a
> > background role while we "make our point"...
> > Brad (What did you say?  I wasn't listening!!) Trainham
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx
> [mailto:harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
> > Of Tim Moyer
> > Sent: Friday, October 24, 2008 9:14 AM
> > To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
> > Subject: Re: [Harp-L] personal epiphany - was re: Sounds like Harmonica
> >
> > Iceman wrote:
> >
> > > The  problem was in her delivery - she is a high energy person and once
> she started  talking, it was a non-stop stream of words, almost like she
> could circular  breathe while talking. There were no spaces or pauses
> between her ideas. It just  kept coming relentlessly. I found that my brain
> turned off after about 15 minutes.
> > >
> >
> > I got a piece of advice about parenting that applies here, and also to
> > music: the more you say, the less they hear.  This was intended to advise
> a
> > parent to keep their speeches to their children consise and to the point,
> > but the same principle can be applied to music.  You might think that by
> > playing more you're saying more, but the truth is that your audience is
> > probably hearing less.
> > Guilty as charged...
> >
> > -tim
> >
> >
> >
>
>
> --
> The beatings will continue until morale has improved.
>
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