Subject: Re: [Harp-L] playing sitting down (practicing)

[EGS1217@xxxxxxx]

Hi Richard:
 
I'm far from being a 'pro'..and I play chromatics for the most part...but I  
have to agree.  While I do 'play' and practice a lot sitting down (mainly  
necessitated by being at my computer when a song/instrumental comes on the  
computer radio I want to try)...when I do finally 'play' for real....i.e. want  to 
try out a song in its entirety or 'show my real stuff' to anyone  else (SmoJoe 
at this past Spah for instance...in order to figure out what  songs to pick 
to play together at Open Mic)..I absolutely have to stand up for  that; to get 
the full feeling of air in my lungs, and to be able to move around  (I tend to 
'dance' a bit to the music when I play, really can't imagine standing  
still..'planted' in place, as it were).
 
But then...at Spah Blues Jams...and Buckeye (where I witnessed my first  
jam):  the normal set up is a big circle of chairs with mostly guys playing  
mostly diatonics seemingly very comfortably (although the one Jazz chromatic  
player who joined in the last night, Charles Spranklin...remained standing for  his 
turn).  Occasionally one will get up in the circle to  play...clearly one of 
those like you (and me)...but most players seem to have  the ability to 
produce everything they can do sitting down...and I've  been quite envious of that 
ability. The sitting circles  do enhance the feeling of warm camaraderie (no 
one person is ever 'The  Star' in the blues jams..and it's lovely).  
 
 I will say the Jazz jams are usually 'stand-up' in front of a backing  
trio...and the jazz players (whom I emulate)  tend to play standing more  often 
than not even in their smaller groupings, sitting only when they're  tired, run 
out of steam,or in a constrained area.
 
 It just gives me more energy, ability to use more  'body english' to play 
standing up, somehow.  This is a topic I've  remarked on before and found very 
interesting. Appreciate your broaching  the subject.
 
Elizabeth
P.S. Aside to Brad Trainham:  I do believe you're right:   pulmonary health 
is a heckuva lot more important than a 10 pound weight  gain...but then, most 
women reading your post would probably agree that 10  pounds is nothin'...when 
you start talking 'real' weight .. 30 - 40 lbs,  then get back to me ;)
 
"Message: 4
Date: Mon, 1 Sep 2008 20:30:21 +0100
From: Richard  Hammersley <rhhammersley@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] playing  sitting down (practicing)
To: Harp-l L  <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Message-ID:  <30F59EE6-EA21-433F-88D2-B98C39A0A074@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Content-Type:  text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed; delsp=yes

This reminds  me
I was looking at SPAH videos on youtube. Folk are often sitting  down.  
Now I can play sitting down, but it is not easy to get the  best  
breath, tone or technique that way - someone mentioned opera  singers a  
while back, you don't see much singing seated. I try and  practice  
standing up - any views anyone?
Richard
On 1 Sep 2008,  at 19:18, Bradford Trainham wrote:

> For me, practice is a combination  of the things I already know how  
> to do and
> a deliberate  stretch to learn the newer things or to get the newer  
>  stuff
> down better.
> I don't know why, but I usually start off  practicing by picking up  
> my Marine
> Band 365, a lovable  14-hole harp with the air of the ungainly about  
> it.
> I'll  usually open up with some hybrid of the licks that would  
> support  the
> Band's version of Long Black Veil and the old Little Feat  instrumental
> Lafayette Railroad. Even though the second song isn't in G  and I'm  
> playing
> of necessity on that harp in G, I love  being able to milk those  
> bends up to
> the major third on  the draw three.
> After I've done that a while, I break a sweat and then,  it's time to  
> pick up
> the Special 20's for the real  practice.
> For some reason, then, those Special 20's seem so responsive,  so  
> reactive
> that the new stuff feels  possible/doable.
> The bad side of my practice routine... Is that all my  prize harps  
> sit on a
> shelf next to an old rocking chair  which my ex-wife inexplicably  
> agreed to
> let me  have.
> I found out two days ago.. .that I've gained ten pounds somewhere  in  
> the
> past six to seven months, a span of time which  tellingly coincides  
> with the
> evolution of this, my  practice routine.
> Okay, so if I'm not exercising like I should, at  least, that Marine  
> Band 365
> is giving me a bit of a  pulmonary workout, right?
> Brad  Trainham
>




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