RE: [Harp-L] Gear Debate - two cents worth from Sam

["John Balding" <John.Balding@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

YES. YES. YES. YES. YES!

Not only do you touch on every aspect of the amp vs. acoustic
controversy, but you offer compelling and convincing substantiation for
your position. Very well constructed argument. Your scenario matches
with mine perfectly. I thought I had it all figured out...until I bought
my first amp. Ironically, my acoustic playing greatly improved after
purchasing an amplifier. I found myself opening up my mouth and throat
more and improving my breathing techniques, trying to mimic the tone of
my 4X10 amp. By doing so, I have learned to play with more fullness and
depth in either mode.

This debate will always be around because no "evidence" can possibly be
conclusive. But I believe that your post makes the case for the idea
that gear does not inhibit one's growth on the instrument and may, in
fact, facilitate and enhance it. 

Two thoughts I will add:

After learning to play in an acoustic mode only, the jump to amplified
harp was so great that it felt as if I was playing a completely
different instrument. Cupping a bullet mic with a harp was very
difficult. Trying to translate the hand movements (wah, fanning, etc.)
was very difficult. My "fast" playing turned out to be sloppy and
completely without timing or clarity. The experience left me rather
depressed, feeling that I had to relearn everything I had spent the past
year pursuing. In retrospect, I would have been a lot better off if I
had learned a particular tune acoustically and then learned it
amplified. For me, that would have let me grow quicker with a more
rounded understanding of the capabilities and complexities of the
different modes. 

A major contributor to a lot of "acoustic first" players is the cost of
an amp. And some players want to "see if the harp is for them" before
spending a lot of money on the craft. That makes sense. That was me. My
first amp was a solid-state Gorilla GC-20; a 20-watt amp with a 6 inch
speaker and a chorus switch. No reverb. Not exactly the ideal harp amp.
I was naive at the time and let the store owner sell me something he had
been trying to get rid of for months. But it opened up the door to the
concept. I understand the desire to get the "right" gear, but the point
is that a first amp should not be purchased with gigging in mind. It
should be used as a "monitor" for listening and a tool for developing
different tonal qualities. Using even a cheap vocal mic from Wally World
will get your hands accustomed to the cupped position. And one of the
best practice amps I've ever used was the battery-operated Marshall
half-stack mini-amp with a belt clip. $10 from a pawn shop.

John Balding
Tallahassee, FL

-----Original Message-----
From: harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx] On
Behalf Of sam blancato
Sent: Friday, April 03, 2009 12:30 AM
To: Harp-L
Subject: [Harp-L] Gear Debate - two cents worth from Sam

The idea of practicing without amplification, to develop my tone *first*
and
then get with the gear later would never have worked for me and although
it
sounds like a pure and disciplined way of going about things, it's not
that
cut and dry.  If you want to play electric blues harp then you
eventually
have to get with the gear and I find the following things to be true:

Good gear WILL make you sound better.
Good gear WILL make you a better player.
Good gear WILL facilitate your tone development - and it will help you
develop great tone faster than if you were to practice just
acoustically.
Crappy gear WILL slow your tone development.

All of the above statements are true if:

You are fanatical about listening.
You have a healthy, self critical attitude.
You are willing to really be honest about how you sound.
Did I mention that you have to be REALLY FANATICAL about listening?

One other thing is that you should really be obsessed about listening;
to
professional players, your pears, your self, other instrumentalists,
i.e.
horn players, singers, etc.

The first serious amplifier I bought dramatically changed my playing.
When
I got rid of my Fender Hot Rod and bought my Holland I got a very
unpleasant
surprise.  The Holland was loud and very faithfully (and harshly)
amplified
my playing.  I got the dirt and crunch and other cool things I wanted
but I
got other stuff I didn't want; namely me.  I was finally able to hear
the
decay of notes as I played them and this was always sloppy and uneven.
I
heard my breathing as very uneven and often abrupt.  Since the only
vibrato
I had at the time was laughing vibrato and not throat vibrato, sustained
notes were flat and dull and my attempts at giving them some body with
breath control was excruciating because my breath control just wasn't
there.
It seemed like this amplifier took everything bad about my playing and
made
it stand out in sharp relief.  I complained to another local player who,
by
the way also had a Holland amp, and he said I had to "show it who's
boss".
And that was true. 

Practice with this amp taught me a lot.  It helped me develop just about
every aspect of technique that you can think of.  I consider my acoustic
tone to be very good and I have to say that playing amplified has had a
key
roll in my tone development, not the other way around.  And I think that
one
thing others have not touched on is that when playing amplified you have
a
speaker some distance away, pointed at you.  I find that I hear my self
better this way; it's kind of half way towards recording yourself and
playing it back.  When you play acoustically you hear your playing from
a
point that a listener never hears.  The harp is right up against you and
you
hear it through your head and as it bounces off your hands and the walls
and
all.  The point is that this isn't necessarily the most useful way to
hear
what you're doing.  A good amp gives you a strong, clear image of your
playing as others may hear it. 

It would be overstating it to say that amplification was the sole engine
of
my development as a player; I think the impetus for this springs from
many
sources tied more to who I am and the way I listen than to equipment.
But
to discourage a beginner/intermediate player from learning about and
acquiring gear, especially if he or she wants to play classic blues, is
a
mistake.  And I have to say that the whole, "no, no, you're not ready
for
amplification so just put that out of your head" vibe is just a big turn
off
and smacks of hair shirts and other self denial stuff.  I'm a grown up.
I
work hard and I face the same life trade-offs and delayed gratification
across the spectrum of my life that everybody else faces.  My little
harmonica world is supposed to be about experiment, discovery,
expression
and self affirmation - and having fun too.  Can we please all just let
people go out and get what ever bleeping hunk of gear they want?  I'm
self
taught, but if I had a teacher and he or she tried to discourage me from
experimenting in any way I'd want to get away from that person pretty
fast.
In fact, I picture this person in my mind dressed like a Pilgrim. 

One more thing:  Somebody said (I'm paraphrasing here) that the audience
can't hear all the subtleties of tone and technique and its lost on them
and
only other harp players hear it and bla, bla, bla.  That's crap. They
hear
it. They may not know what they are hearing specifically, but good tone
and
subtle aspects of technique do come across to the audience and inform
their
enjoyment of what they hear.  Of course, it's a given that what you are
playing should also be powered by your passion, your joy, and be in
sympathy
with the band and all.  But to discount any of this based on what an
audience may or may not hear consciously is just, IHO, antithetical to
self
expression; it says that the audience matters more than you.  Let you be
you
and let the audience be who they are; don't confuse these two things.
And
never, never let the audience, a real audience or some straw audience in
you
mind, determine what you should play or how you should play it.  

That's my two cents worth.  

Sam Blancato, Pittsburgh         


 

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