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

["sam blancato" <samblancato@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

David Fertig writes:

"My central reservations about newbies playing on amps is that the
often-prized distortion is frequently treated by newbies as "the sound"
itself and some then become adept at using the harp to simply manipulate the
crunch/distortion sound, at the expense of the music."

I think you're right about this and I think this shows how different the
approach can be from person to person.  The gear and the harp are just the
foils and it comes down, in the end, to the person and what's going on in
his or her head.  I think that's why listening is so, so important.  And I
don't just mean listening to your own sound, but to outside sources.  I feel
you have to be a little obsessed in your listening.  At least that's what
has moved me along.  In fact, I believe that across a player's learning
trajectory the listening/playing ratio should progress something like this:
Beginner - Listing 80%/playing 20%, Advanced Beginner - Listening
75%/playing 25%, intermediate - 50/50, advanced intermediate - 60/40 and so
on.  But you always listen.  

Man, a few years back I got obsessed with Little Walter's "Last Night"  I'd
take the CD to work with me and just repeat-loop the song and listen to it
all day; that one 12 bar solo, over and over again.  It wasn't so much that
I wanted to learn the solo (the rote memorization thing again) but that I
was just so fascinated with this little piece of harp work, the colors and
the restraint and - everything about it.  As it turns out I play this song
with my band and I approach it somewhat differently but I really feel I
learned a lot from being obsessed with LW's playing of the song.  The truth
is I *can't* play it like LW after hours and hours of practice I learned I
will never ever sound like that (especially that one  G# to A vibrato bend
note that starts the V) .  But I think I can capture some of the spirit of
restraint and calm in his approach.  That's the kind of listening I'm
talking about.  If a 'newbie' can listen like that s/he won't get caught up
in whole masturbating with the amplifier thing.  

Isn't it amazing the amount of writing you can do when you are avoiding
doing your taxes?

Sam Blancato, Pittsburgh