[Harp-L] Genre hoping

[Jonathan Ross <jross38@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I think people are missing Ben's point.  If I understand right, he is  
making the case that being a great musician in one genre doesn't mean  
one can or will automatically be a great musician in another genre.

I couldn't agree more.  The world is quite full of examples which  
prove this.  The reason is simple: to be truly great in a genre  
requires dedication to the forms, structures and idiosyncrasies of  
that particular genre.  Also, it requires truly feeling and loving  
that particular type of music to an almost obsessive level.  Those  
things don't translate musical styles automatically.  The former need  
to be relearned, the later reignited.  And all that requires almost  
the same amount of work it took to get to the top of the previous  
genre.  The technical stuff is not quite as bad, but any genre has  
it's own forms and tricks to playing which need to be learned.

Technical and musical gifts are a great start, but without the hard  
work they are no guarantee of success.  And all too often the word  
dilletant is not just an apt description but a rather generous one.



JR Ross