Re: Re: [Harp-L] Genre hoping

[Mike Fugazzi <mikefugazzi@xxxxxxxxx>]

IMO, the "greats" on any instrument are able to transcend the genre and put
their personal stamp on a song in a way that fits with the overall tune.  My
default example for just about anything is Derek Trucks.  He is a "blues"
player who has recorded jazz, world music, rock, just about anything worth
listening to.  He always sounds like DT and his contributions always fit the
song.

Like what Bob was pointing out, if you have your sound/style down and are a
good musician, you can sound great playing a lot of things.  But as soon as
you start trying to sound like someone else, see Roberts post, you may be
playing technically more authentic, but you lose your voice.

Why would one not want to sound like themself regardless of genre?  I have
this inner battle with blues music all the time.  While I can play more
"traditionally", that isn't my sound.  Do I play a blues with my own voice
or try to trick others into thinking I am Sonny Boy or Little Walter?

On Thu, Dec 10, 2009 at 9:31 AM, Michael <mfugazzi67@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> --- In harp-l-archives@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "bbqbob917@..." <bbqbob917@...>
> wrote:
>
> Hi,
> I absolutely agree with you 100% on this one. Music isn't only about the
> notes, it's also the groove and feel, which is often very sublte, but the
> more subtle they are, often times they are gonna be the most difficult to
> truly master so that everything you do sounds like it TRULY belongs ther in
> that genre right scmack in its mainstream. It's a helluva lot easier to be a
> "jack of all trades, master of none type," but true versatility, which means
> that no matter what one does, it ALWAYS sounds like it belongs there,
> especially to those who play any particular genre full time, is the real key
> and very few musicians of any instrument can truly make claim to that, and
> those who really can (and they're few and far between), they're always in
> high demand, even more so if they're drummers and bass players.
> That so called phrase "if he can play this, he should be able to play
> anything," far more often than not is, unfortunately, FAR from the truth.
> When I've auditioned people for my band and they tell me they can do
> anything, and in the audition, I'm gonna put the screws to them to make them
> put their money where their mouth is, and far too often, what too many
> musicians who brag about being able to play anuything at all too often tends
> to be a line of total BS. Even the most versatile of musicians are always
> gonna be better at certain things than others.
> Sincerely,
> Barbeque Bob Maglinte
> Boston, MA
> http://www.barbequebob.com
> CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
>
>
> ---------- Original Message ----------
> From: Jonathan Ross <jross38@...>
> To: "harp-l@..." <harp-l@...>
> Subject: [Harp-L] Genre hoping
> Date: Wed, 9 Dec 2009 12:13:15 -0500
>
> 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
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-- 
Mike Fugazzi
Vocals/Harmonica
http://playingtheharmonica.blogspot.com/
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