I think everyone is competitive, to some extent. You have to be to
survive in this world. I try to channel my competitive spirit into
other things than music and harmonica. First of all, I'm not good
enough to get too frisky with the harmonica. I consider myself a
realist and I know where I fit in the musical scheme of things. My
competitive nature is more within myself. I used it to get to where
I am on harp, and believe me, I am very much an intermediate
player. I say challenge yourself. Give yourself a goal that is hard
to achieve and work toward it.
I also coach high school varsity fastpitch softball and I play in
Texas Holdem tournaments, so I guess that helps take care of my
competitive side.
I say to you all, play better than me and I'll love to hear it.
I have a friend who teaches guitar at a local music store and plays
in 3-4 different bands. He's about 50 years old and a great player.
He and his wife sometimes play out as a duo and he always has me sit
in. We sort of fell into a little head-cutting thing that we now do
because the people seem to like it. It's all made up on the spot and
he could rip me to pieces at any point. He never does and usually
lets me "win" by giving up and declaring me the winner. We both
know the real deal. He has the right attitude and always compliments
me. That's the way I think it should be.
And, for what it's worth, Mr. Fugazzi here is a heckuva harp player
who let me sit in with his band one time a while back. I did OK, my
normal unexciting stuff, but I had fun. Thing is, he's young and
will certainly make a name for himself in the harmonica community.
I'm old and I don't care, long as I get to play once in awhile with
good musicians.
Steve Webb in Minn, where the cold gives us time inside to practice.
---- mikefugazzi@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
I am competitive by nature, but have really been working hard to
let that
go in regards to music. I've chosen to do this because it takes all
of the
love out of music for me. I am sure lots of us hear someone online
or watch
them on YouTube and then have one of the two following thoughts:
1. I suck and will never get to the level of playing I wish to be at.
2. They suck and will never get to the level of playing they wish
to be at.
The reality of it is, who cares? I would much rather just listen
and enjoy
the music. So how do I handle the urge? I try to be mindful of my
thoughts,
adjust my thinking, and stop trying to compare apples to oranges.
Or I woodshed like mad...currently I am trying to work on chordal
vamping
in the hopes of being able to do a breakdown like Kim Wilson, Magic
Dick,
or Jason Ricci. That skill in and of itself is sort of an ego
driven jam,
but I understand its place in a set and how enjoyable some people
can find
it. It is also a technical skill that I can use in my regular playing
besides.
I like to listen to musicians who don't show me all their repetoire
every
single song. In fact, I love the idea of not hearing "everything"
they play
so that the next time I see them, the music still feels fresh.
There is a
time to shred, but it doesn't come as often as the time to just be
musical
and serve the song.
Locally, I run into harp players that don't want to give anyone
else credit
or any sort of compliment. Lol. I try not to sweat it, but part of me
probably rests easy because, at least in the blues scene, if they
sat in
with my band I could make them look dumb, and if all else fails, I
can
probably play "flashier" than they can. Ha! When I first started
playing, I
had my rear end handed to me a few times...I haven't felt the need
to go
back out and prove myself, but if the situation came about, I
wouldn't fret.
The biggest competitive road block for me has been not being heard.
It is
frustrating to try and network like crazy and have bookers and
musicians
ignore you. Then months later when they finally hear you, they are
surprised that you don't suck and, in fact, are part of a pretty
good band.
So I guess my competitive side comes out more on the business end
then
playing end.
--- In harp-l-archives@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, robert mcgraw wrote:
We've covered this territory many times before on harp-l, but why
not
again? A couple of thoughts:
1] When I play music with a gunslinger approach, the music
suffers. It's
when I lose my ego that the magic happens...
2] Competitiveness comes naturally to human beings; it is a part
of our
nature, I would argue. If you think Charlie Parker and Dizzy and all
those be-bop guys were never being competitive at those late night
jam
sessions...
3] So I agree, music is not a competition; but people are
competitive [as
well as cooperative]...it's a dilemma I think.
So let me pose this question: If you feel competitive, how do you
deal
with it in terms of music? How do you let go of it? Or maybe you
don't,
or maybe you aren't competitive?
WVa Bob
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