Subject: [Harp-L] Stage Fright

[EGS1217@xxxxxxx]

Oh, I think it's clear you're not dissing any of the amazingly fast  
players...you made that clear.  Anyone who thinks otherwise is  reaching.
 
What I'm interested in is your idea of playing in time (or, timing being  
more important). I do know I have good timing...somehow acquired that along the  
way... and I certainly agree that keeping the beat is most of the battle,  as 
long as you aren't hurting the audience's ears. <G> 
 
My personal stage 'fright' (for wont of a better term) really isn't  about 
whether or not I screw up onstage. I've really given it a lot of thought  and 
know I'm simply not hung up at all on whether or not I make a mistake or  two, 
since I've heard  even long-term players with slots at  Buckeye and SPAH make 
major faux pas (at least to my ears) and judging by the  reactions of a few of 
those around me, I'm not the only one who notices the  musical offnotes.  
 
Then, proof is that I even got a bit lost in one number at my tryout at  open 
Mic last SPAH when Warren started conversing loudly with me from the  
audience, <G>  (he's so used to chatting with his audience, had no  idea I've never 
remotely done anything like this before)...so I got flustered  and lost my 
place...so waited out a verse while SmoJoe played, and picked it up  again with no 
difficulty. In retrospect I'm glad, because Warren made me  laugh and enjoy 
the moment more than I would have otherwise. :)
 
 And it's true, people are most definitely forgiving,  especially  harmonica 
audiences.  So that isn't 'my' fear.   For some odd  reason simply getting up 
on stage seems to suck all the air out of my lungs  (and entire body)...so I'm 
hard-pressed to find enough left with which to play  harmonica. :) I'm still 
trying to figure it all out...
 
Hope to, one of these days...
 
Elizabeth
 
Message: 10
Date: Sat, 7 Feb 2009 20:59:01 -0500
From: Robert Coble  <robertpcoble@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [Harp-L] Stage Fright
To: Harp-L  <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>

> Date: Sat, 7 Feb 2009 12:57:14 -0500>  From: "Abner Galdos" 
<cdgaldos@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>> Subject: Re: [Harp-L]  Harmonica for Dummies> To: "Richard Hunter" 
<turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>,  <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>,>      
<harptalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>> > Question:>  How did you lose  your fear of being on stage ?>  Fear of 
making a mistake ?>  How  do you get the confidence when some other band 
member makes a mistake and you  don't fumble?> > abner (blueyes, 48 yr old freshman 
to the blues)For me,  it was learning the instrument AND music theory 
sufficiently to feel comfortable  playing. Initially, I was scared to death of making 
a mistake. My older brother  (a pro keyboardist) helped me with that. He 
pointed out where he or other  musicians had made mistakes, without compromising 
the song. One of the most  important things to realize is that the audience (in 
most cases) are actually  wishing you success, and are not nearly as critical 
of a wrong pitch  (occasionally) as we are of ourselves. You do NOT have to 
be "perfect" (whatever  that means) in order to play enjoyable music. When you 
are playing for an  audience, pick one person (perhaps someone who came 
specifically to support you)  and play directly for them and them alone at least 
some of the time. It will  increase your self-confidence when you see them 
smiling, nodding and enjoying  what you're playing. When I realized that keeping 
TIME is much more important  than the specific PITCH of the notes, it was quite 
liberating. I did an  experiment at my Harmonica Club. I first played a simple 
song, keeping with the  timing but varying the pitch of every melody note. I 
was not really improvising,  just deliberately playing the "wrong" pitch. The 
second time through, I played  the melody but "missed the beat" so to speak; 
the rhythm was all wrong. The  other club members thought the first rendition 
sounded pretty good. They were  begging me  to stop playing the second rendition 
within two bars. KEEP IN  TIME, even if the notes are totally wrong. If you 
have to, play percussively on  the home chord in time with the rhythm until you 
can get back in sync. That old  melody "hound dog" has to go home eventually. 
Having some knowledge of chords  and the notes that make them up AND where 
those notes are located on your harp  is very helpful when you make an 
unintended mistake. Rather than panicking  (NEVER stop playing unless you are just 
totally lost), move quickly through the  intervening notes (in the scale or chord) 
towards one of the chord notes and get  back in sync.  If you do it smoothly 
and in time with the rhythm, you may  even get congratulated for your 
brilliant improvising! Know where your "home"  (tonic) notes are, and where the 
"avoid" notes are. When you get off, drop out  for a short time, and then pick back 
up at a chord change with the appropriate  note. This requires that you LISTEN 
at least as much as you play. Know the basic  chord changes for the style of 
music AND the particular song. The traditional  12-bar blues format has a set 
chord progression. Memorize it; after all, there  are only three basic chords 
used. (Yes, I am well aware that there are many  variations on the theme. 
However, you can get by with knowing the root triads  and falling back on them if 
needed to re-sync.) One of the great things about  playing with other 
musicians is the capability to rely on them to carry things  if you get stuck or lost. 
Trust your band mates to carry you, and then, when one  of them gets lost, 
you carry them. Things will go much better if you approach  playing from a 
cooperative viewpoint rather than a competitive viewpoint. Always  leave "space" 
for the others to shine. As someone remarked about Miles Davis and  John 
Coltrane, if you are trying to play continuously so that you don't lose  your place 
in the song, "Take the *@#* harp out of your mouth!" Playing LESS is  
definitely MORE musical. Forget about emulating John Popper or Jason Ricci or  Sugar 
Blue or PT Gazell or Charlie McCoy or any of the other  legendary  fast players. 
There's not one thing wrong with any of those players, but until  you  build 
your chops sufficiently, leave the fast stuff to those who've  spent decades 
perfecting it. You too can get there, but you will have to "pay  your dues" 
just like them. (As an aside, please don't flame me because it sounds  like I am 
dissing your favorite player in the list above. I have nothing but the  utmost 
respect for those players and their fantastic playing skills, fast or  slow.) 
Just some thoughts off the top of my head... HTH, Crazy  Bob"
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