R: [Harp-L] scary fast playing

["Riccardo Grosso - RGBand" <riccardogrosso@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Richard, thanks for the answer. Probably I've expressed myself in a bad way, but on those days a lot of harp player play faster than fast and a lot of times it is not for the music, but for themselves. It's quite hard sometimes to understand if a harp player plays fast because of the music of because of the showing something. I'm not here to said something bad about the harp player you mentioned: they are so respectful. And I DO respect them. But for example: last Friday I've been to see a gig of Johnny Sansone. He is a KILLER harp player! All the people were clapping their hands after every solo (and it's something really hard to see here in Italy, believe me) but he DIDN'T play any fast. While I'm writing I'm thinking: "yes, he did what music need!" and to me there's too many fast harp player around that do more than what music needs. But that's my small opinion :-). By the way the secret is the one you told: HAVE FUN! 

Hope to catch ya soon and play together some tunes.

With all the respect.
Riccardo


-----Messaggio originale-----
Da: harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx] Per conto di Richard Hunter
Inviato: Sunday, February 08, 2009 5:09 PM
A: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Oggetto: Re: [Harp-L] scary fast playing

"Riccardo Grosso - RGBand" wrote:
<For me the question is: WHY DO I HAVE TO PLAY SO FAST?

You have to play fast when the music demands it, of course.  There's no other good reason. If the music demands it, play fast.  Otherwise, don't. Like Einstein said: things should be as simple as possible, but no simpler.

It's possible to move an audience--to generate a lot of feeling--without playing something fast, or complicated, or whatever.  Ray Charles certainly proves that point, if proof is necessary.  But if you want to dazzle them, you need a trick bag designed to dazzle.  Playing fast is dazzling (until you use the same trick one too many times, and then it's just business as usual).  

If you want to be thoroughly dazzled by speed, listen to some of the top bluegrass bands, like Ricky Skaggs's for example.  Last time I was in Nashville, I heard the Monday night Western Swing band play at the Station, and their pedal steel player basically showed how to harmonize the great American songbook in 64th notes.  It wasn't empty virtuosity--it was mind-blowing music.  I don't see why harmonica players shouldn't aspire to the same level of musicianship.  At least the top rank players should.  As in tennis, there are plenty of people in the game who just want to have fun without trying to compete with Venus Williams.  (And why not?  You can't spell funk without fun.  Even Larry Adler said once that he gave up playing a particular piece by Beethoven because it sounded like--and was--hard work when he played it, and both he and the audience knew it.)

One of the things that has REALLY changed about harmonica in my lifetime is that a lot of players have emerged in the last 10-15 years who show very clearly that harmonica can be played fast to good effect--players like Popper, Levy, Ricci, Maret, Sugar Blue, etc. The bar has gone up a lot in that respect.   

My personal goal is to be able to play anything on the harp that I can imagine, including very fast stuff. But my goals need not be anyone else's.  Pro players tend to have different goals from people who never intend to go pro, for obvious reasons.  Whatever your goals are, live up to them and don't apologize.  And like I said: have fun.  

Regards, Richard Hunter
latest mp3s and harmonica blog at http://myspace.com/richardhunterharp 

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