Re: [Harp-L] fugue state

[Ken Deifik <kenneth.d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Richard Hunter wrote some very good stuff on this subject a few hours 
ago.  Here are some ideas of my own.

1. Studying counterpoint is very worthwhile for any harp player who plays 
with other musicians.  At some point you can start 'hearing' some very good 
parts that weave contrapuntally with other instruments in an 
arrangement.  The best session cats on any instrument often counterpoint 
with one instrument for a few bars, and with another for a few bars, and 
that's one way that an arrangement gets more and more integrated.

2. Learning how to play contrapuntally on a harmonica seems to me to be a 
worthwhile endeavor, though I have not ever tried it.  ANY attempt to 
develop big technical skills can also make you a better player with a much 
larger vocabulary.

2a. Playing contrapuntally on the harmonica will only impress other harp 
players.  Nobody else will have the slightest clue that you're walking on 
the moon.  Playing beautifully, with or without technical pizazz is what 
knocks an audience out.  If you come up with some beautiful contrapuntal 
lines, that's where playing counterpoint on the harp would be 
meaningful.  However, on the way to playing beautiful countrapuntal lines 
you may have to develop some that are not beautiful at all.  So if you want 
to go down that road, keep it to yourself until the music is strong and 
affecting.

3. I'm sure Richard Hunter knows this, but in case others do not: 
counterpoint and fugue are not one and the same thing.  Counterpoint is the 
technique of combining several melodic voices in harmony.  Fugue is a very 
structured musical form that requires counterpoint as its main ingredient.