Re: [Harp-L] fugue state

[icemanle@xxxxxxx]

A more "user friendly" example of what is being discussed can be found in the interplay between instruments in an old style New Orleans Jazz Band, like the kind that play at Preservation Hall.


-----Original Message-----
From: Ken Deifik <kenneth.d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Mon, Jun 22, 2009 5:10 pm
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] fugue state







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

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.Â
Â

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.Â
Â

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 playin
g 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.Â
Â

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.Â
Â

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