Re: [Harp-L] Re:Help!

[Bill Hines <billhines4@xxxxxxxxx>]

Yay. I wasn't going to be the one to say it but I couldn't agree more. If
people are going to enjoy the music and this isn't some type of open jam
meant to foster people just learning, I'd wait until you have some
reasonable degree of proficiency. Not only will it be bad for the audience,
but the experience could completely turn you off to this. This can be a very
embarrassing and uncomfortable experience, especially if you are making
experienced musicians sound bad and start getting that GLARE from some of
them in the middle of the song (there will always be one or two who
encourage you, but others who will be really pissed). And when you look out
at the audience and see them laughing or looking at each other like 'WTF" it
can be really crushing.

Now, having said that, there are some folks who just don't give a damn and
will jump up there and have no shame or ego and just honk and hoot to their
own amusement and delight, oblivious to the pain they are inflicting and the
image they are projecting of the instrument and themselves. I see this all
the time. In their own ears they are maestro, perfecto.

My approach was to spend some time learning the basics, with instructional
material (tons of fantastic stuff out there), learning to play with other
musicians first by using jam tracks, and *then* start to play at the local
jam (where the audience to some degree is buying into the fact that they
will hear some good stuff and some bad stuff), but always in the earlier
night sets where the newbies and experienced folks that give back by
fostering them tend to play.

Bill

On Thu, Jun 25, 2009 at 8:46 AM, Anthony Smith <anthony@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>wrote:

> Man, I didn't want to but I gotta say this cause it keeps on coming.  If
> you
> don't have the basics down you shouldn't be out playing in front of people!
> By a book or something and get at a minimum the basics.  I don't mean you
> have to be Kim Wilson before you get on a stage but you need to be able to
> play.  Getting up and making noise for the sake of public performance is
> why
> many other musicians simply can't stand harp players.  It's the only
> instrument I can think of where people who really have nothing musical to
> offer still have the gall to get up and punish others with it.
>
> Simply put, if you don't know what key you need to be in, you shouldn't be
> on stage yet.  Practice, study, play for yourself and THEN go out in public
> and play.
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:harp-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx] On
> Behalf
> Of Lyalljames@xxxxxxx
> Sent: Thursday, June 25, 2009 9:24 AM
> To: cdgaldos@xxxxxxxxxxxxx; gbuxman@xxxxxxxxx; drfertig@xxxxxxxxx;
> harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Re:Help!
>
> Dear list   Thanks for all the great beginning performance  advice.  You
> are all very generous.  I know this is a stupid question  but I'm not
> really
> a musician.  If the band is playing in a certain key  what harp key do I
> play
> in?    So if the guitar is playing in C  what key harp do I use.  I know
> people talk about the "circle of  fifths"  but is there a simple chart
>  like
> Band=C then harp  is  ?.  Thanks for all the encouragement!  Jim Lyall N.
> Canton  ,Ohio
> **************Make your summer sizzle with fast and easy recipes for the
> grill. (http://food.aol.com/grilling?ncid=emlcntusfood00000005)
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