[Harp-L] RE: teach position playing

[<ynfdwas@xxxxxxxxx>]

John F. Potts wrote:
Harmonica players as a group would be more musical if
they learned or were taught multiple positions more or
less simultaneously.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I think that's right! 

I spent 10 years playing pedal steel with 3 pedals and
1 knee lever. When I moved up to 7 pedals and 5 knee
levers, I found I was still playing primarily on 3
pedals and 1 knee lever. All the early habits were so
firmly embedded. It took specific dedicated practice
and performance to incorporate the whole instrument and
its capabilities.

In teaching, I am a "why" person, and therefore feel
obligated to explain why. But many of my students are
not. Thanks to several comments in this thread, I will
no longer concern myself with teaching the theory of
"positions," but rather the freedom to move through
each of them for the sounds they offer. (If they ask, I
can still explain the theory.)

Thanks y'all!
  
Robert Hale, "the Duke Of Wail"
http://www.dukeofwail.com/
Gilbert, Arizona