Re: [Harp-L] FLAT!! But Maybe Not??--Happy accident

["J D Hoskins" <jameshoskinz@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Great story! JD
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John F. Potts" <hvyj@xxxxxxx>
To: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, April 03, 2010 8:34 AM
Subject: [Harp-L] FLAT!! But Maybe Not??--Happy accident


> True story:  Back in 1979 when i was just starting to play, a guitar  
> player friend of mine who owned a music store (and who was a very,  
> very good player, but drank to excess) brought me to sit in with a  
> duo consisting of a drummer who in his younger days had toured the  
> world with bands represented by the William Morris Agency, and a  
> keyboard player who had fronted his own touring bands for years.   
> Both of them sang, but the keyboard player was an extraordinary  
> vocalist.  He played a Hammond B3 through a Leslie, a Fender Rhodes  
> suitcase piano and played bass with his left hand on a Fender Rhodes  
> piano bass (like Ray Manzarek of the Doors used) run through a Kustom  
> bass head and two Kustom bass cabs, one on either side of the stage.   
> These guys ROCKED and put out more hard rocking well played music   
> than most quartets would be capable of. They also played ballads that  
> would bring tears to your eyes. Very high level of of kick ass  
> musicianship, and great R&B style grooves.
>
> Anyway, for some reason, even though i was clearly a novice, they  
> liked my playing.  After i had been brought around to sit in a couple  
> of times by my hard drinking guitar player friend (who would get  
> sloppy drunk most of the time), they took me aside as quietly told me  
> that i didn't need to be with him in order to stop by and sit in.   
> Needless to say, i was enormously flattered and gratified, so i  
> started sitting in with these guys regularly. We became good friends   
> and over time I learned a ton of practical music stuff under their  
> guidance.
>
> One night, the keyboard player calls a tune in Bb, so i grab an Eb  
> harp.  Actually, he had made a mistake and called the wrong key.  The  
> tune was actually in F.  But since it was only me, him and the  
> drummer, we all just played without realizing the error.  I thought  
> something was wrong--I was able to sound okay, but i had to play  
> differently than i was used to.  At the end of the tune the keyboard  
> player apologized for his screw up, and asked me what harp i was  
> playing, commenting that it sounded pretty good anyway.
>
> And that's how i learned how to play in Third Position (F on an Eb  
> harp).  At that stage of my development i has heard of Third  
> Position, but was too intimidated to actually attempt it until after  
> this happy accident.  Live and learn.
>
> JP