Re: [Harp-L] Genius? LOL

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"J D Hoskins" wrote:
<I still maintain that technical mastery of the instrument does not garantee 
<enjoyable listening. I just haven't run into anyone outside of the "harp 
<nerd" circle that enjoy listening to most of todays modern harp geniuses. 
<Jason Ricci excluded, which I think has as much to do with his charisma and 
<energy as his technical skills.
<
<A few years ago when they were doing the shred guitar tours with say 
<Satriani, Vai, and Eric Johnson, one guitar magazine reveiwer pointed out 
<that the audience was 90% young male guitar players, that there was no 
<"popular" appeal for this music.

Well, John Popper found a mass audience.  Not just young male harp players, either.  But in general, the point is true--it takes more than technique to make music memorable.  However, that doesn't mean it's not worth pursuing great technique.  Popper's got great technique, not to mention a very different conception of what you can do with a harp, and his technique is one of the factors in his success.  I can tell you that audiences go insane when he starts streaming those ecstatic 64th note triplets at them.   

The players you cite as examples are all great players whose music is pretty interesting.  And Satriani, Vai, and Johnson make good livings, too.  If more harp players had gigs like theirs, that would be very cool.

The general level of harp playing has gone up a lot since I was in my 20s, more players are pushing the instrument farther, and a lot more people are apparently making a living playing harp on pretty demanding music.  I hope we get to the point where we have harp shredders as renowned among the general public as the top guitarists.  And we might.  We have so many things moving in that direction right now--exciting players working in contemporary styles, better instruments from harmonica, amp, mic, and FX makers, and a growing population of players worldwide, especially in Asia.  It's entirely possible that harmonica will be a very prominent instrument in this century.  Certainly the ramp is building. 

Regards, Richard Hunter

author, "Jazz Harp" 
latest mp3s and harmonica blog at http://myspace.com/richardhunterharp
more mp3s at http://taxi.com/rhunter
Vids at http://www.youtube.com/user/lightninrick
Twitter: lightninrick