[Harp-L] Re: Howard Levy Interviewed

[Peter HÃfliger <peterhaefliger@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi all

I've read the interview; it's very interesting, very insightful.

Since Howard says in one answer:

"Just the other day a guy joined up and he said he had half-a-year of experience playing the harmonica. That made me feel great too, because itâs not just the real advanced players who are signing up for the school, trying to get better, itâs even people who are absolute beginners that are signing up too."

and since I suppose he's referring to me, I would just like to quickly point out why I signedÂup as an absolute beginner and what my experiences are so far:

- I started playing blues harp last year but didn't really have time for practice due to work and family obligations. It's my resolution for this year to really get started. By "really getting started" I mean at the moment setting aside 30 - 60 minutes of practice time regularly at least 5 times a week. I am and always will be a hobbyist and I do still have a job and a family, thanks to God ;-)
- As a start, I took five private lessons with a teacher in ZÃrich last year (Jan Hartmann, very recommendable: http://www.janhartmann.ch/).
- As I lacked practice time last year, I quit the lessons and later on started studying with Winslow Yerxa's 'Harmonica for Dummies'. Great book, very complete, explains everything right from the beginning.
- The problem with the harmonica, we all know, is that a lot of the important things going on are invisible in your mouth and throat, not easy to point out like e.g. finger patterns on a piano or accordion. So even the greatest book cannot replace personal instruction. So at the beginning of this year, when I started getting more serious again, I thought of contacting Jan again for some personal advice and critique.
- A one-hour lesson in ZÃrich would cost me about 70$, which is just slightly more than a 3-months subscription to HLHS (60$). So I had to decide between Jan and Howard and just decided to give Howard a try. 
- I was at first unsure whether HLHS was right for me as an absolute beginner, as Howard is known for his very advanced stuff. He says that himself in the interview: "Most people know me for the stuff that I do thatâs really advanced âthings that I play on recordings and live. This school, itâs divided; the little pieces are divided into segments from the most beginning to the most advanced. When I recorded the beginner stuff, I had to NOT bend notes for a day and a half (laughing) that was really hard (laughing some more) - thatâs the delineation I call beginning harmonica: âEverything you can do without bending notes".
- There are a lot of very advanced, even professional "students" signed into HLHS, but also beginners and intermediate players. There is a clear curriculum from the most simple to the most advanced. Howard explaines everything very clearely and calmly from the very beginning in little bits of 5 - 10 minutes. Interesting is his definition of beginning/intermediate/advanced, a topic which was discussed at length in a thread here some weeks ago. For Howard, beginning is everything you can do without bends. Intermediate is with bends. Advanced is with overblows. This progression suits my personal goals very well (irish session music): I will get far without bending with my paddy richter tuned G and D harps, so I want to concentrate first on breathing, hearing, hole jumps, positions and speed before including bending and even overblows in my toolkit.
- You can advance at your own speed, watch the videos as many times as you want, skip the things that don't interest you at the moment (in my case TB and chords), work whenever your schedule allows, wherever you are.
- Especially for a beginner, it is important to get things right from the start. It is a lot easiert to get correct technique right away than to "unlearn" bad habits later on.
- Great community: You not only learn from Howard himself, but also from the other students, which is very interesting for a beginner as many students are indeed advanced.
- Howard has aÂgreat personality: Very calm, very humble. I once read in a CDÂannouncement at www.harponline.de: "Allgemein wird Howard Levy gerne als akademischer Virtuose angesehen, als mundharmonikalischer Hochleistungssportler, ohne BauchgefÃhl gewissermaÃen..." Translated, this means: "Generally Howard Levy is often seen as an academic virtuoso, a harmonica athlete without feeling." Of course, that's just the introduction, the announcement then goes on to claim that in this particular CD ('At nicht the Roses Tango') shows a completely different size of Howard. Anyway, if you look at the HLHS beginners lessons, even as a premise to be proven false, the claim seems absurd. Howard is just so nice and gentle. Breathes calmly through his harp, doesn't force anything. His relation to his instrument is very intimate. Just check out some videos on youtube, e.g. of him playing 'Amazing Grace' in a church. That's a very soulful, very emotional experience.

So far, I don't regret at all having signed up to HLHS! 

Hope that my personal account is helpful at least to some readers of this list.

Sincerely yours,

Peter


jeff silverman <jeffsilverman@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Good Morning My Friends!
>
>I have had the priviledge interviewing the great Howard Levy for 
>http://www.harmonica411.com. Come check it out, as we talk about his new 
>online Interactive Harmonica School, his brief foray into the chromatic 
>side and the harmonica-world-at-large from Howard's unique and 
>insightful perpsective. Also...on Harmonica 411 is the "11 question's 
>4..." a new mini interview feature where, this month, we talk to teenage 
>blues harp sensation Jay Gaunt! Check it out...
>
>https:// www.harmonica411.com .
>
>See you there!!!!!
>
>Jeff Silverman
>HARMONICA411.com
>ShankboneProductions
>jeff@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
>

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