[Harp-L] Re. Overblows etc.

[Steve Baker <steve@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Nick,

good luck with your music, I look forward to hearing it and hope that  
you can find your market. It's good to know that there are still  
young, dedicated harp players out there who are willing to put their  
money where their mouth is, respect! I can relate to that.

Regarding overblows, I think you'll find they're definitely here to  
stay. Maybe some day you'll feel the desire to check out the  
possibilities that they offer. I'm not a real overblow specialist  
myself but I learned the technique from a friend in the mid 80s (pre- 
Levy) and use the OB notes as standard choices in a wide range of  
styles where they make sense. It's just a playing technique, the only  
thing that has any significance is what you do with it. There's been  
a lot of hype surrounding OBs in the past and that has certainly led  
some to see the technique itself as some kind of holy grail, but an  
increasing number of players simply work it into their music. It  
doesn't have to be a big deal.

Traditional blues harmonica is probably the most popular musical  
genre among readers of harp-l, so I don't really understand why you  
see yourself as belonging to a minority. Personally I would say that  
although I worship Little Walter, who was probablythe greatest single  
(harmonica) influence on my playing, I've never really tried to  
emulate him. I just borrowed his ideas whenever they fitted the music  
I was playing, which is what Walter did with the horn players he was  
listening to in the early 1950s,

Steve Baker
www.stevebaker.de
www.bluesculture.com