Re: [Harp-L] Jamming Etiquette

["steve@xxxxxxxxxxxx" <swebb@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

My wife and I went out to eat tonight at a place where a couple of friends were playing. They asked me if I had harps and wanted to play, but I didn't bring any... on purpose.   I never sit in without being asked and I make sure I can play something that will work with the people asking.  
  My problem tonight, though, was that I am in a deep, deep rut.  Our band shut down last fall and I was a little burned out on harp. So I didn't play for awhile. Then i got sick this winter and continued not playing. My sickness continued off and on for about 3 months and I never felt like playing, and was short of breath much of the time and couldn't.
Now my health is better and I'm frustrated. I played some last weekend at an informal party and I was not good at all.
My question for any of you Harp-L'ers, is what kind of practice would you recommend.
I'm very much intermediate, not interested in anything fancy. I can overblow but don't use them when playing. Should I work on scales, work on tunes I used to play well, ???
I am OK with songs I have practiced, but I'm a terrible improviser.   I would love suggestions, offlist would be fine.
Thanks in advance.
Steve Webb in Minnesota

---- joe leone <3n037@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: 
> I think Randy Singer runs abut the best jam I have ever witnessed. We  
> run ours the same way. The open system. Whomsoever wants to play on a  
> tune can do so. You just get in line. With us, it isn't a matter of  
> getting 'teams' up in succession. The problem with that is that some  
> players in a particular 'team' may not know the tunes. Then you get a  
> bunch of people up there discussing what to play. Very amateurish.   
> With the open system a player can decide if they can handle the tune  
> at hand. AND you don't have a situation where musicians are up there  
> for several songs which they can't do and then LOOSE their place to  
> the next 'team'. Basically giving them NO chance to play.
> 
> I know, I know, people will say: "If they don't know any of the  
> tunes, they don't belong up there". But sometimes a group of tunes  
> will be played that a player doesn't know and THEN the next 'team'  
> winds up with a group of tunes that this previous player DOES  
> know..And possibly knows really well. There are a lot of good players  
> out there and just because they may be proficient in some tunes, it  
> shouldn't mean that they get left out in the cold because the tunes  
> being played on THEIR set just happen to be not in their repetoire.
> 
> The main problem we have encountered is that some harp players have  
> what I like to call "Harmonica-Tourettes". This is true of other  
> musicians, Just substitute harmonica with THEIR instrument. Here in  
> sw Fla. it's mostly 'Saxaphone-Tourettes". Guys who go all  
> 'Chernoble' on you. Remember, if you can't add something, don't  
> subtract. Tues nite, I happened into an Indian cuisine restaurant to  
> meet a friend for dinner. There was a jazz band there (with girl  
> singer). I knew all of them (from different bands). They asked me to  
> sit in. But since they were doing fine without me, I diplomatically  
> declined. (Psst..secret..I told them I didn't have any harps with  
> me).   THATS etiquette.
> 
> smokey-joe 
>