Re: [Harp-L] Re: Howard Levy School vs. David Barrett School?

[joe leone <3n037@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I usually wait till the end of the year to give out my 'Most  
educational post of the year' award. Here it is only May and THIS may  
be IT. If you never read anything else, you need to read this. 'I'  
plan to re read it at least 2 dozen times.  :)
smo-joe

On May 5, 2010, at 10:08 AM, Buddha wrote:

> I think inexperienced players should enroll in both schools.  As  
> you get
> more advanced, I think you really need to get away from ALL harmonica
> players and listen to other musicians to form your own sound.
> I had a close relationship with Howard for many years but I never took
> formal lessons from him. You can't help but learn something from  
> Howard just
> by hanging around him and watching how you do things.  I've only  
> briefly
> checked out Howard's school and while I think any and all players can
> benefit from enrollment, I don't think you will learn the things  
> that Howard
> really has to offer and the things that will really help skyrocket  
> your
> playing.
>
> Both Howard and Dave are great players with a lot to offer but in  
> the end
> all they are really teaching is how to play notes. When I say  
> notes, I'm
> lumping together theory, harmonica and general technique(note  
> production).
> Learning to play notes is one very small part of playing music and  
> to me,
> playing the right note isn't even the most important aspect of playing
> music.  Your audience doesn't care about about notes, what and how  
> you are
> playing, they care about what sounds good and how you make them feel.
>
> I learned more about music from hanging around Howard than I ever  
> learned
> any form of technique. His approach, what he listens to, how hard  
> he works,
> how dedicated he is, his lifestyle, how he lives etc is all far more
> important in terms of getting somewhere with your instrument. Over  
> the years
> I have met other "elite" musicians and I have noticed many  
> similarities.
> Being good at what you do, regardless of whether or not it's the  
> harmonica,
> has more to do with lifestyle than notes.
>
> That's my two cents.