Re: [Harp-L] The Wonderful Internet

[pdxharpdog@xxxxxxxxxxx]

I agree with Steve. Maybe ignorance is bliss, but I have watched that clip of Buddy many times and I found it amazing and most entertaining. It may be a case of my not hearing the subtle differences between average and great in classical harmonica, and Robert may be right from his perspective, but what seems horrible to some seems most exceptional to me. I have learned a lot by watching Buddy Greene clips. I always enjoy watching Buddy Greene. If Buddy Greene is horrible at classical music on the diatonic, then there are no words to adequately describe my horrific lack of skills in any harmonica genre. 

Ross Macdonald 




----- Original Message ----- 
From: "steve@xxxxxxxxxxxx" <swebb@xxxxxxxxxxx> 
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx 
Sent: Sunday, October 10, 2010 8:45:28 PM 
Subject: RE: [Harp-L] The Wonderful Internet 

This sounds like the clip of Buddy Greene, the well-respected harmonica 
player who is often playing with Bill Gaither and his troupe. Many of 
us met Buddy years ago at Buckeye and to call his playing "horrible" 
smacks of intellectual snobbery, in my very humble opinion. 
Opinions are like bad habits, we all have one. Just because the music 
is played on diatonic and not up to the standards of perhaps the best 
classical chromatic player, that does not mean it's horrible. 
Steve Webb in Minn. 


On Sun, Oct 10, 2010 at 9:02 PM, Robert Bonfiglio wrote: 

> So I get this email from one of my high school class mates through 
> facebook; you have to see this, you just have to!!! 
> 
> So I look and it's some guy playing harmonica at a religious meeting 
> at Carnegie Hall - although if you look at the title one would think 
> he was the actual virtuoso soloist booked into Carnegie. The 
> announcer jokes with him about how the harmonica is a toy and then he 
> plays a little Bach on a diatonic. 
> 
> The playing is horrible, but the crowd loves it and the celebration of 
> mediocrity goes on and on; and on to the Internet for everyone to see. 
> And all of us are supposed to sit on hands and accept that the player 
> is trying the best that he can and that everyone has the right to be 
> an artist - in our case a harmonica soloist. 
> 
> I am sorry folks, but I have watched hundreds of internet performances 
> and in the classical area, my area of expertise, most of it sucks. It 
> does suck a little bit, the playing is really not good. And even 
> though the playing isn't that good and everyone keeps patting everyone 
> else on the back! Most of the good performances are from times 
> before the Internet or by players who were established before the 
> internet. 
> 
> I think its time to start speaking out - (I would like to say it's my 
> old age and I have gotten intolerant to change), and I would say that 
> if the performance was WOW that was different but amazing. But I am 
> finding the Internet has become an advertising tool for everyone and 
> therefore the mediocre have flooded the playing field. 
> 
> Is this just me? Am I alone here? 
> 
> Harmonically yours, 
> 
> Robert Bonfiglio 
> http://www.robertbonfiglio.com