Re: [Harp-L] The Wonderful Internet

[Ken Hildebrand <airmojoken@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Robert,

Well it sounds like your class mate enjoyed the Buddy Greene video very much, just like many of us diatonic harmonica players did.  The video has been around for at least a couple of years now, and I watched it many times, because I enjoyed it very much.

I bought several of Buddy Greene's CD's after watching it.  He's a fantastic diatonic harp player of blue grass, blues, country, and religious/gospel music, plays guitar, sings, composes... all extremely well.

I love his versions of "Walkin' Blues", "The Little Beggar Man", and "All My Loving" from his "Rufus" CD.  I also really  like his version of "Little Rabbit" from his "Happy Man" CD.

In emailing Buddy Greene after I first saw that video, I asked him if he was using a regular Richter tuned harmonica, or an alternate tuning (like Country tuned, Melody Maker, Paddy Richter, etc).  He replied back, no, that it was a regular diatonic harp, and commented that "it was just a parlor trick".

He obviously was playing to an audience that was expected to enjoy his music.  I've seen the announcer on some of Buddy's other videos, so he was no stranger to Buddy's music and harp playing.

Ever hear the Christmas song "Mary Did You Know" ?   Buddy wrote the music, and Mark Lowry wrote the lyrics.  It is one of my favorite Christmas songs.

If I watch and listen to anything more than once in a row, then I know I really like.  If I stop part way through, then I know I don't like it.  If I get all the way thru it and do not watch it again, I may like, or may not (maybe I hung on until the end to see if it would get better).


I look forward to new CD's from Buddy Greene... I'm a big fan, and glad I am !


Ken H in OH

PS.  Robert... I would love to hear your version of "Mary Did You Know ?" on your next Christmas album... I enjoy all your albums !


--- On Sun, 10/10/10, Robert Bonfiglio <bon@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> From: Robert Bonfiglio <bon@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: [Harp-L] The Wonderful Internet
> To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
> Date: Sunday, October 10, 2010, 7:02 PM
> 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
> 
> 
> 
> 
>