Re: [Harp-L] Spah Conventions

[Sam Friedman <sammyasher@xxxxxxxxx>]

"younger" player here (21). I submitted a video of myself playing "there
will never be another you" on harmonica and vibraphone a few months back. I
take this instrument very seriously, however I also take the very little
amount of money I have seriously, and the cost of travel, hotel, AND
registration fees for the convention are really difficult to deal with as a
college student. I am hoping to go to SPAH this summer, but its all a matter
of money. I am sure this is the case for others in my generation as well
(including a few harmonica playing-friends who I've spoken to about going
with me). I understand the cost is small when considering
the opportunity/experience.... but that still doesn't make it cheap relative
to what I can actually afford.

-Sam Friedman

http://www.youtube.com/sammyasher



On Fri, Apr 22, 2011 at 3:47 PM, Bob Cohen <bob@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>
> On Apr 22, 2011, at 12:10 PM, Richard Hunter wrote:
>
> > The demographics are simple and non-negotiable. The audience at SPAH (as
> well as the performers) are getting older. People get older to a point, then
> they die. If younger people aren't actively recruited into the organization
> before that, the organization dies with them.
>
> I agree with Richard. I look at the issue from two different perspectives.
>
> Assumption 1: There are younger people taking the instrument seriously. If
> they knew about us, they'd join.
>
> Assuming there is enough interest in our instrument to sustain and grow our
> membership, where do the under 40s fit in?  I've only been involved for some
> three years but it is my sense that there aren't too many teens or
> twenty-somethings who can afford to go to the convention.  Thirty-somethings
> are career and family building so they can't be counted on for attending the
> convention unless it's in their backyard. That leaves the 40+ demographic
> for the annual event.
>
> Where do younger players fit in the SPAH (and harmonica) universe?  Or,
> vice versa.  Where does SPAH fit within the current harmonica universe?
>  Does SPAH provide benefits to members who cannot go to the convention?
> Answering these these questions are linked. As of right now, it's not clear
> to me that we provide any tangible benefits to anyone who does not attend
> the convention.
>
> Assumption 2. Interest among young musicians in studying our instruments
> seriously is declining or maybe even nearly non-existent.
>
> I think of my own 15 year old daughter's musical journey. She plays tenor
> sax and bassoon and is planning to attend conservatory after graduation.
>  Her high school's music program has a national reputation. They run a
> symphony band, two jazz bands, a chamber group program, a marching band, an
> indoor percussion program, a private lesson program, etc.
>
> The music department is run like a baseball team where the elementary and
> middle school bands function like progressively more talented farm teams.
>  They think big picture.  Kids are encouraged to play certain instruments
> according to what the director knows he'll need by the time they get to high
> school.  My daughter has no interest in playing diatonic or chromatic
> harmonica--and her dad plays both. And she's familiar with accomplished
> players from various genred because I've dragged her to see live music since
> she was nine. In talking to her director, he was open to bringing in a
> harmonica master class, but this is not something he is actively seeking.
>  And, it'd have to be free.
>
> So how do we stimulate interest among younger musicians?   The few
> precocious players we've managed to attract at the convention barely
> scratches the surface. In my opinion we need a more systematic approach, one
> that reaches out to various areas like the school music programs, music
> stores, developing content to support an on-line community, providing
> tangible membership benefits, and we need to answers all the questions above
> as well as the others that will inevitably arise.
>
> Under our current business model, SPAH has neither the money nor
> institutional wherewithal to go this alone. We charge very little for the
> membership and we rely on a dedicated but small volunteer staff.
>
> We need to partner with all the manufacturers, who after all, stand to
> profit from the success of such an initiative and perhaps we could seek
> grant money.
>
> Bob
>