Re: [Harp-L] BLUEgrass

[sheltraw@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

I am a beginner and chromatic player only. I have been playing since
April. I began playing with the intention of first becoming proficient
at bluegrass before moving on to other genres. I played Bluegrass
guitar (prior to hand problems that forced me to retire my guitar) in
jam sessions for about 1 year and guitar in the rock and Jazz setting
for decades. David Naiditch has been an inspiration to me and I want
to thank him for blazing the path he has.

I fully understand that there may be some acceptance issues by the
"purists" attending bluegrass jams but I really don't care as long
as I still get to play. There are enough jam sessions in my area
that enough acceptance can surely be found in at least one of them.

Most importantly I love hearing David's chrom in the bluegrass setting.
I think it is a fabulous addition to the art form. Don't forget it is
an art form despite what the rigid minded would like some to think. So
it can and should be changed.




> This exchange between mysellf and David Naiditch  was accidentally
> offlist, but I thought it might be worth reposting:
>
> I bite my tongue on this subject usually.
> Just stop calling it 'Bluegrass'.
> Bluegrass is just a stylised version of old time Appalachian string
> band music, as you all well know.
> It is defined by the smoother rhythm, particularly the three finger
> roll on the banjo as opposed to the clunkier clawhammer style. The
> persistent inclusion of the bass is important too, I think (there are a
> few
> people out there who might be able to describe the identifying features
> beter
> than I perhaps)
> 'Blugrass' is a style of American string band music defined,
> particularly the lineup, and harmonica ain't included.
> I like Bluegrass, and I like harp; but I don't think it works in a
> standard Bluegrass lineup.
> Yes, McCoy did a pretty good job with Watson, Flatt and Scruggs - was
> there a fiddle in there? I forget. Generally, it's a case of
> 'tits-on-a-bull', particularly if there's a fiddle in there. And
> anyhow, a harp simply cannot  replace a fiddle, particularly on
> traditional
> fiddle tunes.
> You cannot play a tune like, say, Gray Eagle, with the dynamism  of a
> fiddle.
> Some tunes work, but most just don't, and even when the playing is
> good, it usually just sounds 'clever' (or, as Joyce > Blugrass has become
> a folk museum relic anyhow. In 'the day', forties
> and fifties, it was alive and developing, like all American music allways
> has. Now it is ossified, like retro Rockabilly, Chicago blues and 40s/50s
> style R'n'B bands that cater fro the swing dance craze.
> The fiddle tunes probably work best on the chrom, but it takes the music
> in an entirely different direction.
> On the diatonic, it often sounds like just too much hard work, like
> 'Flight of the Bumble Bee' played on tuba.
> Was it the Boiled Buzzards? I think, that were/are an old timey string
> band that features harp instead of a fiddle; a step in the right
> direction.
> Check out the antecedents: Humphrey Bate's Possum Hunters; Herman
> Crook's string band.
> The bloke who recently posted some stuff on chrom with a Bluegrass
> lineup is a lovely player, and I enoyed it very much.
> I don't think, however, that instument goes well in a BG lineup; I'd
> rather hear the same tunes done with, say, piano, guitar and bass.
> With rare exceptions the BG crowd dislike harp, so you'd better get
> used to it. Try creating yor own style, and:
> "Stop Calling It Blue-bloody-grass"!!
> Note that the harp lends itself much more to Irish music; it's to do
> with the rhythm, for one, and the whole feel of the music. I'd be
> interested in what Brendan Power has to say on this subject, but being
> a career harpist, he may be better off keeping shtum.
> Glad I got that off my chest!
> RD
>
> David Naiditch <davidnaiditch@xxxxxxxxxxx> 21/01/11 2:27 PM >>>
> Hi Rick,
>
> Think you intended to send this to the Harp-L thread, or did you really
> want to respond to me offline?  This is far too good not to send to
> Harp-L.  Finally somebody who really knows what they are talking about.
> I'm the "bloke who recently posted some stuff on chrom with a Bluegrass
> lineup."  I've got no delusions that what I'm doing will ever really
> catch on, but I'm encouraged by the many invitations I get to attend
> bluegrass jams and play on stage.  I was given an extremely warm
> welcome, for instance, at the recent 48-hour Bakersfield bluegrass jam
> mostly attended by SWBA and CBA folks.  Was often told I'm the only
> harmonica player they really welcome and want to play with.  And if
> playing chrom in bluegrass is odd, my favorite music to play is gypsy
> jazz and country swing!
>
> --David Naiditch
>
>
>
> David Naiditch <davidnaiditch@xxxxxxxxxxx> 21/01/11 1:02 PM >>>
>
> On Jan 21, 2011, at 2:28 AM, Rick Dempster wrote:
>
>
> Dangit! Yes, David, I did mean to CC it to harp-l. I thnk your chrom
> harp stuff is great. I'm also now pleased to hear that the BG dudes over
> your way are willing to have you on board; generally, at least over
> here, in Australia, they are not wanted. I think the playing of trad
> American rural music on the harp is fine, but I think the music itself
> needs to be open to change, and I mean change from the string players
> themselves (and, by the way, I don't necessarily mean playing John
> Coltrane tunes on the banjo like Tony Trischka et al - not there's
> anything wrong with that, if that's what you want to do I guess)
> I would like to hear your chrom style in a setting more like the Texas
> compeition fiddle style, with sock-chord guitar, piano and bass; a
> little slower than BG, and more 'decorative', sylistically. I lke the
> 'parlour' style of some of the old string bands, where I think harp
> would do well. Also, I notice some fiddle tunes lend themselves to harp
> far better than others; particularly the 'hornpipe' style, and tunes
> like Arkansas Traveller, rather than the more black-sounding tunes like
> Sally Johnson, which seem to me to be less Anglo-Celt, and more Afro.
> Probably talking some crap here; need to think a bit more about it.
> There was an old Australian diatonic harp player back in the 20s & 30s (
> P.C. 'Percy' Spouse) who played stuff like 'Fishers Hornpipe', in 1st
> Pos. natch.
> I only have it on vinyl, but if I can get around to making an mp3, I'll
> send it to you. He was an absolute bloody gem.
> I messed with fiddle tunes for a long time on the diatonic, and a bit on
> the chrom (do you know 'Witch of the Wave'?)
> But it seems like a lot of hard work, at least on the chrom, and sounds
> so darned easy on the fiddle.
> Thanks for being so open minded about my loud mouth!
> David Naiditch <davidnaiditch@xxxxxxxxxxx> 21/01/11 2:27 PM >>>
>
>
> David Naiditch <davidnaiditch@xxxxxxxxxxx> 21/01/11 2:27 PM >>>
>
> I forgot you're from the land of vegemite. Do you ever run into Tony
> Eyers?
>
> Never heard "Witch of the Wave."
>
> Just to be clear, like in Australia, bluegrass harmonica players are as
> welcome at bluegrass festivals as the mosquitoes that come out to feast.
> When I attend festivals where folks don't know me, I need be aggressive
> and not get passed over as folks take breaks.  But after proving myself, I
> almost always become "one of the boys."
>
> Feel free to forward our exchange to Harp-L.
>
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