Re: [Harp-L] Learn 6 positions first year

[Jeff Baker <acornfr@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I'm with you Ken, You can build a great house with out a strong  
foundation .

    JB


On Mar 6, 2012, at 1:06 PM, Ken Deifik wrote:

> > Should a diatonic (Richter) student be introduced to 6 positions  
> > during the first year?
>
> I think this is a terrible idea.  I have heard too many people who  
> know lots of positions, who invent all kinds of interesting  
> tunings, who have a broad knowlege of gear - who can't play a lick  
> of real music.  Many can't put three clean notes together in a phrase.
>
> My own advice to new players: if you're playing diatonic harp  
> because you like blues, rock and roll, country, folk music - learn  
> second position really well, play for hours every day, break  
> through to the upper holes of the harp, improve your single notes  
> until people tell you how pure your sound is, learn how to play  
> with guitarists, string bands, blues bands.
>
> When you have a command of second position and a sense of what  
> making real music is about, THEN you'll have a basis to learn how  
> to make music in the other positions.
>
> The other positions become magic portals into completely other  
> harps and sounds when you're already playing strong, beautiful  
> riffs and melodies in second position.  Frankly, they are new  
> languages.  Learn your native language well first, so that you can  
> actually utter intelligible sentences and ideas, and only then  
> learn the other languages.
>
> Ken