Re: [Harp-L] the 95.596808 percentile and harmonicas

[Rick Dempster <rick.dempster@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Yup. Well said Joe.
RD

On 14 September 2012 03:44, Joseph Leone <3n037@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> This post IS harmonica centric and I will eventually get to that. I have
> been watching this discussion with great interest.
> Come with me to a program called 'Top Gear'. An English program about
> cars. The hosts Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond
> drive and evaluate cars. They:
> 1... Don't have to pay for them
> 2... Don't have to worry about insurance
> 3... Most of the cars are several times the price of my house
> 4... They have no restrictions
> 5... They can virtually thrash the cars about
> 6... They are all race car trained
> 7... They have a large budget
> I could add many many more scaps, but this should give you the point.
>
> Now let's transpose this to harmonicas. It was established many years ago
> that people fit into something called the 95 percentile group.
> So, dismissing the part where people in the U.S. are getting..shall we
> say..too large, out of the 7 billion people on the planet, 95% fit a
> certain height, weight, talent, mental ability, physical ability, and etc.
> etc. group. In other words, average mortals. lolol
>
> So, extrapolating this farther, just like the hosts of that program will
> drive a car and feel that it is rubbish (their words), chances are that if
> given to an average person, the average 95 percentile person would find the
> cars to be just fine. Maybe even beyond their wildest dreams.
>
> Transferring this to harmonicas, there are players whom are at a level of
> expertise (or NON expertise), where most harmonicas they play/try will be
> just fine. And probably even be way beyond their abilities. Then there will
> be players whom are at a stage in their endeavors where the harmonicas will
> be garbage.
> Or at the very least lacking in some critical way. These may be 'race car
> trained' players who are used to custom jobbies, hot rods, dragsters,
> Bonneville record attempt streamliners, turbonique powered go karts, hey, I
> don't know? In other words, a stock harmonica is like a crummy golf cart to
> them.
>
> One person can play a harmonica and say that it is just peachey. When what
> they 'could' have said was: At my level, this harmonica is fine. Another
> may play and say that the harp is crummy. When what they 'could' have said
> was: The action is too slow/the sound is too thin...or whatever.
>
> I have noticed over the years that EVERY make and model has it's
> proponents. Some of them are fairly high on the food chain. This tells me
> something.
> If ALL the makes and models have fans, they must ALL be good......for
> something......for THOSE players. Here's a typical example: Many years ago
> Jerry Murad received a CBH-2016 in the mail from Hohner. He tried it, threw
> it across the room, and remarked; "Junk". I wound up with it years later.
> It had inside damage. I fixed it. I have tried to play this beast, but I
> just can't get excited about it. On the other hand we have C O N C E R T
>  grade players who use it almost exclusively.
>
> See, this is what I'm talking about. Harmonicas are made to the 95
> percentile. If you feel you are in a different percentile, you need to
> upgrade your instrument. I see no other solution. YOU have gone beyond the
> capabilities of the average instrument. Whereas we mortals haven't gotten
> there yet.
> And as for prices, if you check the inflation index for the past 45 years
> (as I have), harmonicas are ABOVE that figure. I probably blame that on
> pensions.
> In WWII many workers were killed and no one ever had to pay them a
> pension. Today we have 67 years to allow for.
>
> smokey-joe
>



-- 
Rick Dempster
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