Re: [Harp-L] Re: Tilting the Harp, & Irony

[Joseph Leone <3n037@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Because I spent half of my first 18 years in Europe and the British were the occupation forces in Vienna & Trieste, I always went to British military dependent's schools (even though my father was a U.S. diplomat). ALL my friends were British. So I am aware of your sense of humor. Have no fear Leonardo DaVinci of the harmonica. lolol

Joseph C. Leone di San Marco, 25th count of Lentini. 

On Oct 11, 2013, at 4:24 AM, Brendan Power wrote:

> Oh dear, I always forget that Americans have an irony deficiency! After a
> couple of alarmed responses to my last post, I realise once again that
> British humour is not grasped by our friends across the Atlantic and that we
> often need to explain the meaning of jokes in excruciating detail.
> 
> 
> 
> Over here (as well as in other English-speaking nations like my native New
> Zealand, Australia, Canada & Ireland), people often deliberately overstate
> things, or say the opposite of what they really mean, for comic effect. It’
> s intuitively understood and appreciated by all around - but unfortunately
> many Americans take the comments at face value and misunderstandings arise.
> 
> 
> 
> If I have to spell it out: I love the sound of good Tongue-Block playing -
> as well as puckering and the rolled-tongue style that others employ. If it’
> s used well, ANY embouchure is good! It’s silly to rate one over another;
> as with the guitar, it’s pointless to rate fingerstyle over pick playing -
> they are different approaches and get different sounds & effects. Players
> will prefer one or other for their own personal use, but there is no
> absolute better or worse.
> 
> 
> 
> I was just joking in an overstated, humorous manner that the TB guys
> sometimes do give the impression of making that absolute judgement of
> superiority, mainly because their style was used by Little Walter and other
> Blues greats. Some of them tend to dis pucker playing for that reason, as if
> it is somehow not worthy of a true harmonica player. You see that implied or
> even stated on the purist blues harp forums from time to time.
> 
> 
> 
> As a result I was comparing puckering to having an embarrassing disease or
> sexual proclivity that one feels the need to cover up, and then making a
> grandiloquent gesture of coming out bold and proud. The use of the word
> ‘Nazis’ is a case in point in the ironic overstatement. Over here in the
> Celtic music scene players often joke about the ‘Trad Nazis’ who frown on
> any departure from strict old-time Irish traditional playing. It is widely
> used and understood in that comic sense. I was using it in the same manner
> to describe those in the traditional blues scene who think that
> tongue-blocking is the only legitimate way to play the harmonica.
> 
> 
> 
> Continuing the ironic overstatement to a ridiculous extent, I went on to
> claim that puckering with a tilt was the best of all approaches. This is
> something I don’t actually believe, and I would have thought that was clear
> from the context. But apparently not for some - hence this long-winded
> explanation.
> 
> 
> 
> I hope all is clear now, for whoever needs it spelled out…
> 
> 
> 
> Brendan Power
> 
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