[Harp-L] Re: Muscle memory versus conceptual awareness

[Steve Merola <stevemerola@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Harp-L er's
I attended a seminar where Hendrik Meurkens gave a talk & a lesson. He
suggested that one should learn harmonica from a harmonica teacher and jazz
from someone who played jazz on a different instrument. I took this advice
and studied jazz with a guitarist who taught Jazz at a local college as
well as private lessons.  I sat down and played a ballad with him and he
stopped in the middle of the song and asked, "What's the first chord in the
bridge?". I said, "Why?" He told me that I didn't know the song and not to
come back until I could arpeggiate all the chords to the song in time. I
tried and to my surprise, because of the nature of the harmonica, many of
the voiceings were unusual and incomplete, and led me to melodies which I
would have never played. I returned, he dug what I did, and he gave me a
fake book filled with standards and said "now learn all of these and you'll
be able to solo over anything". I'm of course, still at this task.
I cannot, however hard I try, make a chromatic harmonica swing like a jazz
sax or trumpet. I'm ok playing ballads but I think there are only a chosen
few who can play bebop convincingly.
Thanks


 <http://hendrikmeurkens.com/>

-- 
Steve Merola