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

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

Great post, Steve.

One of the first questions Toots will ask an aspiring harmonica player is "Do you play a chordal instrument?" Knowing the harmony and anchoring your lines in it is something of supreme importance to him.

You have to make the harmonica swing on its own terms. Every instrument has things that are physically smooth or clumsy to play. Imitating instruments that have different things that lie easily can teach you what *doesn't* work on the harmonica, but then you have to figure out what does. Toots, Hendrik, Gregoire, Mike Turk, and others have all found their own little areas that work.
 
Winslow Yerxa
SPAH 51 - the saucer is about to take of - get on board at spah.org!


----- Original Message -----
From: Steve Merola <stevemerola@xxxxxxxxx>
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Cc: 
Sent: Tuesday, June 17, 2014 11:42 AM
Subject: [Harp-L] Re: Muscle memory versus conceptual awareness

<snip> 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. 
<snip>
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