Re: [Harp-L] Totally bored with the blues genre

[jbrown03@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

When I feel like I'm getting into a blues "I-IV-V" rut, I go to Pandora and listen to some eclectic blues players.  North Mississippi Hill players like R.L. Burnside, Jr. Kimbrough and Fred McDowell concentrated more on the beat than the structure of the song. They influenced Jack White and The Black Keys who carry on the tradition to some extent. 

This type of music can be a bit tricky to play on harp, but very easy to play slide guitar in open tunings. 

I'm glad Randy brought this up; lots of interesting responses.

----- Original Message -----
From: JON KIP 
Date: Saturday, May 2, 2015 11:54 am
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Totally bored with the blues genre
To: Harp L Harp L 

> 
> On May 2, 2015, at 6:12 AM, Joel Fritz wrote:
> 
> > You don't have to like blues. Nobody said it was mandatory. 
> I'm not 
> > that fond of ice cream, myself....
> 
> > I play harp for fun. All of the organized music--you know, 
> the stuff 
> > with sheet music--I've been involved with has been vocal.....
> 
> There it is, Joel's got it right....in five words: "I play harp 
> for fun". 
> 
> Sure, it's fun to play music, and even more fun if people pay 
> you for it, but, in theory, the playing is its own reward. (Not 
> forgetting that, in practice, that reward becomes harder to 
> appreciate while starving, failing to pay the rent, and trying 
> to avoid paying alimony to ex-wives #1, #4 and #5, not to 
> mention #2 and #3, who got court-ordered lump sum settlements 
> and were never heard from again.)
> 
> I think Randy has a great point, it's that "the emperor has no 
> clothes" thing. Everybody knows that a lot of The Blues on 
> Harmonica is repetitive and boring to listen to, but nobody 
> wants to say it out loud.
> 
> Boring to others, but really fun for the player.
> 
> So, for me, Joel's point is well-taken, and I back him 
> 100%.....Oh, NO, WAIT, Joel......you don't like ice cream????
> 
> I may have to reassess my agreement with your post.....
> 
> Still, the best new phrase I read in this issue was Warren Bee's 
> wonderfully thought-provoking phrase: "Chromatic runs up and 
> down your chromatic shaft take people to a better place than the 
> blues can?"
> 
> My first response to reading that took me into the "no 
> harmonica content" category.....
> 
> jk 
> 
> Of the instruments that I own, only the harmonica comes in so 
> many keys, costs so little, and has room for magnets.
> 
> http://jonkip.com


"Morality is doing right, no matter what you are told. 
Religion is doing what you are told, no matter what is right." 
H. L. Mencken