[Harp-L] MHW Events/ HCH 2018 Reflections

[Joseph Leone]

> On Jun 1, 2018, at 1:22 PM, The Iceman via Harp-L <harp-l at xxxxx> wrote:
> 
> so, it's funny to see how it flipped, regardless of the reasons behind it….

Reasons ‘could be’
1… Original members were from the 20s, 30s. 
2… Some were ex vaudeville, stage show, supper club, concert, and yada yada. 
3… Diatonic players were busy. Needed the extra income. Young. Possibly with family. Whiteheads nests empty. Nothing else to do. Re-living the good ole days? 
4… Hard for some people to come up with $1,119.68 (Min) to attend a convergence. 
5… Younger people had actual jobs. And needed them. 
6… People would loose gigs by attending.
And on and on infinitum.
> 
> was fight to get diatonic included.

I disagree, Don Les and others played diatonic. They just didn’t play blues. Reason? A lot of the older folks had already LIVED blues. Depression, war, loss of industries, etc. again. 
AND don’t the current conventions include a veritable RAFT of diatonic players. A lot of whose expenses are covered? Reason? Davies and Yerxa. Both diatonic friendly. They have
 run the show for many years.   

> ...now it's a fight to keep chrom/bass/chord included!

I agree on this point. Young players don’t want to put in the time necessary for bass & (especially) chord. Besides that type of genre is out of fashion. As for chromatic players. Why show
up if you’re not going to get the opportunity to play. You drive for 2 days going, 4 days at the fest, and 2 days returning. And if you’re retired it costs you 1/2 a months pay.  If you fly you 
could be looking at over $500. Which I recently experienced trying to get to San Antone. AND they wanted to route me Ft. Myers to Atlanta to St. Louis to Dallas, to San Antone. AND the
 total layovers were 8 1/4 hours. Naah, it’s the players that are dropping out (and dropping dead) that is the result.  

> what goes around…..

Am I to assume this to be an antagonistic aura? Like “Serves you right you stingy old timers”. Just curious.

smokey joe (recent loss of eyesight means that I will probably cease to attend..so there’s another reason) bada bing.

message dictated
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Doug Schroer <dougharps at xxxxx>
> To: Harp-l for posting <harp-l at xxxxx>
> Sent: Fri, Jun 1, 2018 10:48 am
> Subject: [Harp-L] MHW Events/ HCH 2018 Reflections
> 
> @The Iceman
> 
> I believe that people choose to learn chromatic or diatonic harmonica in
> order to play the genres of music they enjoy on the instrument they enjoy.
> Usually it is music they heard during developmental years, but also may
> include styles they came to enjoy later in life. Aspiring amateurs who were
> exposed to folk, rock, and blues in the '60s,'70s, and '80s are now seeking
> to play the music they enjoy, which is different than the musical styles
> prevalent during the developmental years of those learning chromatic at
> events during the '80s and '90s.
> 
> This is a generalization, but I think it has some merit. There are always
> crossovers and exceptions. There has been concern at SPAH in recent years
> that chord, bass, and chromatic use is in decline, and efforts have been
> made to showcase these instruments in different more modern genres to show
> that they are not bound to genres passing from popularity. I attribute the
> decline in the use of these instruments to shifts in musical preferences
> from classical, tin pan alley, ballads, and jazz standards to more folk and
> roots based music.
> 
> The cost of attending harmonica events, especially if attendance requires
> missing work, lends to a more mature, financially established demographic
> participating in extended length harmonica workshops/conventions. More
> mature people have the wherewith-all to indulge their musical interests. In
> the midst of a career it takes dedication and money to take time off and go
> to events spanning several days. Additionally, younger demographics can now
> access instructional material via internet and don't need to try to find a
> way to get time off work to go to several day workshops.Those younger
> players who are committed to becoming professional musicians will find ways
> to attend regardless of financial and employment obstacles, but the
> majority at such events are older. This is why SPAH has a youth outreach
> offering scholarships to the convention.
> 
> "Time marches on," indeed!
> 
> A plus to the greying of players is that this more mature demographic has
> access to wealth that can be transferred to support working
> musicians/instructors at concerts and workshops.
> 
> Doug S.
>