[Harp-L] Gear Shaming Other Harmonica Players

[George Miklas]

Owen,

I appreciate your response to Amy and this thread. Her repetitive
complaints and defiance might actually serve a purpose for her, for
example, baiting others into confrontation.

George
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Dr. George Wallace Miklas <http://www.georgemiklas.com/>, **Harmonica
Specialist - **Scholar, **Educator, **Performer*
*Harmonica Gallery Sales Repair & Studio <http://www.harmonicagallery.com/>*
Doctoral Thesis: Harmonica Pedagogy for the Full Inclusion Instrumental
Music Classroom, Expanding Opportunities for Students with Disabilities
<https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/3671/>
*Adjunct Music Professor - Applied Tuba and Applied Harmonica, University
of Lynchburg*

https://www.24-7pressrelease.com/press-release-service/502777


On Tue, Feb 6, 2024 at 7:09 AM Owen P. Evans <opevans at xxxxx> wrote:

> Good morning all,
> First of all, I have never shamed Amy. She is very focused on her likes &
> dislikes. In past conversations, I have been very patient to the point
> where I now ignore her repetitive complaints to whoever will listen.
>
> I have heard this complaint from Amy for almost three years. She has
> attempted to change the minds of many and has also been adamant about
> making defiant statements toward anyone who disagrees with her.  She has
> been banned from certain FB pages because of this. To wit, the comment at
> the end of her letter herein: "I don't know why "harmonica players" on
> Facebook are so up their own ass when they criticise my choice of harps,
> when I never did the same thing to them.” Not 100% true. (See below.)
>
> I have heard her ask similar questions of a large number of my friends
> once & sometimes twice on a weekly to bi-weekly basis. We have all given
> the same good advice & guidance that I see herein. Be prepared that your
> advice will probably be ignored, and the questions will be repeated.
>
> Let’s not encourage reverse ’shaming’. To wit from Amy’s letter herein:
> "These people are the reason why I hate the Marine Band so much is because
> other than being terrible to maintain, the members of its fanbase are
> almost entirely made up of people who drag other people down.” This
> statement is false & inflammatory. We are all entitled to our opinions and
> often “never the twain shall meet”
>
> I for one shall ignore this invective and carry on. I hope everyone else
> does.
> Sincerely,
> Owen
>
>
>
>
> > On Feb 4, 2024, at 7:27 PM, Amy Rister <amyrister02 at xxxxx> wrote:
> >
> > I don't know if anybody else has ever experienced this, but I get gear
> > shamed every time I mention that I like a certain model of harmonica. I
> > often get gear shamed by the Classic Marine Band Player's Cult (I call
> them
> > that because they all play the original Marine Band, play exclusively
> > tongue blocked Chicago blues, have a cult-like mentality surrounding
> tuning
> > and comb material, and harass anybody that has a different opinion than
> > them) every time whenever I say that I like the Golden Melody. They
> always
> > tell me that the tuning on those harps suck, that I should be playing a
> > Marine Band instead, and not use my Golden Melodies at all (which I had
> > mentioned in the past). These people are the reason why I hate the Marine
> > Band so much is because other than being terrible to maintain, the
> members
> > of its fanbase are almost entirely made up of people who drag other
> people
> > down. I even got bullied because I owned two good playing Chinese
> > harmonicas, the Kongsheng Bluebird and the Golden Bird Parrott Tuning
> > harmonica (which I received as a gift from my friend/teacher, Todd
> > Parrott), and said they are "useless for expression". I don't know why
> > "harmonica players" on Facebook are so up their own ass when they
> criticise
> > my choice of harps, when I never did the same thing to them.
> >
> > Sincerely,
> > Amy Rister
>
> Owen P. Evans
> 1020 Palm View Drive - #104
> Naples, Florida. 34110
>
> 519-984-4376
>
> opevans at xxxxx
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> “ If you can’t dig the blues, you must have a hole in your soul.”
>
> Jimmy Rogers
>
>
>
>
>