If Barbra had stage fright (which I doubt..just sounds like artist bs to me)...then she wasn't prepared for her gigs which also includes a mindset. If you've ever been dragged off a stage, had your ass beat, and thrown to the street bleeding with loose teeth and stabbed in the side, I dont think you'll ever again be worried about "what they think". It doesnt get worse than that unless they just go ahead and kill you (after they've raped you as well). Of course I grew up with it and also gambling on pool. Thats where you REALLY learn to handle pressure. The railbirds are all sitting just waiting for you to choke on the money ball or get out of line on position as well as your backer sitting there threatening to pull up if you go for the out instead of taking that safety. As well as putting in the months and years in front of a mirror dealing seconds and bottoms to the point where you yourself can't see you cheat...then having the stones to take it into a card game where all the others are cheating too. Stage fright? bah...humbug ---------- "The degree of someone's "open mindedness" will be in direct proportion to how much they agree or disagree with the issue being discussed"...William F. Buckley
With regard to "by ALL MEANS, once a player has reached a fairly proficient level of play, good gear is a must! But starting out, it can be a real waste of money. A lot of young players get frustrated and quit, or simply lose interest. That's one reason why I recommend cheap gear at the beginning of the journey."
I'll say - different strokes for different folks. I started with inferior gear. Green Bullet - ok! Got a 520DX. Didn't know about the older ones. Blues Jr? Hey - that must be a great harp amp!. Looking back it was a waste of money. It led to frustration and allowed me, perhaps subconsciously, to blame my gear for what was in fact a good deal due to my own lack of tone and mic technique. After a few piece-of-crap amps and mics, I finally bought myself a Sonny Jr Four-ten and a good CM microphone. I KNEW it was capable of outstanding tone. That purchase was the best investment in gear I ever made. It gave me better tone right away. But it really helped me develop my technique. It got me my first gigs. And it saved me a lot of future $$ and time spent NOT chasing gear.
Good gear seems to hold its value pretty well and can be resold as well. If someone has the $$ to spend and are wise enough to get good advice from someone they trust, I see nothing wrong (and a lot right) with buying good gear from the start.
Yeah Brother I had Bloodshot on album and 8 track. I loved J. Giels up untill the last few albums, but what do I know. Thats when they made most of there money!
"I don't know. The few times I tried stage play, I just froze up and forgot just about everything I knew how to do. It was unpleasant experiences for me and embarrassing, so I just decided it just wasn't my bag. I'm cool with that though. I'm happy where I'm at."
With all due respect, if you have no live performance experience, what makes you think you are qualified to be giving advice about what beginners should pay attention to?
The biggest problem with most conventional wisdom about playing amplified harmonica is that so much of it is simply impractical in a live performance setting when the player is on stage with other musicians playing amplified instruments. What sounds good in one's living room or basement doesn't always work reliably in a public venue in a live performance setting. Frankly, i am astounded that someone with no live performance experience would be pontificating about what beginners need to know about playing harp. FWIW.
Last Edited by on Jun 22, 2011 10:27 AM
Your experience with discomfort playing publicly is not uncommon. At the risk of offering unsolicited advice on the subject, I believe that the musical situation plays a large part in the stage-fright feeling. If you can find people you trust, who remember their first times onstage, and who wish to encourage you, then you might have a different experience.
It's damn scary being an inexperienced harp player in the guitar-players' world. In the harmonica world, however, you may find a completely different experience. There are several ways one can find a harmonica-supportive stage experience.
You could make a harp buddy locally, who's supportive, and who guides you through the process, perhaps by letting you come to a rehearsal, or sitting down one-on-one, or who knows?
You might seek out phone or internet lessons if you can't find a local harp-person.
You also might attend a harmonica event. It's pricey, but Jon Gindick's "Harmonica Jam Camp" focuses on providing safe, encouraged, playing opportunities for its students. There is also Dave Barrett's Harmonica Masterclass seminars, as well as "Hill Country Harmonica" (run by Bro Kudz, our own Dr. Gussow). (This is not a comprehensive list, by any means)
In any of these cases, you'd find yourself immersed in harmonica people with lots to share, and encouragement to give. Even if it seems intimidating, it's not. Most people love to share what they're experts in. Most also remember starting at the exact same place.
I get stage-fright sometimes. If you just get over the hump, you'll realize that the adreneline release is better than any drug. Then, like many others, you'll get hooked on it.
"It's damn scary being an inexperienced harp player in the guitar-players' world. In the harmonica world, however, you may find a completely different experience. There are several ways one can find a harmonica-supportive stage experience."
At the risk of sounding like an asshole, I've got to say that the music world is not comprised of harmonica supportive situations. To play, you've got to learn how to work with MUSICIANS. Now, the biggest impediment to playing live with other musicians is material selection because there's a whole lot of material that a beginning player can't handle on harp. But if the other musicians are are willing to play play compatible material, a beginning harp player should be able to function. The music world ain't harmonica centric and if you are going to play live, the sooner you get used to that, the better for you, the musicians you are playing with, and your audience.
the music business is whatever will sell centered. It builds off what happened yesterday and rehashes it today. One can be a backup player-have to learn to fit the scene, or a frontman- make the scene. I prefer the latter. Stagefright is something I never have understood. I figure if it is your passion you would shine, like a football player does at the super bowl.... Walter ---------- walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year. " life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
Bro' Tuck-good nickname and a great post. I agree with the above posts about never playing on stage. Maybe you don't/can't play in public,but you should play with other musician,even if it never leaves the living room. I think it teaches you stuff you can't learn playing solo.
If you told me 18 years ago that I'd be playing on stage with a band in front of an audience,I'd have thought you delusional. My first gigs,I was totally petrified! Now, I don't think I'd have a problem playing to an audience of 5000. The more you do it,the easier it gets.
My point, gentlemen was to direct and encourage a seemingly nice fellow towards a safe environment in which to start. To begin. To test it out. The rest can come later. Such environments/experiences do exist. A forum such as this one should represent a great place to find some shepharding and encouragement.
The stage averse folks will either try it or not. If they get hooked, they will experience the good and the bad of it. They will have a great deal still to learn. I think the good makes the bad worth it, so my tact remains positive.
Brother Tuck, welcome to the MBH forum. I agree with your list except for one thing. You said you are too old to pick up tongue blocking. I'm almost as old as you are and I'm still learning new stuff about the harp. Did you mean that you are too set in your ways after 40 years of playing to tongue block?
Last Edited by on Jun 24, 2011 8:07 AM
"the music business is whatever will sell centered. It builds off what happened yesterday and rehashes it today. One can be a backup player-have to learn to fit the scene, or a frontman- make the scene. I prefer the latter. Stagefright is something I never have understood. I figure if it is your passion you would shine, like a football player does at the super bowl.... Walter".
Damn straight, my man. That should be instone on tablets from Moses. I remember as a 10 year old kid riding the streetcars here in Atlanta (there were no buses then) and blowing those fox chases and doing field hollers and all that stuff in the aisles...getting those tips. Getting off in the segregated black neighborhoods and walking into grocery markets, little smoke shops, taverns, and blowing and dancing and raking in the $$$. Never had a hassle ONCE! I tell these scaredy cats to get out there in the stree alone or with a guitar player and start hustling...any "fears" will soon be gone. Get on the bus and hustle...get thrown off. Get out in front of the police station and hustle...get chased away, I have found they will tip good and then ask you to leave. In front of the city jail is always a good spot, if they chase you, tell them you're hungry...lots of times they will ask you in to get a meal before running you off. Ya gotta be CREATIVE!!!! Then when you get asked to play with a group...know HOW to talk music talk to that lead guitar player..."this is just a simple shuffle in A, you get me into itth some BB King riffs and I will go with what you lay down. Show them your "getting ready to end it" signals before you start. YOU are the guest and the intruder...THEY will try to help you if you dont act like they owe you anything. Then, let your harp and vocals talk for you. If you can't play...you just better pack up and go home.
---------- "The degree of someone's "open mindedness" will be in direct proportion to how much they agree or disagree with the issue being discussed"...William F. Buckley
Playing music live is a way to communicate things that can't be said in words, but that other people understand. Of course, you've got to have something to say which is the music you hear in your head. Then you need chops which is the technical ability to express yourself on the instrument and make what you hear in your head come out of the instrument.
A little performance anxiety or tension before going on stage is not uncommon and not a bad thing, but I can't relate to this freezing up and forgetting everything stuff. It's not about you anyway--it's about the MUSIC. You LISTEN and become part of the performance. I routinely come up with things to play live based on what i hear the rest of the band doing that i would never have thought of sitting around playing by myself. Sometimes I can't remember what i just played after i get done.
And that's the point--on stage you are completely "in the moment." Nothing else in the world matters but the rhythm, the melody, the changes and the interaction with the other musicians. You become part of the music and lose yorself during the process. It's a complete escape from the rest of the world and whatever else is going on. And there's nothing else quite like it.
Of course to be able to do this sort of thing competently and effectively, besides competence on the instrument, some technical musical knowledge is required, the development of which is remarkably absent from the list of suggestions which started this thread.
IT AIN'T ABOUT THE HARMONICA. It's about the music. And that's the problem i have with all the harmonica centric obsession that's so much a part of the blues harp culture. And you know what? That's the same problem so many other musicians have with harp players in general. FWIW.
Last Edited by on Jun 23, 2011 5:45 AM
joelee and hvyj: You made my day! People today are very quickly getting further and further away from how music has been learned, passed on, and performed, for countless generations. IMO this is why so many of todays heralded players sound generic, boring, but technically perfect. The blues greats were often much the opposite. You can keep the technically perfect. I will take a joe lee backround player anyday(joe lee is a great player to boot!)Heck alot of guys I read about on these forums that are being called todays greats have no real life blues connections yet they are being called the blues greats of today. That is very unsettling to me-like pills to replace food.......... Walter ---------- walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year. " life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
@ HYVJ "IT AIN"T ABOUT THE HARMONICA. It's about the music. And that's the problem i have with all the harmonica centric obsession that so much a part of the blues harp culture."
Never a truer word, or a more valuable insight, have I seen aired on this forum...or pretty well any other. I'm not so sure that it really affects harp players that much more than it does other musicians (I see lots of guys who know their way around their instruments, but struggle to put what they are doing in context musically) but yes, look at your instrument as a medium with which to express the music, rather than using the music as a vehicle, or a back drop for your performance.
Allow me to supplement my rant with another criticism of the blues harp culture.
I am profoundly amused by all of the effort that some players devote to learning some solo by some great harp player or another note for note. I mean, some of that sort of thing is good exercise, but the reality is that the player who actually created the solo in all likelihood never played it the same way twice.
Well I disagree here, a lot of players do play very similar solos, if not identical, again & again.
When someone says to me, "I never know what I'm going to play, I never play the same thing twice", you can rest assured that they are typically going to do very much the opposite :-) Learning solos helps build a vocabulary & can help keep strict identities from one song to the next, saving a whole set of material from becoming generic noise, in various keys & tempos.
Besides, when you hit on something that works, why bin it purely due to some arbitrary concept of what you should/shouldn't do?
My advice learn music.Learn as much as you can it will help you down the road in getting more work. Learn to play in a lot of styles. If your diatonic double on Chromatic. Chromatic double on diatonic. ---------- Emile "Diggs" D'Amico a Legend In His Own Mind How you doin'
I think many of today's harmonica players overplay. Blues music in particular is not so much about technique as it is about feeling. Beats of silence in the right places can be just as effective as notes. A soulful harp player impresses me more than a speed demon. Allow me to quote Jerry Portnoy here: "Important though it is, good technique is a means not an end... Empty displays of technique have no meaning. Music is not sports. It's not about who can play the fastest or the loudest or the trickest or anything else. Music is about communicating."
"Jim suffers from stage fright" "He's afraid there won't be a stage"
I hate to admit he's right. And I bet that it applies to some others here too. :) ---------- The WV State Harmonica Championship at The Diamond Teeth Mary Blues Festival Aug 27th & 28th 2011, Huntington,WV
Hearing some real good stuff here from some of you guys... hvyj says...."it aint about the harmonica, it's about the music" 5F6H......"expanding the vocabulary"....(I recall Muddy Waters' band playing here in the Atlanta Stadium at the Atlanta Jazz Festival around 1966 or 1967. The critics shredded the performance and rightfully so too. They wrote "Waters' band played a lackluster set of 5 tunes...ALL IN THE SAME KEY) Therefore becoming generic noise. It is so refreshing to hear these comments. It tells me there are some REAL performers on here...I love it. When I was damn fool enough to try teaching this stuff I would add in my lessons how to appear on a stage. How to captivate an audience. How to know if you're getting through in a small venue (oldest trick in the book...you watch the feet of the women. The feet on a woman never lie when she is sitting at a table. If she is tapping those feet...you're doing it to her, she is liking it. Ignore the stupid men, they, by and large know nothing and are just there to pick up the tab in the hopes of getting some loving. I found that most students didn't have a clue how to enter a stage or leave a stage and transfer the energy created back to the bandleader, absolutely clueless on microphone techniques for speaking to the crowd, no clue of how to stand with manly dignity and PROJECT authority, the graceful way to pick something up from the floor if you drop it. 100% didn't even know what "working in one" meant. They had great disdain for any of it! ALL THEY WANTED WAS TO LEARN HOW TO PLAY "JUKE"! So, I eventually stopped trying to help them BECOME somebody. I just took their money and sent them on their way with them being totally convinced they were now players. You can guess what they'd say about me then...."Oh he's not so hot (referring to me), I can now play "Juke" as good as he does". MADNESS! Tony Glover wrote a line in that old book he did about playing blues harp. It was about (Rice Miller)Sonny Boy Williamson. "I feel sorry for those who never got to see Sonny Boy perform....and even sorrier for those who did and missed the point"
---------- "The degree of someone's "open mindedness" will be in direct proportion to how much they agree or disagree with the issue being discussed"...William F. Buckley
Joe Lee Bush exclaimed: "How to know if you're getting through in a small venue (oldest trick in the book...you watch the feet of the women. The feet on a woman never lie when she is sitting at a table. If she is tapping those feet...you're doing it to her, she is liking it. Ignore the stupid men, they, by and large know nothing and are just there to pick up the tab in the hopes of getting some loving." Well that's my favorite post exert on this board yet and I have to admit I do (Joe has posted that advice before) use it "when I'm not too nervous on stage".. Interestingly I was in a descent club performing for decent money to a decent audience and mess up parts of the head to "Mercy, mercy, mercy". In my case it was a marriage of too little preparation and nervousness: each feeding the other. My shame with the (probably unnoticed by others) mistakes will galvanize more familiarity next time though! d ---------- myspacefacebook
"Beats of silence in the right places can be just as effective as notes. A soulful harp player impresses me more than a speed demon."
Leaving space is important (silence is the 13th note of the chromatic scale) but, IMHO, there's nothing wrong with speed if used artfully. A good example of this is Butterfield who could play with impressive speed when he chose to do so. Butterfield usually played with economy, playing right notes in just the right spots and leaving a lot of space. BUT, he'd also link his ideas with blinding fast runs from time to time. IMHO, there's nothing wrong with using speed if you've got those chops.
Frankly, most of the players i hear whining about how playing with soul is so much more important than playing fast couldn't play a 16th note run accurately with clean separation between notes if their lives depended on it. But, in general, i certainly agree that many (if not most) harp players do tend to overplay.
So are people saying that if you play fast you don't play with soul? I wonder if Coltrane and Parker had this problem. Sometimes it's what you play fast. I always think it's a balance. Here's my friend Jimmy Bruno. I think he plays with plenty of soul.
---------- Emile "Diggs" D'Amico a Legend In His Own Mind How you doin'
Your man Jimmy Bruno plays his ass off. Unless my harps are all messed up, I nailed this as in the key of C. Took a Bflat chromatic in 3rd and wailed like I was at Birdland. Took a LowF, got in 2nd and worked that too...had one overblow up there somewhere around the 6 or 7 and I squeezed that sucker right on out of there. Wife came around the corner while I was playing (she hates everything and can spot a poser/loser in a second), she says...."say old dog, that sounds pretty good. You guys ought to steal it and put it in your show." I call it now "A Theft in Progress". I just know someone is going to pop up here and say.."why didnt you do it in first with a chro?" lol...answer: Because I am not good enough in chromatic first..........YET. Great sounding stuff...I couldnt handle a steady diet of it but here and there and then over here and then over there etc etc. I can go with it. I can see it being accepted well in places that cater to the American Express Gold Card crowd. (where the REAL money is). Along with a mild "charles brown" type blues show with NO DAMN BRUSHES on drums. These guys are good. Thanks for the posting. ---------- "The degree of someone's "open mindedness" will be in direct proportion to how much they agree or disagree with the issue being discussed"...William F. Buckley
I had the most awful stage fright imaginable, but for my whole life I hve always SAID i would trade a year of life for the priveledge of paying one good tune in front of a live audience. I 2009 on April 17th i stumbled on to Adam gussows lessons on you tube 1500 hrs later can play a bit. I found a group of reallly good musicians who felt they couldnt get a gig. We persuaded a pub to give us a room. we kept the door 130 people turned up i thiought it was 4 out of 10 musically others thought it was great. Second venue sold out 140 people. third venue sold out at 200. Here I am with my little tin and brass sandwich in the middle of the most fabulous group of musicians its a dream come true. When i am in the band i have no stage fright because I know that that if I completely screwed up they would come in like the cavalry and save the day. life is too short to be afraid go for it is what I say. Mostly i lurk on this forum trying to pick up tips and links to fabulous players Many Many thanks all of you e beattie Dr Beastie
@hvyi and DiggsBlues : I guess I used a bad choice of words. I didn't mean that a fast player can't be soulful. John Coltrane played the saxophone extremely fast but every note had soul. James Cotton plays "The Creeper" ( one of the greatest harmonica workouts of all time) and " The Creeper Creeps Again" and many others very fast and makes every note his own. I can think of many other examples, too many to list here. Magic Dick's "Whammer Jammer". Adam Gussow's "Shaun's Song" from his Kick and Stomp album, my favorite cut from an album where every cut is great is played fast. On Kick and Stomp, Adam plays songs fast and slow and every speed in-between but he shapes each note to make it his own. And I have to mention Jason Ricci who plays many of his songs very fast but very impessive. I can go on and on with examples of very fast and very good harmonica songs, but the point I was trying to make was just because a player gets the right sequence of notes at the right speed does not make a great harmonica player. There's more to it than that. I'll just say this: There are young blues players today who, on guitar or harp or whatever seem to want to make an impression with the speed of their playing. Just because a guitar player can run all over the fretboard with lightning speed does not make them another Johnny Winter or Stevie Ray Vaughn. The same principle applies with the harmonica IMHO.
I think in the end it's as Simon Cowell used to say it's the "IT" factor. Some people just have it to start others develop it over time. It's the voice they develop on their instruments and it moves you some how. ---------- Emile "Diggs" D'Amico a Legend In His Own Mind How you doin'
Wow, so much about stage fright and performance; not prepared, not qualified to give advice etc etc.
Why should making music be all about performing on a stage? People play music for different reasons and in different contexts. Self expression and just sheer love of music can be just as valid reasons for playing as performing on a stage.
Some people just don't need, enjoy or want the limelight. ---------- Lucky Lester
"Wow, so much about stage fright and performance; not prepared, not qualified to give advice etc etc.
Why should making music be all about performing on a stage? People play music for different reasons and in different contexts. Self expression and just sheer love of music can be just as valid reasons for playing as performing on a stage.
Some people just don't need, enjoy or want the limelight."
Thank you brother Lester.
I'm frankly surprised this thread is still near the top and has done so well for whatever reason(s). This old hacker just wanted to pass along a few tips based on his own personal experience. Everyone has a different experience, as well as goals, dreams and abilities. I said early on; "To each his own."
My life with the harp has been a fun one, rewarding in its own way to me, which is a hobby, passion and a pastime more than anything.
How many folks in here make a living blowing the harp? I would hazard to guess that for every pro in the world, there are countless amateurs like me that just love the instrument and the music for the hell of it and nothing else.
Now, if this forum is for professionals only, then I am indeed in the wrong place and speaking out of turn.
Brother Tuck, there are a lot of pros who post on this site but I think players of all levels are welcome here. At least I hope so because I would be in the wrong place too if it were for pros only. I play mostly for my own enjoyment also. When some of the posters talk about high dollar equipment or performing at big gigs I usually don't post because it doesn't relate to me but I do find stuff like that interesting.
Brother Tuck, the forum is for everyone. As for stage fright, there are a few tricks. Playing with a band helps. Starting small helps. Play out on your porch. Play walking down the street. Play open mics. Just work your way up. The more you do it without the world ending the less stressful it gets.
Making recordings of yourself helps. It takes a while to get recording levels right but once you convince yourself you belong on stage it helps your confidence a lot. I'm a worrier at heart. When I started playing it was just for myself. I'd rather write than perform, but you know what, I've found performing is a lot of fun too.
Everything in life is about balancing risk and reward. The problem with stage fright (or general panic issues) is they distort the sense of risk attached to something so you are thinking in your head, 'Hey, the world will end if I go up on stage' vs. the 'Someone might really like my playing- that's a great feeling,' when really the risk is 'Hey, I might be embarrassed.' The first step in fighting stage fright fortunately isn't really scary. Ask yourself if you didn't have stage fright would you want to perform. Be honest. If you would, then realize that it's something you want to work on. Just starting to think about how to get around it helps you to start moving foreword. It doesn't mean you have to set a firm date to be on stage, just start looking for little steps you can take in the right direction that are less stressful.
Playing in front of people is a lot of fun, but YouTube videos can be fun too. Playing in front of a live crowd is one thing. It has it's own dynamic. Making a great recording is another thing with it's own rewards, and before we poo poo YouTube stars, ask yourself how many people in the general public could name one harmonica player off the top of their head? Now, how many have seen that really annoying Rebecca Black video? What if someone like her actually had talent? She's at something like 160,000,000 plays for one auto-tuned song. Apparently she didn't expect it to hit big so she didn't have all the monetization schemes in place from the start, but it's still likely going to pay her way through college. Playing in front of a crowd is great, but it's not as likely to get you as famous as playing on YouTube. (Then you can play in front of a crowd.)
As for everyone saying you don't have standing to say anything if you haven't played in front of a crowd, I disagree. (For the record, I've just played open mics, I haven't played for money yet, although I'm in a band working towards that goal). Like you said, we all play harp for different reasons. You were up front about what you thought and why you thought it. You can't ask for more than that.
And as to the sub-discussion running through the thread about busy playing or 'soulful' playing-
You should play exactly the right amount of harmonica for a given song. The hard part is figuring out what that amount is.
As for how much you should spend on gear, I've seen lots of friends gear and sell it for a loss when the next rent payment comes due. Spend what you can afford to spend. A lot of computer magazines run feature articles where they spec out a few different systems in different price ranges. That might be a fun thread. We could set a couple price ranges and some of the experts around here could tell us what would get us the most bang for our buck in each price range.
I've got a computer that is fast enough to not crash using Audacity. I've got a Blue Yeti USB microphone. I've got a Park amp (a Marshal clone I picked up at a garage sale with another amp for $30). I've been playing through a Bose distortion petal my friend doesn't use and his microphone (the same model Adam uses.) I've got a harp in each of the 12 normal keys, a chrom, a minor tuned, a low f and a low low f and a couple tremolos. Price tag (excluding the computer which I use for lots of other things too)- I'd guess somewhere around $500, most of that on harps themselves. So, what are other people's price points?
Brother Tuck, if it's on YouTube, just press the share button under the video on YouTube. Another button will appear that says embed. That will give you a little bit of code that you just cut and paste into your post, and viola! embeded. :)
Brother Tuck welcome, I always like reading posts from people (like you) who are genuinely humble and moderate in their approach to whatever they have to say (that doesn’t mean there isn't room for passion either!)
I definitely think on the whole however, that there is plenty of space on this forum for both non-professionals and professionals alike to have a say.
I hope so, because Adam kindly appointed me a moderator, and I would say that I am by far the least experienced of the four mods, and like you also I have never been on stage. That said however, I really do love blues harp, and have enjoyed learning so much from this forum over the last few years.
With regards to your own profile, if 40 years of playing harp doesn’t qualify you to give a little advice to beginners, then I am in all sorts of trouble as I didn't take it up until I was 43.
As for spending on gear, sure I spend a bit more than I need to for my level of playing, because I am in a fortunate enough position to be able to afford to spend on my one and only hobby, and it gives me a great deal of pleasure (there are many worse things I could be spending on).
I think it’s just like buying a motor vehicle; does the average driver really need a custom sports car? Probably not, as a reliable sedan will get you from A to B quite nicely, however the sports models are definitely a lot of fun to drive and argue about on motoring forums.
I haven’t worked out my price point for gear yet Nate as it continues to rise, and like a lot of things in life, it will most likely be governed by the wife getting hold of the bank statements, lol.
@ Brother Nate: Thank you, let's see if this works:
This guy tongue blocks,...just saying. In his interview with Adam he says; "I always tell people, it's all the little things you do that makes a difference."
@Brother Blocker & all: I understand the passion and this ain't my first rodeo on a message board, harp related or otherwise. It's all good and I take no offense to passionate disagreement and/or (sometimes harsh) judgement. Heck, if we were all the same, what a boring world this would be! :-)
Edit for a little story about gear for beginners:
As stated, I met Dennis Gruenling a few years ago but prior to that I was placing a call-in order for some harps and stuff to "The Best Little Harp House" and was speaking to the owner (who has since sold the business). One of the things I was purchasing was Gruenling's "Up All Night" CD and we got to talking about Dennis a little bit. This fellow (an amateur himself), told me the story of Dennis coming to his store with his father when Dennis was but 16. His father purchased for him some harps, a mic, and Dennis's first amp, a cheap little Pig Nose. Dennis plugged in the amp and mic right there in the store, grabbed one of his new harps and stated wailing away. The owner thought to himself; "Thank you JESUS! There is finally someone that plays worse than I do!" lol
I retold that story to Dennis when I met him and he laughed his ass off!
Moral of the story: If cheaper gear was good enough starting out for someone like Dennis, it should be good enough for most young beginners, me thinks.
Last Edited by on Jun 24, 2011 2:04 AM
"Moral of the story: If cheaper gear was good enough starting out for someone like Dennis, it should be good enough for most young beginners, me thinks."
you would have loved brother tnfrank. For a lot of people, a 15 dollar harp is good enough. ---------- The Blues Photo Gallery
"you would have loved brother tnfrank. For a lot of people, a 15 dollar harp is good enough."
I still like a Big River, myself. ;-)
I have a CD "Sonny & Brownie" where they cover "On The Road Again". It's really more story telling than it is a song per say, and at the beginning Brownie talks about his first guitar then Sonny talks about his first harp and says: "It was a 25 cent harmonica, and I had worked a whole week for that quarter..."
Well I be damned...here it is:
Gotta love it!
Last Edited by on Jun 24, 2011 3:53 AM
@Brother Tuck: FYI, I am not a professional player. I am a self taught hobbyist and I play no other instruments. I am, however, a fairly serious hobbyist and the musicians I gig with are all full time professionals, several of whom also have degrees in music. I consider myself fortunate to be able to perform regularly with (and learn from) musicians of that caliber.
Everyone is certainly entitled to their own opinions and the blind can go around leading the blind if they so desire. In fact, there's actually quite a bit of that occurring regularly on MBH.
Last Edited by on Jun 24, 2011 5:32 AM
Terrific post. It seems strange to speak about the harmonica-centric element in blues harp culture, but yes, that is a big thing: gear-head-ism. There's nothing wrong with a bit of that--it's fun, actually, to talk swords & knives with a fellow warrior--but it can also end up diverting some developing players from what you and I would consider the more important stuff.
Your post evokes what I'd call the phenomenology of stage performance, and that, too, needs to be represented, spoken up for. Cultivate musicality: that should be somewhere on anybody's Top-5 list of advisories to new players. Cultivate musicality. Pay attention to the music that makes you feel good. Pay attention to the moments when the flow catches you. How did that happen? WHAT happened? How long did it last?
I've spent much more of my professional career playing in duos with guitarists than playing in bands--although I've got some of the latter experience, too. But I've learned that THE most important things, when playing in a duo, are: 1) swinging & grooving the same way; and 2) liking each other. If there's a problem between the two of you, you need to talk it out. A common heart and a common sense of purpose are crucial. And if the dude can't swing with you--well, no amount of "like" is gonna save you.
Oh, and #3: listening to each other so that you can complement each other and give each other room to shine.
@Brother Miles: Well it kinda got off track but that's ok. My sole intent was just to offer a little friendly advice for new beginners for whatever it's worth, that's all. I stand by those suggestions although I couldn't think of them all and even if I could, none of them are set in stone. They're just suggestions.
@Brother Adam: Cultivate Musicality? ABSOLUTELY! And brilliantly expressed, BTW.
@ Brother hvyi: I think it's GREAT that you get to gig with professional musicians and have that opportunity to jam and learn! If becoming a professional yourself is where you wanna get to, you are in the perfect position. Take every advantage of it!
Last Edited by on Jun 24, 2011 8:17 AM
