What a deeply beautiful piece; and how incredibly fortunate we all are that you record and post these astounding renditions for our joy and inspiration. A simple, but heartfelt "thank you" will have to suffice, I'm afraid, though it is of course inadequate to the magnitude of the gift. We are blessed by what you give us. ---------- Matthew
@harp er: don't worry I've completely catch the sarcasm, referring to previous incident I ve NEVER asked to have COMPLIMENTS on my videos, but CRITIQUES on them do you get it now???
No. I'm afraid I don't get it Cristal. There was no sarcasm in my post. And none intended. I'm not interested in critiquing your playing. I wouldn't be the right one to do that. I'll just continue to be blessed by them (whether you like it or not, apparently), and you will have to look for critiques elsewhere. Thanks again. ---------- Matthew
no sarcasm? that is what i was laughing at. or rather what seems like an over the top amount. even christelle thought so. i guess that amount of praise had yet to be seen on this forum and was unexpected.
no christelle the "lol"was not directed at you as i dont listen completely to many of your vids. though they sound nice they aint my cup of tea.
" though they sound nice they aint my cup of tea."
Now that's interesting...What could make them more interesting to you...What are the things you don't like about me? My playing, the songs played? What could be your cup of tea?
@ eharp - don't answer cristal, you will only spoil my fun! I did really lol at your 'lol' comment! (and thats before I read the following exchanges).
Cristal's postings are great because her followers are prone to over the top comments - endless amusement.
@ Cristal - this is no critisism of you - your video's simply seem to attract some weird comments for reasons beyond my understanding. Keep them coming!
i never said i didnt like you. i hope it is just a misinterpretation or a language thing that led you to ask that.
as to your playing, it is fine.
i guess it is the types of songs. i like the blues. the melodic things you play just dont do it for me. i guess i aint much of an instrumental-type of listener. i need more. something to break it up such as vocals. even your vocals! (a joke. i didnt think your singing was bad on help me.) even when folks play blues straight thru an entire backing track, i get restless.
maybe 1 criticism i have. i've mentioned it before. and this isnt directed at you specifically. but it always bothers me a tad when folks shoot a vid and feel, instead of telling us what song they are gonna do, what key and such, sort of as an introduction, the stay mute and spin the harp to show us the key and model. i always expect some sort of magic trick to follow; maybe they make it disappear or turn it into a dove... but that;s just me.
Okay, I'll throw my two cents worth in. Cristal your playing almost never ceases to amaze me. My specialized subject is the bleedin' obvious so let me say, you're a ridiculously good harmonica player that is easy to wax over the top about but I'll let others go there.
Since you shout for critiques allow me to present one. You seem to be very defensive and take offense easily. You must surely know that all art is subjective. One person's Picasso is another's, "Weird sucker". If eharp isn't into instrumental harp music that's nothing personal. It's just his taste. Some like coffee. Some like tea. Some like both. Whatever.
Why eharp and jgrowler find the compliments you receive amusing is kind of condescending in my view. You have fans who try to express what they feel about your art. They are moved by it and that is hard to express. To scoff at their attempts is classless. Again, just my opinion.
Cristal, if you're going to continue to post such great music you're going to have to learn how to take a compliment. You degrade a heartfelt compliment by a fan by assuming that compliment is sarcasm and then have a go at him. I suspect that was a bit hurtful.
RE: eharps critique of the lack of an introduction and the "spinning harp" (sic), that's kind of nitpicking. Cristal names the song and the writer above the post. It might be a bit better to repeat it as a spoken intro but that's pretty 50/50. We ain't talkin' MTV here.
Dear lady, you continue to produce some really nice musical video pieces. Somehow you need to lighten up and appreciate what you do at least half as much as your fans and take the compliments humbly but as deserved.
BTW, besides some pretty nifty playing, the actual sounds you're getting from the backing tracks as well as the live harp are really good. I'm curious to know if you produce the backing tracks yourself and if so what software and recording set up you use. It seems like I've seen a different mic and maybe different monitors on this last video.
I wish you all the best. ---------- LSC
Last Edited by on Jan 16, 2012 10:41 AM
@ LSC - I would normally consider myself as a little uptight and serious in real life, but amazingly find myself no such thing on this forum! If more folks were as relaxed as me, then the general ambience would be much more peaceful. You are welcome to your view about what I find amusing, but many many threads have 'left of centre' comments posted in them, and even sometimes inadvertantly hi-jack the thread. A few of these 'rogue' comments are interesting, many are not, but thats what keeps my attention and teaches me an awful lot about music in general. One thing is certain, without variety the forum would be much less attractive.
@ eharp - I nearly wrote this morning that I suspected we were 'kindred spirits', but thought it a bit 'over the top' (ha ha). However, having read your further comments, I find myself in broad agreement. I also prefer playing to be broken up to provide variety. I also find Cristal's vocals to be fine. And of course I agree with everyone that Cristal plays very well! The 'kindred spirit' tag must however be put back on the shelf because you did NOT mention the groove. I suspect in addition to everything else, the thing thats holds my attention best is music with a groove! (it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that groove?)
Lovely playing Cristal! I had written a extended post but my PC crashed so here's the gist of it:
I think some here would really like to here you play classic bluesharp sound in terms of effects, chording and so on, but with your fantastic note selection and skill. You know, what Jason did :).
Personally I would love to here you in a chugging piece playing some of that "same old shit" mixed up with all that you can do.
But! And here's my main point: Do what you wanna!
I really enjoy your videos and I'm going to try that yesterday second pos as an OB workout... It'll probably sound as crap but in a few weeks slightly better crap. ---------- Pistolkatt - Pistolkatts youtube
These threads are always interesting. I rarely comment but I read through them totally amused. I think that there is a lot of misinterpretation and possibly some language misunderstandings going on. I am also confident in saying that I don't think there is anyone that doesn't like Christal's playing. I am positive that everyone agrees she is a "great" harp player. I am a fan for sure. I think her harp playing is incredible and when I wish to show off good harp players to others that I know who don't play harp, I always pull up her youtube channel.
But appreciating ones talent has little to do with personal taste in music. One can appreciate how well someone plays but not like the music style. I can certainly appreciate how well an opera singer like Pavorati sings but at the same time I am not a fan of opera. He is great, but opera isn't "my" cup of tea. I used to mess around with the guitar and was a big fan of the instrument. However I loved blues and certain rock music. I could appreciate how well some of the speed metal players played or classical guitar players but didn't like that type of music. So I wouldn't listen to it or buy it. If those guys played blues or classic rock then I'd be more attracted to it.
It is the same for me with the harp. I play and I love the instrument; but only in Blues. I am not really interested in a lot of other stuff played on the harmonica. Even Stevie Wonder stuff. I don't like straight harp campfire tunes, classical stuff or general songs adapted to harp in different positions. But that's me. I would imagine I'm not alone in this. I can certainly recognize the quality of the playing and at times I just like the tune for the tune itself. But my taste in harp is pretty much blues only. Guitar....mostly blues, a lot of blues based rock after that. I often comment on youtube vids because I think the playing is good, but at the same time I'm not really into the style of music. One has nothing to do with the other.
Hey....I could get beheaded for this I'm sure, but I'm not that big of a fan of Jason Ricci. He is great on the instrument for sure. But I'm not that into the modern stuff or the speed demon playing. Just a matter of taste. For me and my taste while I think Cristal is fantastic, for me it would be even better if she was strictly blues. I think that is what is meant by "cup of tea."
Yea, I'm a dinosaur, stuck in the old. So be it. lol
If its a critique you're after, here goes: awesome playing ability, especially with the seamless overblowing; I can only dream about OB'ing like that. Great arpeggios, note selections and runs. Vibrato, bending accuracy, its all there.
However, for my money, single notes on the harp doesn't play to the instruments strengths (other instruments can do it better and more easily). For me, what is great about the harp is its possible tonal variations, from chords, octaves and tongue slaps, warbles and slurs. This to me is what gives it depth and keeps it interesting. The harp can do things that other instruments can't; these are the things that I find interesting and enjoy listening to. ---------- Lucky Lester
Last Edited by on Jan 16, 2012 5:48 PM
