STME58
406 posts
Apr 11, 2013
11:25 AM
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I was talking with the parent of of one of my sons friends about the music her kids were doing. I mentioned that I could help if one of them wanted to learn trombone or harmonica and I got this comment.
"I knew you played harmonica but I did not know you were a musician."
It's an uphill battle folks!
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LSC
393 posts
Apr 11, 2013
2:01 PM
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"...you're prohibited from being within a thousand feet of a school, and the TSA puts you on a Watch List."
Oh, that's why. I thought it was just my bad publicity.
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LSC
Last Edited by LSC on Apr 11, 2013 2:01 PM
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Bigtone
202 posts
Apr 11, 2013
2:31 PM
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Wow thats when you hook up the Jt to the Danelectro and two whole draw her face off!!
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ej
21 posts
Apr 11, 2013
2:51 PM
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That's the best line I've heard in a long time. Hilarious!
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walterharp
1067 posts
Apr 11, 2013
6:59 PM
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A guy who heard I played harmonica asked me " do harmonica's, you know? play real notes?"
I said not the way I play....
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BronzeWailer
941 posts
Apr 11, 2013
8:21 PM
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I've noticed on TV whenever they want to portray a moron or yokel, harmonica is used as a kind of shorthand. A cheap trope. We can't get no respect.
My YouTube
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Hobostubs Ashlock
2057 posts
Apr 11, 2013
8:33 PM
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i understand,Ive know a few guitarist that think there just toys,I had a guitar player bring a kazoo to practice one time,just to make fun of my harmonica,(Im no longer in the band;-)
I started playing acoustic years ago,and last 5 years have tried to learn a few other types of stringed instruments,eletric guitar,bass,CBG,dobro,dulcimer,and the harp,
And out of all them I think the harp,is the hardest to learn well,I still haveno clue,but they can fool people easier than any other instrument,There kind of evil in that way,They hook a person quick then mess with there head once they relise ,that there hard to play Good
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Hobostubs
Last Edited by Hobostubs Ashlock on Apr 11, 2013 8:37 PM
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STME58
408 posts
Apr 11, 2013
9:12 PM
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The Harmonica is a relative newcomer to the instrument scene compared to things like the violin or trombone. I wonder if this has something to do with the lack of respect.
Another newcomer, invented about 20 years or so after the harmonica, is the saxophone. I picked up a Sax method book in a music store and read the intro, which stated that the sax is little respected among players of other instruments because it is easier to play. The book then went on to lay out the difference between time to get a recognizable melody out of an instrument, and time to become truly proficient. The paragraph could have easily been about Harmonica as well as Sax.
Banjo in its modern form came into being about the same time and it suffers the same lack of respect. I just checked the Julliard curriculum and could not find Harmonica, Saxophone or Banjo. Do you think in a hundred years or so, formal education at highly respected music schools will be available on these instruments?
Last Edited by STME58 on Apr 11, 2013 9:14 PM
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didjcripey
522 posts
Apr 11, 2013
9:15 PM
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Good.
The more people underestimate this little instrument, the easier it is to blow them away.
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Lucky Lester
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BronzeWailer
942 posts
Apr 11, 2013
11:06 PM
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Interesting points, STME58. Would that it were so. I think there are cases where so-called 'vulgar' forms of expression gain at least a patina of respectability over time, such as ukiyo-e in Japan. I don't expect it in my lifetime, though.
If that comes to pass, future historians will be trawling through the MBH forum as part of their research into classical blues harp theory.
My YouTube
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STME58
413 posts
Apr 11, 2013
11:54 PM
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@BronzeWailer, Shakespeare is another example of the vulgar becoming acceptable and even highbrow.
I have also heard that Sax is not in the orchestra because it is not in the Bach, Schubert, Beethoven, etc scores that are popular orchestra repertoire. I wonder, if these composers would have written in parts for the instrument, if it were available to them.
I also wonder what music of today will still be played in 200 years. Have you noticed that the older music, even just going back the the 1960's seems better than today's music. I contend that that is because we have already quit playing the bad music from the earlier eras. If you had a 4 hour recording taken from the radio in 1960 I'll bet you would hear the same ratio of good to bad songs as we have today, whereas if you listen to a modern 60's station, you only hear the good stuff. I am not sure what this has to do with the future of currently maligned instruments, perhaps as the poorer music fades from the collective memory and the best rises to the top, these instruments will gain respect.
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Hobostubs Ashlock
2059 posts
Apr 12, 2013
1:12 AM
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Its a intersting thought,of what will be in the future,Because we are at a new stage just beginning all of us,Because music for a long time couldnt be recorded,it was passed along ,or wrote down,but then we started recording,But only a few of all the musicians were recorded,You had to have someone do it,No home recording as it is now,Even a few years ago say 20 ,You went into a studio most times,most people that played probelly never did,then the digital age hits,now we all can record,the good ,the bad the ugly and some greats,But its avaible to anyone willing to try it,you can build a simple to a nice home studio,that was impossible except to the rich a few years ago,Yes there will be tons and tons and tons a everything out there,unless we all get nuked ,then i guess it will go back to drums and sticks,maybe a didly bow or 2;-)but Its so cool,what the world has to offer to someone wanting to record,learn play,
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Hobostubs
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Frank
2196 posts
Apr 12, 2013
4:59 AM
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I was in a room where I was the minority and I said does anyone here play the harmonica and the response I got baffled me...
No, that's a white mans instrument?
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Rick Davis
1628 posts
Apr 12, 2013
8:24 AM
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The film "Pocket Full of Soul" did a segment on this. Nailed it.
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-Rick Davis
The Blues Harp Amps Blog
The Mile High Blues Society
Tip Jar
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STME58
414 posts
Apr 12, 2013
10:31 AM
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@Frank,
That comment reminds me of the cultural phenomenon of names like Taylor and Ashley changing genders. Once a few girls use a name, it quits being used as a boys name.
It is interesting how, by looking at music, you can begin to explore much of what is going on in society.
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KingoBad
1281 posts
Apr 12, 2013
11:02 AM
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Frank,
Now that has some powerful pain...
I suppose it stings the most when the stereotype actually fits you.
You can resent it for all the reasons that stereotypes are bad, but it still depersonalizes as much as if it didn't fit.
I can't say that I haven't felt that a time or two either...(not as explicitly though)
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Danny
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