I decided to share in video form some of the ideas that I explored last April in a lecture at Northern Illinois University. I talk about the old-school mentoring process, using the explosive encounter between Sonny Boy Williamson and Junior Wells as an example, then move forward through the increasingly "whitening" blues scene. In particular, I talk about BLUES HARP, the instructional book by Tony "Little Sun" Glover that many of we oldsters remember fondly. (In some ways, as a pioneering example of blues harmonica education as distance learning rather than one-on-one, in-person instruction, it's the prologue to everything I've done on the internet.) I'm intrigued by the continuities as well as the transformations.
In this video I also mention George Smith, William Clarke, Kim Wilson, Muddy Waters, Jon Gindick, and a few other names you'll recognize.
Last Edited by kudzurunner on Jan 28, 2017 6:42 AM
Interesting. I see parallels with the Zen like teaching where the disciple just can't provide the master anything satisfactory, until one day, BAM!
I used to work for a Japanese company where the managers would take the first-year analysts' reports and hand them back without any comment if they didn't like them. The poor guys had to figure out what was lacking on their own.
Nice job, thanks. Good to see some respect shown for Tony Glover.
The SBW2 motivational method is kind of reminiscent of "A Boy Named Sue". Billy Boy Arnold on his DVD tells about visiting Sonny Boy 1 - totally different personality.
Enjoyed this video a lot. I used that Tony Glover book for a time but also got a bit of mentoring from Big Walter a bit myself. This made me think back about an interview of Carey Bell trying to learn 3rd position from Little Walter and after the first go around, Carey couldn't get it and Walter slapped him in the face saying he's gonna learn it or else!!! ---------- Sincerely, Barbeque Bob Maglinte Boston, MA http://www.barbequebob.com CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
In one of your live streams late last year you mentioned you had a scholarly book coming out this year. Will it cover this topic? I'd certainly like to find out more.
I had the Tony Glover book and loved the 60's hipness of it but I learnt very little. It was only after learning the theory on guitar that harp positions made some kind of sense. I also had a long thin "guitar case" book that taught harp basics.
I, too, picked up the harp as a child in the '70's. I recall asking experienced players how to play and they would invariably say, "I don't know how I do it, I just do." It seemed that how to play was a jealously guarded secret, or players had never really thought about how to put what they were doing into words, or a little of both. There may have been some who didn't want to see new competition.
It is interesting to see how in other professions there is often a similar attitude toward newbies to the effect of "I had to suffer for my craft and you must, too, if your serious about it." There is often a hazing-like approach to the treatment of beginners. There is something to be said for learning perseverance, but there are better ways,to teach it.
One thing is clear, we are fortunate to have folks like Adam and Jason take the time to think about and articulate what they do and share it. I am sure they are better players as a consequence because you must know your stuff to be able to teach it to someone else. Thank you to those who share.
I, too, picked up the harp as a child in the '70's. I recall asking experienced players how to play and they would invariably say, "I don't know how I do it, I just do." It seemed that how to play was a jealously guarded secret, or players had never really thought about how to put what they were doing into words, or a little of both. There may have been some who didn't want to see new competition. Or maybe it made what they did seem more magical if few others could do it.
It is interesting to see how in other professions there is often a similar attitude toward newbies to the effect of "I had to suffer for my craft and you must, too, if your serious about it." There is often a hazing-like approach to the treatment of beginners. There is something to be said for learning perseverance, but there are better ways,to teach it.
One thing is clear, we are fortunate to have folks like Adam and Jason take the time to think about and articulate what they do and share it. I am sure they are better players as a consequence because you must know your stuff to be able to teach it to someone else. Thank you to those who share.
Last Edited by PeterG on Feb 06, 2017 5:40 AM
This vid prompted me to buy a copy of Blues Harp. It's such an interesting read! I found a copy bundled with Blues Harp Song book. NOS on eBay for $9. Thanks for turning me on to it, Kudzurunner, ya dig?
This was a delightful explanation of the educational model of learning to play the blues harp. What is interesting is that you describe an old guy teaching a young gun in an apprenticeship. Uniquely, I have been learning in a similar format but the age roles are reversed. I found a blues harp master when I was 63 years of age. He was 43 and yet had played for 25 plus years. I have studied with him for almost 3 years now. In my apprenticeship, I was fortunate to meet quite a few excellent harp players. They augmented the education which I receive from my mentor. In fact, every harp player I have ever met, augmented my knowledge of how to play better. What I feel about the learning model now is that "everyone" wants to share the knowledge. The selective choice of mentor will ensure that the knowledge remains for the future generations who wish to learn to play the harp. Perhaps the future of keeping the blues alive is making sure we don't lose the touchstone to the past but that we are generous enough to know that the future of playing blues harp depends upon the passing of the knowledge undiluted and well defined! Thankyou to those who have assisted my journey.
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