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DATE: Tue, 25 Jan 1994 18:33:04 CST
From: Rob Frantz
Subject: Re: Harmonica and reading music

Thank God that long before I ever picked up a harmonica (at age 21, I'm
now 47), my parents saw to it that I had some musical education
(1 year of piano, 4 of guitar). Thank God, I learned to read music.
Furthermore, Thank God, I was fortunate enough to get an education, to
learn to read language. Sure, as a singer in glee clubs, doo-wop vocal
groups and later bands, I learned most of the lyrics from listening.
But, Thank God, I have the ability to read them off a page when I can.

True, there are many super musicians who can't read music or
good singers who can't read written language (Howling Wolf was one), but
to say "it seems unlikely....that learning to read music will necessarily make
one a better player" is patently ridiculous. Let me say right here, Gordon,
without any equivocation, that if you take the trouble to learn to read
music on the harmonica, you will expand your musical horizons and so tre-
mendously enhance your harmonica capabilities that you'll look back on this
statement and wonder "How could I have ever said such a thing." Certainly,
sight-reading does not a musician make, just as sight reading English won't
a dramatic actor make, but certainly reading language will help....help,
tremendously.

I will write more on this later, but learning to read will improve harmonica
playing, no matter whether it's blues, folk, jazz , old-time music or
classical. The harmonica is often taught or learned by ear or number
notation. That's fine as far as it goes. But, harmonica can and should
be taught if possible or when the time allows, as other musical instruments
and that means learning standard notation and music theory. ROB

On Tue, 25 Jan 1994 G.Jacks~radford.ac.uk wrote:

> It seems unlikely, at least to me, that learning to read music will
> necessarily make one a better player.
>
> On the harp you cann't even see the position of the notes you play
> because it's stuck in the gob!. This is one of the things that I feel
> make the harmonica an intuitive (for most folk!) instrument to play.
>
> This is not to say that reading music would not help, but it's not quite
> the whole story at the end of the day.
>
> (Not intended as a flame by the way, well... not a nasty one). :-) :-)
>
> Gordon.
>
>