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From: Benoit Felten
Date: Wed, 14 Jan 1998 09:53:57 +0100
Subject: RE: Intensity and Devotion (Long) was Rorschach pos.

> I'm not defensive of harmonica. I don't have to be. However, the
facts
> are that people are surprised when they hear a competent harmonica
player,
> and this hurts my business.

I wasn't talking about you Mike, I was talking about the general feeling
on the thread and what I felt was RB's defensiveness on certain of his
contributions.

>Every time you do a good gig in front of people, Mike, THAT's when you
>change people's perceptions of the instrument.

> Yes - and precisely my point. How much more would peoples perception
> change if EVERYONE played harmonica as well as, let's say,
professional
> classical violinists, or professional jazz saxophonists, or top notch
> blues or rock guitarists? I'm not comparing instruments or styles -
> merely levels of proficiency. If EVERYONE played harmonica REALLY
well,
> it would be a much more popular instrument, more in demand. EVERY
band
> would have to have one.

Honestly, I'm not sure it's that big an issue : how many people have you
heard playing lousy guitar, lousy drums, etc. ? And yet these people
still play in bands, some of them even record stuff. Hey; some of them
are even pop stars ! One example specific to harmonica : Elwood Blues
aka Dan Ackroyd. I think most of us on the list would agree that he's
not a very good player (and to some, that's putting it mildly). And yet
I'm willing to bet that until John Popper, he was probably the single
biggest cause of new harp players. People would listen to the stuff he
did and think 'this is cool, I never knew you could do that on a
harmonica' and then go out, ask a record shop owner and end up buying
Paul Butterfiled stuff. Bingo !

> Maybe not directly, but the more people who see the term "harmonica
> player" and equate it with "good musicianship", the better off I (and
ALL
> harp pros) will be.

That's certainly true. But there's no big 'me against the world'
struggle here, as you and RB seem to think. I'm sure you'll agree that,
as the instrument becomes more popular, there are more and more good
harp players, high profile or not, and therefore this equation of terms
is happening, slowly but surely, in people's minds.

> Which would be more likely to attract a good audience - a violin
concerto,
> or a kazoo concerto? A jazz concert featuring grand piano, or toy
piano?
> A band featuring a drummer, or one featuring a washboard player?
Charlie
> Mingus on upright bass, or on washtub bass?

> While it may be possible to play good music on these, what are the
odds
> that they'll match up to the "serious" instruments?

> Would you go see a jazz concert played on banjo? 20 years ago, this
would
< have been laughable. Today we have Bela Fleck. But still, when
people
> mention banjo, jazz is probably the last notion it inspires. However,
if
> there were as many great jazz banjoists as there are great jazz
pianists,
> saxophonists, et al, would the perception change? Of course it would.

I'm not sure I understand your analogy here. Could you clarify your
point ? I assume that you're talking about perception as opposed to
actual potential of an instrument. I agree that the harmonica is not
perceived as a serious instrument by some people, maybe even many
people. But that's changing, and it's more or less a natural course, to
which we're all contributing in our own little way.

> Exposure is much more important than valid approach to the instrument.
>As I pointed out in the early stages of this thread there are just as
>many dabblers in guitars, saxophones or pianos as their are in
>harmonicas. And that doesn't make people disrespect these instruments,
>does it ?

> No, because there are also a lot of artists like Joe Pass, Eddie Van
> Halen, John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, Van Cliburn, Big Jay McNeely,
Jimi
> Hendrix, and thousands of others who are notably great on these
> instruments.

Ah, but that's quite interesting : before Hendrix, how many people
thought that the electric guitar was a serious instrument ? It was more
or less limited to blues, until this guy comes in and blows everyvbody's
faces... So that generation, the ones who saw and/or listened to Hendrix
when they were kids now think that the electric guitar is a serious
instrument. How about their parents ? They for the most part kept on
thinking that the electric guitar was not a serious instrument. So the
shift in perception is long, and it's happened for other instruments
before !

> We have Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Alanis Morrisette, Chrissie Hynde, and
> many, many more along these lines - and John Popper. Yes I know there
are
> more good players, but outside of blues, how many are REALLY well
known?

I'm sidetracking a bit here, but I actually think that Bob Dylan, Neil
Young and Alanis Morissette (especially Alanis Morissette) aren't
actually doing the harmonica any good, much as their music is fine. The
use they make of the instrument is in direct line with the 'campfire'
image and that's what harmonica players are hoping will change...

> Why is it that MOST pop music fans believe that Popper is BY FAR the
best
> harmonica player ever? If your selection were strictly limited to the
> list above, which would you say is the best by a wide margin?

I see your point. But we can't expect things to change overnight, and we
can't expect our instrument to suddenly acquire the status we would like
it to have. In ten years time, there will be more high profile harp
player, whether RB continues his crusade or not. The point I was trying
to make was that things are happening already thanks to every harp
player in the world, not just RB. Furthermore, what you describe as his
'Intensity and Devotion' can be negatively perceived and not just on
Harp-L : I would like at this point to quote the line that surprised me
the most in the RB review that Danny Wilson posted yesterday :

"Bonfiglio could be a Paganini of the harmonica -- he is
that level of phenomenon -- it it weren't for his affected aw-shucks
manner of self-promotion."

Ben Felten
Lille, FRANCE
http://www.xhuan.com