[Harp-L] Dylan and traditional harmonica styles



--- In harp-l-archives@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "samblancato" 
<samblancato@xxxx> wrote:

<snip>

I put it to you that Dylan's 
loopy, breathy, chording is not 
the result of his reaching the 
panicle of his harp chops but
is, rather, a studied, self conscious 
part of an overall posture that is in
fact derivative of an entire folk tradition, 
one that has a completely different 
sensibility with regards to the harmonica 
than where you're coming from, Dan. 
Woody Guthrie played his harmonica in 
much the same way and there are whole 
"box car" loads of folkies from the 1930s 
through the 1950s who utilized the harmonica 
in the same way.  

Primitive is the word we want here.
The harp was used by these guys - 
and probably by Dylan more than any other-
as a form of rough coloring. They don't want 
it to sound real sophisticated.

=====Winslow replies:

Woody was actually a much better player than Dylan on a technical 
level and is generally underrated as a harp player. Can you name any 
other names in that box car load?

Listening to rural "folk" players from the 1920s and '30s (and 
beyond), I am struck by the fact that their playing was anything but 
primitive or rough. In general the level of playing was quite high - 
strong tone without a hint of breathiness, excellent control of bends 
used for expressive color, note creation and mimicry, and amazing use 
of fast, complex rhythmic breathing patterns. Some stood out as 
soloists while others blended as a thread in an ensemble sound. A few 
names that I can remember easily in no particular order:

Ernest "Pop" Stoneman
Kyle Wooten
Will Shade
Noah Lewis
players in Arkansas Barefoot Boys
player in Jackson County Barn Owls
De Ford Bailey
Red Parham
Gwen Foster
Garley Foster
George "Bullet" Williams
Arteleus Mistric
Lonnie Glosson
Pie Plant Pete

The idea that "rough" and "lacking in sophistication" automatically 
belong in the same sentence with "rural" is nonsense. How can you 
then explain the intricacy of banjo and fiddle styles in the south 
even before lab experiments that produced bluegrass circa 1940?

While I won't weigh in on whether Dylan's playing is good or bad, I 
will say that its example has had an unfortunate influence of the 
playing of traditional music on the harmonica. People who once had 
unique and highly evolved harmonica styles as part of their musical 
traditions lost touch with those styles and Dylan filled the void - 
not his fault, but his playing is only a pale shadow of that 
richness. His playing may be perfect for his personal expression but 
it's not much of a model for anyone interested using harmonica in 
traditional music.

Winslow







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