Re: [Harp-L] shortlychromatic (George Brooks' response)



   George Brooks wrote:
This is just so, so wrong (IMNSHO).  A huge problem with would-be
overblowers is that they do not pay *enough* attention to intonation.

I would have to agree with George on this one. While I have tried to add some chromaticity to my playing the last 3 years, I still think about intonation more than anything. Lets face it, if you play diatonic and your doing anything more involved than O' Susana in First Position, you have to bend some notes. I don't always hit the mark, but it certainly is at the top of my concern list of things to do both on stage and in the studio. I will change keys of a song if I can play it more accurately (intonation) on another harmonica. Now having said that, I know I have played badly due to poor sound systems and loud musicians...we all have. Playing with half-valved harmonicas as I've been doing the last few years, presents different challenges than overblowers face, but none the less just as critical.
I think we all could benefit by just learning to accurately bend the 3rd hole draw note for all three semi-tones. Then lets see what chromatically we can do with the elusive missing notes.
Hope to see some of you in Dallas Sunday...


PT Gazell
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----- Original Message ----- From: "George Brooks" <gbrooks1@xxxxxxxxx>
To: "Harp-L" <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, December 10, 2006 1:43 PM
Subject: [Harp-L] shortlychromatic



Michael Rubin writes:

>IMO, part of the problem with overblowers
>is their incessant need to be on pitch.

This is just so, so wrong (IMNSHO). A huge problem with would-be overblowers is that they do not pay *enough* attention to intonation. A couple of years ago, a member of the List posted about a performance at SPAH that was musically adventurous and quite accomplished, but badly out of tune in places. He had to leave the room. I was in that room and wanted to leave myself, but stayed out of consideration for the performer and the rest of the audience.

It's not often I agree with Buldogge (I almost wrote "JR", which is what I used to call him, but most people would take that to mean Jason now) when the subject is playing chromatically on the short harp, but his observation that intonation is crucial is right on. There is a great deal that a non-critical listener will forgive, or not even notice. Everybody can tell, though, when the music is out of time or out of tune.

If you aspire to play chromatically on the short harp, please, please, please make it a high priority to bring the notes into good tune. Work with a keyboard. You can get a digital keyboard at a big box store or from a catalog for under $100. If this sounds like too much work, or just a drag, you would be much better off taking another approach (play in the less out positions, play button chromatic, take up autoharp....).

George

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