[Harp-L] Timbre, pitch, intonation

["Walter Joyce" <wtjoyce45@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Richard Hunter wrote:

Plenty of people write to this list all the time to say that they don't see 
why anyone needs to read music, know theory, etc., etc.   When I listen to a 
piece of music, I don't ask to see the guy's diploma either.  I enjoy plenty 
of music that was written and played by people who didn't have much 
knowledge of theory.  But there are plenty of good reasons why a musician 
should know that stuff, starting with the fact that you get more and 
better-paid work if you know it than if you don't.  That's all been been 
said more times than I can count, and I'm not going to rehash it all here.

The biggest flaw in the unschooled-musicians-are-best argument is this: most 
of the guys who fall in that category were terribly oppressed people who 
never had a chance to get formal training, in music or anything else.  The 
fact that they made great music in spite of these dreadful disadvantages is 
proof of their genius; it is NOT proof that the path to making great music 
is to avoid all formal training.  Most of the people on this list have much, 
much more fortunate circumstances than those poor souls.  Why not take 
advantage of the opportunities?  You can bet that those musicians would have 
if they could have.

Anyway, if you want to approach the harp from the point of view that it's 
best when you don't know what "pitch" or "timbre" is, you have my blessing.  
As to your never having heard from other musicians that harp players suck in 
general: the disrespect harp players get from other musicians is a 
near-constant theme on this list.  If you think I made it up, check the 
Harp-L archives.

Regards, Richard Hunter"

First, hello Richard, drop me a line sometime if you are so inclined 
wtjoyce45@xxxxxxxxxxx


Second, if anyone has read Howling Wolf's biography, you'd know that the 
Wolf was obsessed with learning, and took music lessons even after his 
commercial success.

Walter Joyce.

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