Re: [Harp-L] Harmonica MasterClass Workshop

["Tom Muck" <tmuck@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> I wasn't referring to the concert, but to this method of teaching. There 
> always should be a few "archivists" that can catalog and demonstrate what 
> the ODBG's did. It's like watching old films on The History Channel.

I disagree. The greats have come and gone. They continue to be great and 
worth learning from. This is true in all musical genres. You don't see 
modern violinists shunning Paganini or modern keyboardists shunning Bach. 
They learn from the masters before moving on. Some never move on. This is 
not a bad thing. They are playing the best music ever written for their 
particular instrument. If they play something original and creative, it 
might not be any good. Why play second-rate stuff?

Music comes from the soul. You either have it or your don't. If you don't 
have it (99.9% of musicians) then it pays to learn from the best and copy 
until you get it right. Once in a blue moon someone unique, original, and 
inspiring will come along, but the rest of us can't be that person. Nobody 
has come along that can play with the feeling of Little Walter, so it makes 
sense to learn what he did. Just my opinion.

> I don't find that direction to be as useful or exciting as getting to the 
> core of creativity and having the student discover that he/she has the 
> ability to play original ideas that come from inside themselves within the 
> first few months of learning to play the harmonica.

Creativity comes from within, and not from within most people. I think it 
comes easier after the mechanics of playing the instrument are learned and 
perfected.

Tom