[Harp-L] Re: scary fast harmonica

[Richard Hunter <turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

"Bill Otten" wrote:
<There was a player from a band called Blues Traveller who shall go unnamed
<here in order to avoid resurrecting THAT old argument, but I think that
<player was responsible for this speed nonsense. 'Nuff said about that. 

Let's give Popper his due: he invented a new way of playing the instrument, and he made it stick with a mass audience.  Neither one of those is easy.  And whether or not Popper's style is your personal favorite, it ain't easy to play, as many of his would-be imitators have discovered.

Also: granted that you can go a long way on any instrument without playing fast, and as I said in my previous post, there are good reasons not to in a lot of cases.  Why is it less respectable for a harp player to play fast than it is for a guitarist, keyboardist, violinist, or saxophonist to play fast?  Learning to play fast and sound good is just like learning to play slow, or loud, or quiet and sound good--it's another way of playing the instrument, one of the things you do on the way to mastering the instrument and the music.  

Personal disclaimer: I usually don't play really fast unless I'm getting paid double my usual rate.  After all, if I'm playing twice as many notes, I should get twice as much money.  Or so I tell the guy handing out the checks.

Regards, Richard Hunter
latest mp3s and harmonica blog at http://myspace.com/richardhunterharp