They're out there and you know who they are. I carry around a pulsating neon image with a list of names. Guys who play so fast for so long that previously healthy and vibrant neural pathways are scorched to micro-cinders. I'm about a season and a half behind on my Grey's Anatomy episodes but I don't think those grow back. And that skinny chick is the most morally flexible lead character in a TV series ever! Regardless, when I hear the phrase "John Popper solo", or any fragment thereof, I frantically search for something soft and acoustically impermeable to jam into my ear canals.
For the record, I appreciate the talent it takes to play a seemingly endless series of clear notes at lightning speed. I'd just like to be allowed to appreciate it from afar. It's the harmonica version of the Eddie Van Halen Syndrome. I know you can play fast. Can you play with any feeling? Even if you want to take the cure you can't. Once you've gone public with your affliction your fan base will insist that you display it in public, repeatedly and forever. There are no winners in this scenario.
Enter Big Walter Horton via the magic of YouTube. In a performance from an unknown TV show in 1965 Horton plays Shakey's Blues. You expect the tone, articulation and phrasing to be pretty much perfect with Horton, and to my ear they are. What struck me was the number of notes he played. Or, more to the point, didn't play. I was conscious of hearing every single note. Horton was able to infuse his playing with feeling and a sense of musical tension without breaking a sweat or the sound barrier.
For the record, I appreciate the talent it takes to play a seemingly endless series of clear notes at lightning speed. I'd just like to be allowed to appreciate it from afar. It's the harmonica version of the Eddie Van Halen Syndrome. I know you can play fast. Can you play with any feeling? Even if you want to take the cure you can't. Once you've gone public with your affliction your fan base will insist that you display it in public, repeatedly and forever. There are no winners in this scenario.
Enter Big Walter Horton via the magic of YouTube. In a performance from an unknown TV show in 1965 Horton plays Shakey's Blues. You expect the tone, articulation and phrasing to be pretty much perfect with Horton, and to my ear they are. What struck me was the number of notes he played. Or, more to the point, didn't play. I was conscious of hearing every single note. Horton was able to infuse his playing with feeling and a sense of musical tension without breaking a sweat or the sound barrier.
I think this is the way it's supposed to be but my aural chops have been dulled by too much YouTube of late. You've got some great players on YT giving free lessons and it is greatly appreciated. But (almost) all of these guys feel the need to do the smoking lips routine ad nauseum to establish their bona fides. Or maybe that's just what they do. Either way my cilia are a little frayed.
Here's a concept worth considering: In a short bio of slide guitarist Darryl Hance he was asked to describe his process. He said that he played a tune, and if it didn't sound right he pared it down. He kept paring it down until it did sound right. Less, when properly articulated, is more. I'm going to leave it at that. And listen to more Big Walter. It'll change your life.
Big Walter vid link below.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=0LF-DSSuY84
Big Walter vid link below.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=0LF-DSSuY84
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