tookatooka
414 posts
Aug 26, 2009
1:45 PM
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I'm almost a perfectionist about most things but I have to make allowances for my lack of skills while I learn the harp. But I don't know if any of you guys suffer this but I feel I'm getting sucked into an obsessive behavioural disorder when it comes to the harp.
I keep checking this bloody forum up to twenty times a day for tidbits and snippets of useful information and I'm concerned that my enthusiasm for knowledge is stronger than my playing ability. It's not right. I've always wanted to learn an instrument and now that I have the opportunity I, get so far and plateau out.
The only way I can intensify the lust is to keep digging for more and more info when really I should be playing and polishing my technique. Anyone else out there being driven bonkers like this or is it only me? I want to run with the big boys but I'm still strapped in my buggy. Mummy!!
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When I'm not blowing, I'm drawing.
Last Edited by on Aug 27, 2009 2:39 AM
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Hollistonharper
127 posts
Aug 26, 2009
3:37 PM
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Lol. Pretty sure a lot of us suffer the same affliction! I lurk way more than I post (couldn't help but notice your 414 post figure--once you hit 500 you qualify for a free weekend at the Betty Ford harp detox clinic) but if you are only checking up to 20x/day, my clinical assessment is that it's not fatal. Of course the key is to make sure your forum time doesn't cut into your actual practice time. Make sure you're online when you're supposed to be working or otherwise productive. (falls apart a bit if you are self employed. Adam advised everyone to take a week off from the forum and just practice--easy for him to say!
Nice job by the way on your summertime submission. Am envious of your fine vibratto.
Last Edited by on Aug 26, 2009 3:40 PM
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jonsparrow
854 posts
Aug 26, 2009
4:02 PM
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lets see... this is my 854th post. lol.
Last Edited by on Aug 26, 2009 4:03 PM
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asilve3
9 posts
Aug 26, 2009
4:36 PM
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I work at a local music store here in Allentown, PA. What I have learned from watching hundreds of people come and go for lessons is that the ones that really
succeed ARE ADDICTED to playing.
I tell students and their parents the difference between and average player and a great musician is O.C.D.
O is for obsession. The greats are obsessed with playing and improving.
C is for courage. Some people are so scared that they won't ever be good, they end up not allowing themselves to improve. Having the courage to make mistakes is a necessary step in fulfilling your potential. Equally important is having the courage to do great things!
D is for Discipline and Dedication. To hang with the pros it take dedication and discipline. You have to work hard to play hard. Then after that you have to keep keeping at it.
So if you're addicted you're on the right track brotha!
Why don't you do some mundane practicing every time you sign onto this page? Maybe you could practice a scale or work on your tone. If you are really checking the page 20 times a day even for just 3 minutes that would add up to an hour of technique stuff.
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KingoBad
73 posts
Aug 26, 2009
5:29 PM
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o.k.
You're BANNED!
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Aussiesucker
338 posts
Aug 26, 2009
5:44 PM
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It's addictive but not fatal. I think they refer to it as compulsive obsessive disorder. Or are we all just crazy?
Ask Buddha to enlighten us?
Prescription:-
1) Turn off the computer for a few weeks. The computer is great but also a bloody time waster. Sometimes lots of new and interesting posts to come back into.
2) Keep practicing the harp ie put forum time into practice time.
Fortunately for me I spend weeks away from the computer travelling, not work, as I'm retired. But lots of travelling retirees now are so addicted they take wireless internet laptops and satelite dishes with them in their vans to some of the remotest places wheras I relish the remoteness of being away from it all.
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jbone
135 posts
Aug 26, 2009
9:40 PM
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most of my practice in recent years has been either out in public at jams or gigs, or at home with my wife on guitar. true, i don't do scales and have much less formal knowledge of the how's why's, and wherefores of harp playing, but i have developed a fairly killer instinct for gut level playing.
i have been where you are though. for YEARS i wanted to BE lw or sbwII or sonny terry, i just couldn't bullshit my way into their shoes. and still today, i don't do copies lick for lick of anybody. i do what comes to me at the moment.
but somewhere along the way i had to buckle down and actually apply myself to learning some things, like how to play without killing harps every month or week or few days. and what a good amp/mic combo meant, after working on acoustic chops for a long time. and i think sort of by osmosis partly, i have picked up some knowledge of how a harp works, how breath works, where notes are that will fit with a given song or groove. i messed around for a long time before i broke into third position playing, and once i did, i found myself also revisiting first position stuff as well, and my whole perspective on second position was then altered forever. in fact my whole view of harp playing in general underwent a drastic change.
you can surf around any number of forums and glean all sorts of tips, tricks, and study/practice methods. what will ultimately make a difference is in the application of some of that information. i have had countless a-HA moments out live or in a rehearsal for an upcoming gig. like anything, after you get enough information, it's time to go and apply it and see where you really are. with some objectivity you can identify what you need to work on to go where you want to go.
i know this is probably counter to what a lot of guys suggest. truth is, i was so stubborn yet so afraid to be seen as a hack, that i DIDN'T play live for years, and also i didn't seek out instruction or help, i just muddled along until a couple of guys sort of took me under their wing and pointed me in a direction to get me making progress. it only took about TWENTY YEARS. did i say stubborn? there has to be a balance between classroom and real world, i think that's what i'm trying to say here. i may be an example of one who has relied too much on live experience and not enough on actually learning the ins and outs of how a harp works, where the notes are, etc etc. but i do pretty well despite that.
that's not a bad idea. shut the puter down for a week, ignore it, and instead practice or go out live and jam. you may be pleasantly surprised at how things fall into place- sometimes a piece at a time, sometimes whole rafts of new stuff your mind has been sorting out while you were distracted.
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Scrapboss
9 posts
Aug 26, 2009
9:53 PM
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jbone - You don't know how much I can relate to what you said. Just play the darn thing.
Tookatooka - Yeah what he said :)
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tookatooka
416 posts
Aug 27, 2009
2:51 AM
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Thanks fellas. It's nice to know I'm not the only one and thanks for the constructive suggestions and insights.
I think one problem is I don't really have a goal except that I want to be good. I'm not interested in playing with a group so don't necessarily need to concentrate in one area such as the blues. I like the blues but also like Irish folk, light jazz, classical etc. etc. Therefore I'm trying to play in all styles purely for my own interest and of course the challenge.
I expect at some stage of my development, I'll find the one thing that rocks my boat and concentrate more on that but I suppose at my current level I need to explore all the possibilities to find what that is.
I really appreciate your views there are some things I hadn't considered and will take your good advice.
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When I'm not blowing, I'm drawing.
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mr_so&so
194 posts
Aug 27, 2009
8:19 AM
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Tooka, I'm patting myself on the back for not being the first to respond to your post when I read it yesterday. But I too like to "keep an eye" on this board. I wouldn't if I wasn't learning so much.
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lumpy wafflesquirt
96 posts
Aug 27, 2009
11:34 AM
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@tookatooka where is your summertime submission? why can I only see mine and Mr so&so'son the harpfriends' playlist? it makes me think I've done it wrong.
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XHarp
139 posts
Aug 27, 2009
1:13 PM
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Tooka,
I bannish you. You've been banned twice now.
And I gotta go with Adam, Park the 'puter once in a while for a period and just play the harp. It's fun to just stick a CD on and try and work out the licks. Been working on some William Clarke this last week or so and its cool to get those Ah-Ha moments working out his licks. He was a wild man for sure.
If any of you get a chance, get his Groove Time or Serious Intentions CD's turn off the 'puter and put in some serious listening time. Really neat stuff on them.
For those really interested Dave Barret transcribed one of his chord runs once. What I thought was his Chrom playing was indeed diatonic. Fantastic stuff.
Can't get that from the forum.
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"Keep it in your mouth" - XHarp
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