And a big thank you to you too, T2, for organising this one. Unlike my efforts with HPC2, you had to spend a lot of time messing about with YouTube's idiosyncracies just to make it work. I'm sure we all appreciate that.
One thing I've learnt from this one is: don't practice a set piece for the next one. Mostly, those who just jammed seemed to come accross a lot more natuarally in their playing; the Blues is, after all, an improvisational art. Learning a piece note-for-note, like MichaelAndrewLo did - is a lot harder than just jamming, don't you agree, harp peeps?
With the number of takes I did for my entry, trying to get it just right, I nearly went insane. I would rather have my teeth pulled without anaesthetic than do that again.
But, the most valuable thing I took from this one was seeing what a person can do on the instrument if they put their mind to it. I'm talking about my first two choices: Michael and Brandon.
The length of time they have been playing made their performances truly inspirational. It made me think very hard about my own playing, and what I need to do to try and reach the next level, which, for me has resulted in going right back to basics and, more than anything else, breath control. ---------- YouTube SlimHarpMick
I agree with the rehearsing bit Mick. My first effort was just an off the cuff rant and blow out but it was much better than the one I had been rehearsing. I had to put my second one in though because I didn't want to waste all that rehearsing time plus it was not too long.
I'm wondering whether the HPC's have now run their course? By the time we get all round agreement on the direction it should take - the gloss gets blown off. Plus the length of time it all takes, the constant persuading etc. It really needs a dedicated commitee but that would be impractical under the circumstances.
Like you say it really should be a improvisational type thing.
How's about we just have a thread running each week or so. For example, a thread starts which is headed, This Week - I'm going to make my Harp Cry. Then we can just chip in with our videos and people can comment or not. There's no competing element, I know but that appears to be off the radar here. Just a thought.
We should capitalise on the interest created it would be sad to let it go. ----------
Last Edited by on Feb 15, 2010 3:54 AM
I think there will always be some who would like to take part in these competitions, but, in retrospect, I don't think that they should be plugged quite so much. You know, familiarity breeds contempt and all that jazz.
As for putting up videos for comment, we can and do anyway.
After three HPCs, one thing that seems to be emerging is that having too stringent rules doesn't seem to work. It was apparent that in some cases neither the entrants nor the people voting for them took the rules into account.
Bushman's model seems to be a lot simpler to work with. Still, I expect that many will disagree and we'll bicker endlessly over the next one. I think that this time I'll just go with the flow. ---------- YouTube SlimHarpMick
"As for putting up videos for comment, we can and do anyway." Agreed but it may be good to have a common theme in one thread plus with just a week to put a video up it should be more improvisational. Anyway, it's an idea worthy of kicking around. ----------
Last Edited by on Feb 15, 2010 4:40 AM
A Big thanks to everyone who took the time to upload a video and a big thank you to everyone who voted. I for one had a blast with this HPC and i think its really helped to boost my confidence.
I would like to see another HPC sometime in the future, but maybe we could do it at more short notice(i am pretty lazy and didnt really start working on something until the last two weeks) Seeing the deadline so far in advance just makes me put it off until last minute.
Maybe we could just stick to other video threads for example the Fast Blues day that HarmonicaMick started or the Slow Blues Day that IsaacUllah started, they got a great responce and again it was short notice and i think players found it a little less intimidating uploading a video for those as they were not classed as a "competition" as such.
I'm happy to run with whatever we decide but whatever we go with it should be light hearted and fun.
Yes, a HUGE thanks to tookatooka for doing a GREAT job on this one. Now you join the illustrious ranks of "retired" HPC administrators with the likes of me and GH and Mick! Welcome to the club! ;)
Yeah, it would be sad to see the HPC phenomenon go the way of the dinosaur, but I do agree that it is a serious burden on the administrator and has apparently has become a burden even for some of the participants. Given that the goal of the thing is just to have fun, gain experience, and to help build a sense of community, I think we ought to think long and hard about the future of the HPC before doing the next one. I agree with Ant that "It's ______ Day at MBH" threads could and perhaps should fill the gap in the mean time.
I know it's been an unpopular thing to say in the past, but maybe it's time to think prizes for HPC. Of course nothing big, but it might make it all seem more worthwhile to the administrator and the entrants... I don;t know. It would certainly mean getting a sponsor, and would definitely change the dynamic of HPC. The other alternative is just to dial it back A LOT, and make it very casual, and non-competitive. But that too would be changing it's nature quite a bit. The HPC's have occupied a very strange limbo-like territory of being mildly competitive non-competitions where you get kudos and respect but are mainly supposed to do for the experience. It's a lot of work to pull them off, and there's little reward for the volunteer admins. In other comps, the admins are doing it to get more traffic to their website, more attention for their product, or to bring more paying customers into their community. Given that our goals are less businessey, we ought to consider the amount of effort we are putting into the thing. If we choose to get a sponsor, then they would basically take over HPC as a business ploy. If we keep it local, then we HAVE to dial it down a few notches, or we will quickly tire of the effort it takes to keep pulling these things off. ---------- ------------------ The magnificent YouTube channel of the internet user known as "isaacullah"
By the way, I am simply ecstatic that I got so many votes! It's a HUGE boost for my confidence. Thanks to everyone who liked my playing, but a big thanks to Hollistonharper, and to Tuckster who gave me some very useful feedback. You guy's rock!
PS. perhaps we should start a post-HPC3 follow-up thread where folks can ask for more detailed critiques of there HPC entry vids? I think we did this after HPC1, and I remember it being useful... Just an idea... ---------- ------------------ The magnificent YouTube channel of the internet user known as "isaacullah"
I second the idea of the "It's ___ day at MBH!" That was really fun to see comparisons for ones own video, really educational, which should be the whole point of these challenges.
@ HarmonicaMick, I DO think learning a piece note-for-note is difficult, and essential. One must imitate before they innovate!
I'm not at home to physically start this with my own contribution, but it's Lundi Gras here in New Orleans(day before Mardi Gras), and I'm feelin' funky...
So, howza bout this: It's Funky Blues Day at MBH? I like to hear different interpretations of funk, and it's loads of fun to play on harp!
Isaac - maybe you are ecstatic, but not only did I poll less votes than my 1 last time, I didn't even get to be worthy of a mention in the results list for the kudos of null points [Eurovision :^) ]. At least one person gave me an honourable [or was that horrible] mention and a comment on my youtube channel. :^))
I can do that. I'll start it off by the weekend, unless someone else wants to, but I will contribute-maybe more than one! I loves me some funk, yall! ---------- Todd L Greene. V.P.
Congratulations to Brandon! I was extremely impressed with what he did. I wish I could take credit for teaching him any part of that magnificent harp line, but it's all his doing. Brandon may have won a Star Search two years ago, but I think he's turning into a powerful and original player who is going to continue to surprise us in ways that go far beyond the Orpheum competition.
As for this competition: nice going! Congratulations to all participants. Thank you for bringing so much creative energy to this website. Talk about "user-generated content!" You guys are maniacs. Which is to say: committed blues harmonica players.
Thank eveyone for your votes. HPC is a great way to really practice your chops and focuse in on your performing. Thanks a ton to tookatooka for all of his hard work.And of course, thanks to Mr. Gussow for having this website, forum, and for being such an incredibly influential harmonica player. ---------- Brandon Bailey
Thanks Tooka, for all your hard work. You made it especially fun with your art work and banners ,etc.
I sense that you feel somewhat disappointed in the participation rate from the forum. If you do, I don't think you should feel that way. It's pretty clear from all the feedback that the core audience participation is going to be from people on the advanced beginner/intermediate end of the spectrum (skill level, not amount of time playing). I can only speak for myself, but I think a lot of the people who participate use it as motivation to improve and maybe don't have other outlets to get feedback on their progress. I know that if it were truly a competition with prizes and entry fees, I wouldn't participate--I'm just not that good, couldn't ever win, wouldn't expect to, and would be embarassed to put my stuff up against real players. (Again, I'm just speaking for myself. There are a bunch of newer players who are really good.) I just don't see experienced and accomplished harpers who play out in bands having a lot of motivation to take part in the HPCs. And the forum membership has certainly changed a lot in the 2 years I've been around. In the beginning, it seemed like it was a majority of novices who were attracted to this forum by Adam's YT instructional videos. Now it seems like this is just the place to be for a lot of really good and sophisticated players and even pros.
The suggestions to have regular "name your thing" day or week is a great idea. I personally love to hear other forum member's playing and would love to see lots of opportunities for that. It would be great for HPCs to continue but maybe just with lower expectations.
Another thing I'd really like to see is greater use of the Harpfriends channel for newer players to post videos and ask for feedback. I think that was the original idea for the channel, but it didn't have a lot of staying power. (I'll admit I hadn't looked at it in a while and see some newer submissions have recently been posted.) I admire the guys who are brave enough to just post their video in a thread and ask for feedback, but hope those of us who aren't yet that confident know that they have a safe outlet on harpfriends channel to get some feedback.
And the final thing I'd throw out is for all the experienced players to just regularly post a video simply for everybody else's enjoyment. For instance, Diggsblues's recent posts or the 4 vid's Kingley posted today. Awesome stuff you know?
Edited to also say thanks for the votes and comments on my vid. I really appreciate the positive feedback!
Last Edited by on Feb 15, 2010 8:36 PM
Hi Bro's as much as i like James Brown me and Funk just don't get down,,please don't make HPC4 Funk or I'm Funkin sitting this one out and i did realy want to do something with my Bro on Back up Dobro Guitar and with me on vocals,,my suggestion would be make it an open comp let us do our thing after all we are here to express our selves not be Pidgin holed by some Funkin catagory..think about it you have lost 2 willing Players all ready,,my main aim of entering was just to boost numbers and see what the rest of the world is doing,,
Thanks For All the votes everyone. All the wonderful comments were very encouraging. i had not been feeling that great about my playing before this but the comments i received really boosted my confidence. i cant believe how many votes i got. im definitely up for the next HPC. anyway you want to do it is cool with me. but it should always be open to people who play solo. not everyone has other musicians to jam with. and you should let people play what they want to or else the less experienced player may not be able to compete.
Hey Nasty, you didn't read the previous posts. HPC4 will not be funk. We were just kicking around the idea of having a thread for one week for uploading funky blues harp, another week something else etc, in between the HPC's.
This forum is open to all ideas and you have just as much right as the rest of us to put your ideas forward and make them happen.
I'd like to see the HPCs continue. Big thanks to Tookatooka for organizing this. The HPC format gives developing players some time to work on a tune or techniques for a while before the big event. There were a number of problems this time around, but I think we can learn from those and have a less onerous administration task next time. Am I volunteering? Not yet...
Spontaneous themed video weeks are also fine with me, but there will be even fewer people participate in those, I suspect. Bring 'em on.
I like the way the HPC was run. I see no real need for changes, just do it again.
But
You will never find a combination that is best for EVERYONE. Everytime you make a change, you will gain a few members and loose a few members. So if you want a change, that's OK. Change can be good (Obama???) But remember you can change it again in HPC5
@ GH @ Sir, you are a gentleman. I salute you. Thanks.
@ Miles @ Why wait till June?
@ Jim @ Changes - agreed. I'd rather think of it in terms of evolution. BUT, it is extremely difficult to juggle so many strong opinions. Sometimes those with the most forceful arguments don't take the majority into account.
We just got to keep it as simple as possible for people to enter (and to run) at the cost of not embracing everyones desires. It's just got to be fun otherwise it just isn't worth doing.
Last Edited by on Feb 17, 2010 6:57 AM
Yo Tooka i think what Sirsucksalot says in his post is pretty well spot on,,and i Forgot to Say I'm Voting for you as MBH ambassador of 2009 2010 you have gone way above and behond of what a normale person would do for there love of our Humble little Instrument and the MBH Members,,Thanks mate has any one looked into the problems of uploading to Harpfriends yet it could save you some Hassels if can access it to upload our vids..
Hi Nasty, Kind words indeed, thank you. Regarding YouTube uploading, it can be done by creating a Topic and loading it that way. We need to get that sorted before the next one but I hate dealing with big sites, you just get the runaround and it can be so time consuming.
We'll have to work out how to deal with the harpfriends site. I'll open up a new thread in the next couple of days so we can discuss how to advance on that matter.
---------- germanharpist on YT. =;-) - Resonance is KEY!
You may remember that I suggested that we simply have an HPC channel and give the password out willy-nilly. In this way, there are no security issues. The worst thing that could happen is that the playlist, e.g. HPC4, could be sabotaged, and we'd just have to get everyone to upload their video again.
It is easy enough to add to a playlist, as you showed us for HPC2.
This suggestion would avoid the admin nightmare that T2 has had, and would not compromise the security of the harpfriends channel.
To me, this seems quite straightforward, though, perhaps I am missing something. ---------- YouTube SlimHarpMick
