Online Harmonica Forums
When I was learning to play music, back in the fifties, although my father had a good job as head of the physics department at UCB (Cal Berkeley), we never were able to save up enough to get an Internet Connection, so we got a lot of stuff done.
Here's some great writing about the ramifications of Forum-use, from the website 1623customharmonicas, a project and business, of Greg Jones, self-described thusly:
16:23 Custom Harmonicas is a small business located in San Antonio, Texas, specializing in the sale, repair, and modification of Seydel diatonic and chromatic harmonicas.
This is probably the only place where you'll see a Texan write "small" and "Texas" in one paragraph, so soak it in....
It turns out that the connection between me and Greg goes way back, in that he's in San Antonio, where The Alamo is, and, as a child, I used to watch Fess Parker play Davy Crockett on TV. As if that weren't enough, about 25 years ago, I went to Texas with my daughter, and we saw The Alamo. I've also rented a car from The Alamo people.....Talk about coincidences!
So here's what he wrote about The Forums:
Oh The Forums!
Greg JonesForums are these really interesting places online where people with similar interests can get together in a virtual setting and discuss their passions. You might be interested to know that a harmonica forum that is still in existence today was one of the original forums. It isn’t surprising that harmonica players like to compare notes, showcase their playing, and discuss harmonica related topics.
The forums are out there on Facebook, web sites, and other platforms. Forums can be a great place and I can certainly say that some of life’s most aggravating nuisances can be eliminated because a kind soul shared a solution on a forum. I’ve fixed lawnmowers, boat motors, and computers using a little tip I picked up off of a forum.
Unfortunately, new harmonica players often find themselves tied to forums. It is important to realize that every minute spent on a forum is a minute a player is not involved in the creative expression of music. It is also important to realize that there is no way to ascertain the skill level or knowledge of many forum posters.
every minute spent on a forum is a minute a player is not involved in the creative expression of music.Frequently, new players will read the forums and sort of adopt the lingo that they see. Eventually the new player begins posting and using this lingo and then new forum members that come in behind him and sort of assume the poster is an expert. This is extremely common and it tends to propel information that isn’t always accurate. The forum sort of becomes the forum of expression and not the music.
The truly great players out there are naturally gifted in the art of expression. I find the same skill applies when they share their knowledge in a public forum. We can certainly benefit from their experience. However, these truly gifted musicians didn’t master their art by dwelling on a forum. As a novice player, you won’t either.
End of Greg's Writing, thanks, Greg, very well said.
TO POST OR NOT TO POST (MoveOn.You?)
When we're involved in something, practicing an instrument, reading a book, saving the world from the Latest Terrible Thing You Read About on The Internet, whatever..... and we decide to move on to some other endeavor, the point at which we make that decision is worthy of investigation.
Boy, this is hard to play, I think I'll visit my pals on The Harmonica Forum and see what's up with them.
If you're reading a book, and decide to stop for a while, be sure that you fully understood that last thing you were reading. Often, not understanding something and continuing to read can make you feel tired and that perhaps it's time to move on to something else. So it's really simple: when you feel the urge to move on, be sure it's not because you were having trouble understanding what you had just read.
Same thing for practicing.
When you decide to stop practicing, check out what you were last playing and be sure you're not "moving on" because you were having troubles with learning something. Unless you have to attend to a Real-Life Situation of some sort, or have to work on making a living or saving your marriage, chances are that you moved on because of some frustration.
"Oh heck, I forgot to thank Jon's Aunt BettyFor instance: On Good Days, I sit here for six or seven hours a day, practicing, as old age continues taking its toll on the higher frequencies of my hearing, getting a case of sore-butt and learning stuff and, in theory, getting better at some aspect of the chromatic harmonica.... I'm retired and have the luxury of Time and Just Enough Money (I consider myself a minor Life Lottery Winner) to do that. SO... when I'm working on something and, suddenly think "Oh, darn, I forgot to thank my Aunt Betty for her great gift last Christmas, I guess I should call or write to her", I ABSOLUTELY KNOW to go back and check out what trouble I was having with Learning Something. Aunt Betty can wait.
As far as I can tell, (I asked around), this is a Universal Phenomenon. At this very moment, musicians all over the world are getting to The Hard Part, and suddenly remembering that they forgot to thank my Aunt Betty.
THE INTERNET IS ADDICTING: visiting websites
Educational, Amusing, Informative, sure.
...........Well, there's an hour of my life that I'll never get back.
Yeah, there's that.
THE INTERNET IS A TOOL, USE IT AND PUT IT AWAY.
THE INTERNET IS ADDICTING: Email
(duh)
- Nobody will email you telling you that your house is on fire.
- Nobody will email you to tell you that your wife is in the hospital and you need to get there ASAP.
- Somebody WILL email you to tell you that they have found $325,000 that they seriously want you to have, and, if you'll just send them $500 for "paperwork filing", you will get all that money....but you can ignore them, OR, send me the money and I'll take care of the paperwork.
THE INTERNET IS A TOOL, USE IT AND PUT IT AWAY.
OVER 40 YEARS OLD? Use the same rule for internet use that your dad gave you for TV Watching.
("A half hour a day, AFTER HOMEWORK and CLARINET PRACTICE, and don't make me come up there and pull the plug!!")
UNDER 40 YEARS OLD? Use the same rule for internet use that your parents (you, know, the people you still live with) have for your video game use.
BUT JON, I ENJOY BEING WITH MY ONLINE FRIENDS
Well, sure you do.....and that's fine, at times informative, and the feeling of camaraderie isn't a bad thing, now, is it?
Imagine The Thrill of being online with 2333 other people, ALL (ok, perhaps only 99%) there because they were having trouble with something..... we'll be charitable and assume it was practicing!
I freely admit to having been on at least two of the forums and having actually learned something useful.
As I got more into the chromatic harmonica and more into its study, I found that at least twice a year, usually on a slightly overcast day, I would discover something helpful on a harmonica forum. (I had NO idea that my harmonica would play better with magnets placed inside the cover plates, Thanks, chromoPal23!)
Will today be one of those days?
Probably Not.
OK, I'M TAKING A SCHEDULED BREAK, FROM PRACTICE, CAN I GO ONLINE NOW??
Well, Ok.
WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO GO ONLINE?
Post-Practice Posting is Good Practice in both Posting and Practicing.
Pre-Practice Posting can lead you deep into No Practice territory
If you're prone to pre-practice posting, STOP
CLEAN MOUTH, CLEAN INSTRUMENT ?
Well, sure, it's best to neither blow your dinner Orts into the instrument, nor to suck the old dry spit into your body before eating. No sense filling up before you eat....
Pre-Prandial Post Practice Posting is best... a clean mouth, clean mind.........etc.
at this point, I'm not sure what else to write, ....
...... I wonder how Aunt Betty's doing.......guess I never thanked her for the Boy's Life Subscription thirty years ago.... I'll do it now.
moveon.jon.
