Post by Steen JensenPost by John AgostaI am sick of seeing dolts on the cell phone while in a car.
I'd rather take my chances with drunks on the highway;
at least you can tell they are impaired.
Don't play your harp in the car.
Just drive, man. Just drive.
very good advice.
I think there is a new law coming up (in Denmark, where I live) that
will cancel your drivers licence, if you're caught talking on the phone
3 times - while driving.
Safety first, gentlemen ;-)
My first thought on this thread is - save your money! Those are some
darned expensive harps man, and you haven't even learned enough yet to
justify going that way. You just learned how to blow single notes, so
don't blame the harp. Your Hohner Pro can do everything you need when
you learn how to coax it to get two or three bends on some holes, plus
overblows. Any diatonic harp can play a full chromatic scale when you
learn how to bend properly. Though it is a bit easier to get all the
bends on some harps than others, they all do it. Your problem is not
the equipment, it is just that you are still learning how to play.
Though XB40's are designed only to make it easier to bend, I have even
heard some very good players complain about XB40's or Promasters for
other reasons. That isn't the answer - YOU are the answer.
You see, take it from me - a gear addict - fancier harps, vintage mics
or boutique amps won't make you a better player. So instead of buying
that expensive harp that you don't YET have the skills to play, spend
some of that hard earned cash on Jerry Portnoy's harmonica masterclass
CD set - he is one of the greats, is a brilliant teacher and has the
best lessons on bending techniques I've heard. Fortunately for you,
there is a set on eBay right now, so you can save a bit:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Jerry-Portnoys-Blues-Harmonica-Masterclass-CD_W0QQitemZ250241916870QQihZ015QQcategoryZ47080QQcmdZViewItem
On that other note, the first time I studied Portnoy's CD's was in my
car. I don't have much time to practice during the day right now, and
the car is the best place for me. Fortunately, I am a damned good
driver, and smart enough to know when not to drive and play at the
same time - but done judicisously it is not unsafe - I haven't killed
anyone in weeks!
There are people who don't do anything else but drive the car, and
they are still dolts. Of course, they are even worse if they get
distracted. But driving itself can become a distraction if you let it.
Anything can. There are people who are so afraid that they drive too
carefully - and too slowly - and one well known statistic is that
people who drive too slow cause more accidents than people who drive
too fast because other drivers do stupid things trying to get around
them. Driving can also get hypnotic, especially on long trips, which
can cause accidents. That is why I keep a special little holder for my
harps right between the seats. I bought this holder in a car parts
store - it is designed with a piece that hangs down and fits snugly
between the seats, and is intended to hold stuff lik cigarettes or
pens, I don't know - but it holds 6 harps on-end perfectly.
I play along with CD's or the Blues Channel on Sirius all the time. I
even have a Pignose amp on the front seat and a little vintage Calrad
mic to play amplified in the car and really blow my heart out if I
want to. In traffic jams, it is the best! It also keeps me awake on
long drives. At stoplights I can use both hands and wail. I know
enough to put the harp down when the driving gets too complex to
negotiate safely. SO it isn't any less safe I suspect than drinking
from my water bottle or a cup of coffee while driving - and a lot
safer than chomping down on a messy Big Mac, pugting on lipstick (not
something I do myself, at least not yet) or something. I also talk on
the phone when I drive using a BlueTooth headset and voice dialing,
which also isn't any less safe than talking to someone in the back
seat. I think it is more important to learn how to be a good driver
regardless of what is going on around you. A good driver is constantly
facing all kinds of distractions on the road, from a beautiful blond
crossing the street to loud music on the radio or loud passengers in
the seat next to you to people driving erratically and cutting you off
and even drunk drivers. It is also well known that changing radio
stations or CD's while driving causes accidents (Google it), pssobly
as many as cell phones, and certainly many more than harp playing,
statistically speaking,
I don't trust the so called studies that say cell phone increase risk
of accidents. When you check them out you find out that they don't
have any way of creating a control group of people that don't get into
accidents while using a phone that is comparable to the people people
who did - too many variables to control. They just went into hospitals
and found people who had accidents and then checked to see if they
were using a cell phone - well, of course a certain percentage of them
were these days since everyone has one now. It is a bit like studying
the risk of tomatoes on heart attacks. When you study a group of
people who recently had a heart attack, sure 'nuff, a large percentage
of them had eaten tomatoes, or tomato sauce, just before their cardiac
event! So you better stop eating tomatoes and pizza. You probably
have more chance of dying from brain cancer caused by cell phones -
but try to get the powers that be to study that!
Guess I am in a rambling mood today.Sorry 'bout that!
- Robert
www.RawFoodLife.com