Here's a very interesting article written by my teacher Patrick Costello last week. He has been banned from BHO as some of you may know. Whatever you think of him, this article should be an interesting read.
12 Comments |
 | Marc Nerenberg says:
3/6/2011 5:27:46 AM
So if he's banned from the Banjo Hangout, why are you linking his stuff here?
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TimDavis says:
3/6/2011 7:52:38 AM
I'm sorry I thought this was the banjo bandits group. It says "No rules. Come one come all to discuss banjos." So I'm sharing what happens to be an interesting article about clawhammer/frailing banjo. Did you read the article, Marc?
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| Marc Nerenberg says:
3/6/2011 8:32:02 AM
Yes, I read the article. I think he goes out of his way to find egregiously bad examples of the kind of playing he doesn't like, when there are, in fact, excellent examples out there that he ignores. I think he disingenuously presents himself as neutral, when, in fact, he has a personal axe to grind, and he doesn't disguise that very well. On the other hand, I have always felt that melodic clawhammer lacks the rhythmic punch I look for. But, on the third hand, The String Bean, Grandpa Jones rube act leaves me equally cold. There's a lot of really interesting banjo playing out there, and I don't think Patrick really managed to present ANY of it in that little rant of his. The playing he presented was either too simplistic, or rhythmically flaccid. I could find dozens of more interesting examples just by combing the videos on the banjo hangout.
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TimDavis says:
3/6/2011 9:16:41 AM
OK thanks Marc. I appreciate you taking the time to give your opinion about it.
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| Marc Nerenberg says:
3/6/2011 9:42:19 AM
You're welcome, Tim.
To elaborate a little more, I think Patrick's piece would have been much stronger had he contrasted the frailing of Uncle Dave Macon with the clawhammering of Adam Hurt. THEN he would have presented a fair comparison between two masterful players at opposite ends of the rhythmic versus melodic spectrum.
Personally, I love BOTH of their playing, as different as they are from each other...and you would still see that same contrast between florid showmanship and refined retrained stage presence. One could then make a legitimate comparison... rather than contrasting the faux hicks with the banjo playing corpses he has presented.
BTW, that "dead man plays banjo" video of Ken Perlman, who I've known for about 30 years, is so untypical of him, and was surely out of context...Ken has plenty of personality and humour...it just didn't show in that clip. This is an example of what I find to be a skewed presentation by Patrick; to me, it smacks of dishonesty.
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tom elder says:
3/6/2011 3:10:06 PM
I ain't seen a style yet that bad taste or ego couln't make a mess of.
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 | pickinchik says:
3/14/2011 6:14:53 PM
Hey Tim, I say post away! You are right, no rules here. I've been out of action a few days. Haven't looked at the article yet, but in general I like Patrick and DOD. Everyone is entitled to an opinion about every subject, so now I'm interested. I'll try and get it read tomorrow and see what I think.
Thanks for everyone's input on this, question everything I say!
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 | Paul T R says:
3/26/2011 6:29:42 PM
One should certainly take the article with a grain or more of salt. I can take almost any style of banjo playing and appreciate it at its own level. At my jam I almost always use the banjo as background for singing. I've done the occasional tune, and it's a completely different thing. Same with the videos that PC shows. (Why he put that video of Bill Rogers in, with its broken sound track, is - almost - beyond me.)
If I were to only appreciate one kind of music, I'd probably fall for the article's set-up. But when you learn to listen to various forms, you learn that each has its place and its way of listening. And I don't find fiddle tunes boring. After last night's jam was over, a couple of us started attempting St. Anne's Reel on mandolin. The fiddler and keyboard player joined in. It really jumped!
What alarmed me about his article wasn't so much what he said, it was the responses! It's as though he has a group of followers who hang on his every word as though he were the sole source of truth. Don't they know that there are many knowledgeable people who have different points of view?
PC has said things I agree with, but he's also, in my opinion, tended to oversimplify things at times. In the end, one of the things that weakens his argument here is his thinly disguised attack on players who hold contrary opinions to his.
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| pickinchik says:
4/1/2011 8:23:48 AM
Ok so I read the article and watched the vids. So what. He wrote an article big whoop. I don't take offense to anything he said or showed for that matter. If he would have put one of my vids up (I'm a beginner in case anyone thinks otherwise) I wouldn't have a problem with it either unless he said that I was anything other than a beginner. I happen to like a more driving style of music but that is my personal opinion. I also pretty much despise melodic clawhammer, and I don't like using the scoop that came with my banjo either. So what that is my opinion. I can write about it all I want and no one reads what I write. People actually read what PC writes and again so what. Whether you like PC or not so what. I personally think he made some rather interesting points but again - SO. I'm just one idiot sitting in front of a computer who is a beginner.
I do agree with him that in general I have much more fun with songs that I can play and actually hear the rhythm beyond just single notes. To each his or her own IMO.
People write stupid opinionated stuff all the time. Heck that is all I write but that is what makes it unique to me. I'm glad that there are all these different approaches to banjo playing so I can pick and choose what I like or don't like. Some songs I like played one way and so on.
I do think that PC has found a place to share whatever he wants and people on youtube definitely appreciate all his free lessons and materials (I myself have used his free resources). I've also forked over $26 for Dan's festival tunes book. I appreciate that PC has shared some of his opinions and methods for FREE. Not everyone is fully in it for the money, yes I know he sells stuff too but so does everyone.
WTH gives him the right to do what he does??? The same thing that gives me the right or anyone else. People like him and follow his teachings. People like Dan and follow his teachings too. Is one right or wrong? Nope, not in my useless opinion. There are tons of people on BHO who I think have no business being a teacher, but then again just my opinion.
So blahbitty blahbitty bo.
I love you all and respect your useless opinions just as much as my own. Even if I don't like every style of music or play. Let's freely discuss all this and anything else for this matter.
So good luck PC, at least some people actually read your ramblings. You must be doing something right. I ain't drinking anyone's grape kool-aid though.
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TimDavis says:
4/1/2011 11:20:54 AM
haha, pikinchik. I just became a big fan so you have one person at least who will pay attention to your ramblings.
There's definitely a place for classical music, but not everyone is going to play it. I sort of view melodic clawhammer as something more similar to classical music. It's not my preferred music, but it exists and I can see why people can appreciate it and there's a place for it. I just wish I could write as freely as you do, pikinchik. Very refreshing to read what you wrote.
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| pickinchik says:
4/1/2011 6:25:17 PM
Well at least someone will listen to me, LOL.
See I even like classical music played on piano and other things and I even like some classical picked 3 finger scruggs style, but melodic clawhammer just turns me off for some reason. I can definitely appreciate the effort that goes into it, but I just don't find it that pleasing to my ear.
You can easily write as freely as I do, just quit caring what others think so much. By the way I love your Ring the Bell video Tim. You are so relaxed in playing and singing it I can tell. I've never heard that tune prior to your vid and I must say I've watched it several times and really like the song and that arrangement.
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stigandr5 says:
8/29/2011 8:32:57 AM
Different strokes (or frails, or strums, or whams, or bum-ditties, or single "rippling" notes) for different folks.
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