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mojohand |
These recent discussions on Bum Ditty have been pretty hard to take. On one level I feel it is completely ridiculous the way some members here want to disect the frailing stroke and label it this or that. When in the end its all the same anyway. But the heated discussions have opened my eyes to what I see as "Old Time Snobbery". Which is funny because this type of music should really be the most welcoming and UN- snobbish type of music there is. It's folk songs for crying out loud. From the FOLKS...the people. Played in relaxed settings for enjoyment or to tell a stroy. But there is definately an element here that feels if you don't play your banjo in the Round Peak or melodic style, then you are really not playing old time music. If you do the "basic" bum ditty, then that's fine for a beginner, but you should really abandon it if you REALLY want to play the banjo. Hogwash such as, "you can't play with a fiddle if you play that way" is tossed around and believed by a lot of people. I think this discourages a lot of new players. All the posts will start out with nice things to say like, "I feel you should play what you want" and be quickly followed up with a "but if you really want to play Old Time you should..." Or "The bum ditty is ok if you just want to sit around your house and sing to yourself, but if you want to play in a jam or with a fiddler then you can't do that". Complete and utter non-sense. That's the attitude that KEEPS people at home; afraid to go out and try to play with others. It is also beyond my comprehension why these same people continually knock the Costello's for bringing banjo to the masses and keeping the living tradition of music alive. These same people who slam Patrick for being opinionated and abrasive, seem to be pretty darn abrasive and opinionated themselves. So I would hope they look in the mirror before continuing their tirades against him. And for full disclosure, I enjoy his teaching very much. I subscribe to his youtube page and check the Daily Frail daily. I have learned a great deal from him. He teaches a solid foundation that you can take anywhere and apply to whatever type of music you wish to. And yes, that even applies to old time music. And I assure you, you can play along with a fiddle if you choose.
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