For me, playing the banjo and trying to sing, is hard enough.
Not to mention the feat of picking a tune AND bouncing up and down as well!
The late great Wendy Holcombe:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HSPZEM1u9xw
It always puts a smile on my face to see how she really did enjoy picking that banjo.
She passed away approximately eight years before I was born.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendy_Holcombe
She was taken far too soon.
I imagine there is a bluegrass mansion in heaven where all the greats such as Kenny Ingram, JD Crowe, Raymond Fairchild, Ralph Stanley, Earl Scruggs, Bill Emerson and many others meet and pick away for hours on end.
Edited by - okbluegrassbanjopicker on 01/26/2023 18:07:53
I can't help but wonder what she might have become if she hadn't died so young.
;^(
It sure seems to me that she bucked the narrative that all banjo players HAD to be exactly like X banjo player.
It would be extremely boring if every single picker just carbon copied Earl and Earl only, etc., etc,.
She made it look FUN to play the banjo, just relaxing and enjoying the moment - very, very easygoing, without the over-professionalism and holier-than-thou demeanor that some players think they HAVE to put on, like they went to Julliard or something.
On a related note, last year in October I had the rare opportunity to see the Kruger Brothers and Michael Cleveland in Guthrie, OK at the OIBF (Oklahoma International Bluegrass Festival.)
They were extremely likeable and very cordial. They performed "Learnin' To Fly" as a non-traditional selection.
Jens made a joke about Michael "not being able to play complex music," which of course Michael has done already, and keeps doing more of it.
Edited by - okbluegrassbanjopicker on 01/26/2023 19:32:36
I think the seriousness in bluegrass banjo players started from trying to not the be associated with the comedians banjo players that came before them. Then it's just trying to imitate those guys. Personally, I can't even sing and play unless I'm only doing a simple pinch or brush. I look serious, because at this point in my playing it take all my concentration to keep it up. Once I'm more comfortable, I may loosen up but maybe the serious face is ingrained then.
quote:
Originally posted by NewBlackDakI think the seriousness in bluegrass banjo players started from trying to not the be associated with the comedians banjo players that came before them. Then it's just trying to imitate those guys. Personally, I can't even sing and play unless I'm only doing a simple pinch or brush. I look serious, because at this point in my playing it take all my concentration to keep it up. Once I'm more comfortable, I may loosen up but maybe the serious face is ingrained then.
Yes, I can see your point. They were tired of people who viewed the banjo as an instrument to be ridiculed, rather than an instrument that is capable of very intricate music. There is a vast difference between Jens Kruger and someone like Grandpa Jones.
The goal of learning the banjo went from just picking really simple songs with no improvising, to repertoire such as Foggy Mountain Breakdown.
I have gotten the impression that before Snuffy or Earl, there weren't very many persons who took banjo playing seriously.
Banjo players were a dime a dozen, and nobody bothered to treat the player of thr instrument with the same kind of veneration as a classical violinist. There were no "Earl Scruggs" of banjo players, because Earl was still learning.
Earl turned the "devil's instrument" into a respected tool, and it really changed the previous viewpoint that a banjoist was just a no-account run-of-the-mill backwoodsy person.
Becoming a good banjoist, went from being looked down on, to a noteworthy accomplishment.
The fear that "anybody wanting to play banjo is going on the deep end" gradually faded away.
I wish I had half her energy! If I tried to play the banjo like that, I doubt I'd be able to play a note correctly. However, hats off to her: she was a fantastic picker and I enjoyed watching and listening to her.
Thanks for posting!
