By Elena Corey

The mandolin player proved to be more versatile

Then we started to play, intermittently discussing what songs and tunes were in our mutual repertoire. It quickly became apparent that not only did our musical styles and experience/skill levels not fit together nicely, neither did our temperaments. Of the two guitar players, one played open chords in a beginning folk-style and the other could have been Doc Watson's double. The banjo player loved Earl Scruggs and never deviated one iota from Scruggs rolls, even on "Precious Memories." The mandolin player proved to be more versatile, able to play most anything we chose, and the Dobro player was likewise proficient in a number of styles. But he was also more than a little hard-of-hearing and hadn't yet tumbled to that fact. He covered up the mandolin player's fills and the Doc Watson-type-leads as matter-of-factly as if that was what he had been hired to do.

The fiddle player was a certifiable character, a tobacco-juice-spitting unique persona of'ornery'. Cantankerous vibes oozed from him as naturally as sap just has to come rolling out from a maple tree. He played old-timey hits such as "Nail That Catfish To A Tree" and "Single-Footed Horse" and opined that such tunes ought to feature as centrepieces in everybody's playing. I noticed that he seemed to know a lot of crooked tunes as I tried to keep the time, playing back-up guitar.

Right away the banjo player asked the fiddle player to lead off with "Goldrush." The fiddle player voiced a comment about that Monroe tune and gave his unrequested opinion regarding how Bill Monroe had departed from the tradition laid down by his forefathers, even though he had audible examples exemplified by his uncle Pen and brother Birch.

I'd never seen a banjo player
look abashed before!

I'd never seen a banjo player look abashed before and it took a moment or two to identify and register the shocked emotion he projected. Mildly he then said to the fiddle player, "Perhaps you'd like to suggest a tune?" This short sentence's uttering was accomplished with considerable emphasis on the second person pronoun and a significant raising of his bushy eyebrows and a knowing leer at the non-musicians, who were also waiting for the feed store to reopen. They had abandoned their desultory conversation in favor of listening to the musicians. Whether the musicians played music or just interacted with so muchbarely restrained passion seemed at that point to be a matter of indifference to the bystanders, I observed.

The field of play degenerated from there. I mutely pondered why finding a common denominator among widely disparate folks/ideas/musicalstyles seems so often to be a settling down process rather than a lifting up process. The poet Ralph Waldo Emerson had noticed that phenomenon well before I did, saying "People descend to meet." Naturally, I railed against such a reality. Why is it thata casual meeting of folks often entails a descent and an overall loss of potential for spontaneous combustion? Is it always so? Why isn't it a truism that people join, in serendipity, to ascend to new heights of thought and creativity. Why don't we always Ping-Pong witty riffs back and forth and inspire each other to fulfil our potential, seeing that we can do it occasionally?

It can be frustrating for a person
who has practised for hours.....

In a happenstance jam situation, there may be musicians involved whose sphere of proficiency is foreign to all the other participants. It can be frustrating for a person who has practised hours on a particularpiece and would like to showcase it to have his or her beautiful tones covered up by someone who misunderstood where the passage was heading and tried to cram it all into something as standardised as a saltine soup cracker.

When I returned to my uncle's, after completing the shopping at the feed store, I expressed my disappointment in the feed-store porch jam. He was sympathetic for a moment and then he suggested that I seek a higher viewpoint. The opportunity for individuals who come together by chance to contribute just a smidgen of their individuality to the others isn't always apparent immediately. It might seep in gradually and help the mental-brew-output they each might create from then on. Although I don't remember his exact words now, that was the point of what he said.

I was reminded of how exciting it can be when "new blood" moves to town - how all the other musicians in long-standing jams suddenly perk up and enliven their playing. More than the repertoire of existing groups has the potential to be expanded when one new element is added; there is hope for renewed passion and energy, even on songs played so many times everyone could play them in their sleep.

...arickety, problem-ridden election process...

The triumphant lyric of the last verse of "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" streamed through my mind as hope, energy and new resolve to try again prevailed. Yes it still may be true that we have a rickety, problem-ridden election process, and its an unlikely prospect that I can make or find perfect choices for Christmas gifts. Yes, its true that some inflexible pickers want to play only what they already know, and yes, we sometimes find the lowest common denominator by rounding down, levelling off our musical interactions to include everyone. But the added spice of something new in our more inclusive playing holds kernels of insight for us as we are able to both deepen and widen our creative exploration.

"For wrong shall fail and right prevail with peace on earth, good will to men." The lyric continued to echo in my mind. Even as we flinch when someone cavalierly assumes we all agree on what is to be defined as 'right' and 'wrong' (in everything from politics to how to bow a fiddle) we pay homage to the ideal. We still believe that the world has a lot of potential and we're fortunate to be alive to fulfil our potential and enjoy the very fulfilling gift of music.

Merry Christmas and happy picking to you!

Elena Corey, Sacramento, CA, USA. Read 'Harmony Singing' by Elena

Published simultaneously by NWBN and the CBA NewspaperBluegrass Breakdown.

1st Dec 2000