Dear Derek

First of all I would like to say thanks for your mag, I think you are doing a great job with it, keeping the North West informed with what’s going on.

My main reason for writing is to put right a few things about the article in January’s NWBN about Bill Hyde and the mention of the Silver Hill String Band. Ian Reynolds did a good write up, but the dates were rather misinformed. Ian says in his article the date was around 1975-76, when in fact Silver hill didn’t get together until about 1980 and then disbanded around 1982-83. He mentioned what the surviving members of the band are now doing, but not the passing of John T. Williamson, who for the time was a great guitar picker and singer. If John T. was still with us, I think now would have been the time for a full Silver Hill reunion, and thus some serious picking. Still the article on Bill was an enjoyable one, and brought back some great memories.

Pete Simmons, Milnrow.

The online version does contain a photo of John T. - Ed.

From John Baldry

A quick letter to comment on the article on The Chord Change Hurdle - 4 in the Jan 1998 issue.

I was very pleased to see an article by Jack Hatfield, whose writings I have followed for many years in Banjo Newsletter. His material is always first class - Jack is a guy who has clearly paid his musical dues and he must have helped thousands of us to become better musicians. His article on The Chord Change Hurdle sorts out some real difficulties for those who are learning about chord sequences.

There is one statement which needs clarifying, and is probably the result of a typo somewhere along the line. The article states that “the minor 6th (6m) is the most used minor chord.” In fact the minor 6th and ‘6m’ are two quite different chords. Jack is talking about the ‘6m’, not the more complex minor 6th chord, which is used in jazz, etc.

The chord referred to in the article is the minor chord whose root is the sixth note of the key scale. For example, in the scale of G major (G, A, B, C, D, E, F sharp, G), the ‘6m’ is the E minor (Em) chord, as used famously in Foggy Mountain Breakdown. To avoid confusion with minor 6ths and so on, some players use a Roman numeral system. The main chords Jack refers to in his article can be denoted as the I, IV and V chords and the VIm. In the key of G these would be the chords of G, C, D and E minor (Em). What would they be in the key of C? (Answer: C, F, G and Am)

I hope this clears up any problems which readers have over the VIm chord.

Best wishes, John Baldry, Crawley, Sussex.

From Pete Wraith:  We are obviously sorry that your (ex) reader felt there wasn't anything provided for him/her at Silsden. Perhaps we should publicise events better in future, but we did have a Slow Jam session run by Kevin Garratt and Generation Gap which was specifically designed for new players. There were also four workshops aimed at a similar market.
Pete Wraith, Leeds (festival co-organiser)

From Kevin Garratt: Regarding to your January editorial: I can certainly see why somebody may wish not to renew their sponsorship because of an article in the Newsletter and it does bring into question whether newsletter editors and reporters give enough thought to some of the hurtful items they report. Probably some don’t.

I would suggest that people who may have a grievance regarding a festival or other event direct it at the organisers concerned, instead of trying to gain brownie points (but certainly little satisfaction) by moaning to a third party. I always thought there was only one kind of Bluegrass music and that’s the kind to be enjoyed by all. Its up to each and every individual to rout out similar minded people and play to their own level of ability. Remember that most people are involved in this music for fun.

Surely its time to call a truce, or in some cases grow up, and start being positive instead of negative about the music? I constantly get fed up of reading biased articles and reports about people complaining, running things down, asking why don’t people do this-or-that, or moaning about one band or another. Please - if you’ve nothing good to say then for the morale of the music, keep it to yourself.

Kevin Garratt, Yorkshire Dales (Silsden) Festival Co-Organiser.

PS Please find enclosed my cheque for £5-00, I always look forward to the NWBN comic dropping on the doormat.

The Editor replies: Kevin - I do print lots of things “good to say” and I did point out that “it’s up to him/her to sort it out - find or create a session at a suitable level”. It’s easy to report and comment on only the good things. Open debate is healthy and occasionally “less good” things need airing; sometimes speaking directly to people does no good. But I’m not quite clear what your final paragraph is about - is there a war on? If so please send details and we’ll cover it!

Updated 23rd Jan 1999