You're in trouble now Topher... as I find myself in agreement with your post. Makes sense to me too.
B Perhaps it's safe to assume that On Jan 5, 1:59 pm, Topher Gayle <[email protected]> wrote: > Last summer at the CBA music camp, I attended a workshop from a guy > who seemed to have studied OT & bluegrass music quite thoroughly. I > forget his name. He did seem to know his stuff, and brought along > recordings, and had interesting references and personal stories from > his discussions with the old-timers and so on. And he played both > types of music professionally. So I felt his opinions were worth > listening to. > > His main theme was that Old-time music was primarily music for dancing > to and for participating in, and that bluegrass was primarily a > musical form that showcased the musicians in a concert setting. Both > styles of music derived from similar, though not identical, roots. > Mainly the stylistic differences evolved from the differences in the > performance setting and purpose. > > I mention this now because I think it may shed a little light on the > discussions here lately. The comments that young folks often just jam > as many notes into a period of time is certainly something I've seen, > too. But some commentators here were I think comparing the musical > content of those kids' flashy playing to Old-time playing, and I think > that's a little bit apples to oranges. Here's why I say this: > > If bluegrass is mainly a concert performance art (and I accept that), > then the highlighting of individual performers is a significant part > of the show. And flashiness certainly pleases the crowds. I've seen it > over and over (and no, I can't do it myself, and yes, that's a little > bit sour grapes). So when a young performer with amazing chops get big > applause for playing zillions of fast notes, you can bet he's gonna do > it again. Showmanship is the name of the game - that's why the bands > wear dark suits or matching tie-dye overalls or whatever. > > In old-time, as it's evolved, the goals of the group are melody, and > drive, and can't-keep-your-feet still dance rhythm. Typically no > performer is highlighted. As a member of a contra dance band, I know > this is mighty fun to do. (And whether you play the right notes or > chords or not is not as important as getting the toes tapping - I like > that!) Old time bands often carefully dress in unmatched overalls. > (joking, joking) > > I just thought I'd add these ideas to the conversation - they make > sense to me. What do you think? > > Topher > > > > On Tue, Jan 5, 2010 at 11:39 AM, Mark Seale <[email protected]> wrote: > > Yes it has. The difference, IMO, is that the OT music purveyors hold much > > more tightly to playing it in its original form. In fact, they get down > > right offended if you take one of their beloved standards and do much with > > it. While some musicians find that limiting, it does, by its very nature, > > preserve the music in close to its original intent. > > > M > > > On Tue, Jan 5, 2010 at 1:25 PM, Don <[email protected]> wrote: > > >> What about the culture that gave rise to OT music? Hasn't it also faded? > > >> -- > >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > >> "Taterbugmando" group. > >> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > >> [email protected]. > >> For more options, visit this group at > >>http://groups.google.com/group/taterbugmando?hl=en. > > > -- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > > "Taterbugmando" group. > > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > > [email protected]. > > For more options, visit this group at > >http://groups.google.com/group/taterbugmando?hl=en.
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