Alright, I know that Bluegrass needs all of the support it can get. I do support it with all my heart and a good portion of my wallet. Just last night I went to hear the great Swedish Bluegrass band "G2." I sat through an out door concert on the hottest day Virginia has seen since 1977. If that isn't support for Bluegrass then I don't know what is. By the way, G2 did a great job . They did so well that when I got home I finished filling out my ballot for the IBMA Bluegrass Awards and selected G2 as one of my five choices for Emerging Artist, 2010. But this isn't my reason for writing this. Nooo...........!
I have a few pet peeves about Bluegrass performers. Now, the first I want to speak about is the amateur and sometimes even semi-pro Mandolin players. Why do they insist on playing Mandolins that are out of tune? My guess is this. Their thinking is that they have eight strings and no matter what anyone tells them they just don't believe each pair of strings should be tuned exactly together. To them the thinking is "What's the point? Why have eight strings if they are going to sound like I only have 4 strings?" So, they will get them pretty close, but they will be sure to leave them just slightly different sounding. If you are reading this and you're a Mandolin "player" and you don't tune your Mandolin properly please, please read this commentary again and get that stinking Mandolin in tune. To reiterate this problem I have asked some of these "out-of-tuners" if I can look at their Mandolin. I compliment them on their great sounding Mandolin while I am secretly touching up the tuning and I strike a few chords nice and loud and as it rings so clear and true I compliment them again as I hand it back to them. It does no good whatsoever for within a few minutes of giving the Mandolin back, it is once again "tuned" to that eight strings of dis-harmony. Okay, thanks; I've got that off my chest.
Now I want to talk about spontaneous applause. I think it is wonderful and I have been known to break out into it myself on many occasions. Here's my problem. To the uninitiated in the audience any time a Bass player makes a simple solo run or a Guitar player lays out a simple solo they feel it is their duty to break out in "spontaneous" applause. Well, stop it! Please only applaud for really outstanding musical solos. I've seen it many times when the audience realizes it has given great applause for a mediocre solo. Feeling guilty about the faux pas they then applaud for every break, no matter the instrument, for the rest of the concert. I think the Guitar solo applause goes back to the early days of Tony Rice. Every break he played was truly outstanding, bringing many outburst of applause and Tony was good at helping the audience to decide to applaud. At the end of each break he would subtly nod his head "thank you" reminding the audience they owed him a "spontaneous" applause. A very cool trick that his brother Wyatt learned well, although his nods are a little less subtle. So, now even the worst Guitar solo is met with applause and they shouldn't be. Only applaud if you are moved by the skill exhibited during the break. Now, on to Bass breaks. There are few really great Bass breaks played in Bluegrass and believe me you will know them when you hear them. Missy Raines doesn't play a lot of Bluegrass these days, but I don't believe there is another Bassist that knows the instrument any better than Missy. With my stating that to you I'm sure you believe that I would applaud for every break she plays. That is not true. On many songs she plays standard runs and simple breaks (Difficult for most Bass players, but simple for her!), but every once in a while she really gets into the song and she'll amaze you with an absolutely astonishing Bass break. The thunderous applause she receives for these break is truly deserved. I have stood and loudly cheered and applauded for her outstanding work many times. But, now we get down to the average Bass player in the average Bluegrass band. He most often slaps out some really loud rhythm while he moves his hand up and down the neck. He makes it look like he just finished chopping down a Sequoia as he finishes with a flurry. Without fail the audience cheers and applauds, but for what? By applauding inappropriately we only re-enforce poor playing. Why should they improve if we have told them with our applause they are "great."
Please help me preserve "spontaneous" applause for those really special musical moments. If you pay close attention you will recognize them. Then be the first to acknowledge the accomplishment with your unrestrained applause. You'll be letting that musician know you appreciate his/her effort and obvious talent. Don't let the "applause whores" strip you of your dignity and only applaud when you have heard music that is truly deserving.
"NUFF SAID!"
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