Hopping on the Carousel

Hopping on the Carousel

I have a romantic notion that when I was a kid, merry-go-rounds (carousels) didn’t stop.  My memory is they just went round and round, and we jumped on and found a horse to sit on. In retrospect, that seems impossible, but that’s how I remember it.  I KNOW that when I...
Apologia

Apologia

The Daily Grist: Apologia (noun) a formal written defense of something you believe in strongly. Dear Readers, I believe strongly in the CBA welcome column but, rather than compose an apologia defending the column, allow me to simply apologize for my silence of the...
The Lifespan of a Bluegrass Jam

The Lifespan of a Bluegrass Jam

I know I’ve written in the past about the highly visible lifespan of a spontaneous jam at a bluegrass festival. Stage 1, a few pickers begin playing and singing together. Then, like a planet forming from the accretion of orbiting particles, wandering musicians like...
How Do YOU Learn New Songs?

How Do YOU Learn New Songs?

If you play music, you must know some songs. How did you learn them? Is the way you learn songs now different than the way you used to learn them? As a beginner, you’re hungry to learn any song that will give a practical reason for the strange things you’re learning...
Undoing Knots Has Its Rewards

Undoing Knots Has Its Rewards

Some folks I know are hyper-detail oriented, and I have mixed feelings about that. On one hand, attention to detail generally makes things come out better, and is a trait of most highly successful people. On the downside, slavish attention to detail sometimes makes...