I am often impressed by the dedication to improvement I see in bluegrass musicians. A good friend of mine, who is already one of the best banjo pickers around, just spent a week in North Carolina attending a very exclusive (invitation only) master banjo class. His excitement in anticipation of this workshop was palpable and infectious. I’ll be picking with him tonight, and I look forward to hearing him – I expect some extra spring in his approach will be noticeable.
I have mentioned before that bluegrass is a little like blues music in that it’s easy to learn the basics, but it’s lifelong pursuit to achieve mastery. And most of us never achieve mastery, although the pursuit is a great deal of fun.
It seems that the bluegrass world understands this – look at the workshops available at pretty much every festival, and the proliferation of paid (and well-attended) music camps. It can be so hard to break out of a developmental rut, and it is exhilarating when some extra instruction can provide a boost.
Workshops and classes are also enjoyable social events – friends often attend together, and new friendships inevitably are formed by the shared experience.
Getting lessons in music is always rewarding, although not always immediately. A new riff can be added to one’s repertoire pretty easily, but sometimes the concepts being taught can take months, or even years to sink in.
Going to a class or workshop, doesn’t prove dedication to craft. The time spent in these endeavors is miniscule compared to the hard work required to apply the things learned there. Fingers, ears and minds must be trained to properly integrate the lessons into practical use and benefit, and that takes time and commitment.
One odd thing I discovered is, sometimes you learn a riff that is so unusual, you can’t master it for a while. You bang your head against the wall for a few weeks, and give up in frustration, but then, down the road, somehow you turn a corner and you become able to finally add that lick to your bag of tricks.
Some folks have innate talents that enable them to pick up what lessons, workshops and classes much quicker than others. No one said life is fair though, so that doesn’t mean trying to get better is a waste of time. In music, like a lot of things in life, it’s the journey that ultimately really matters.
