Red Henry
I went to a large and enjoyable music party last Saturday night. It was put on by a very nice and well-connected couple we know, and they sure had a lot of good pickers at the party. But you know, even in the best environments, picking circle situations can come up which need a little adjustment.
Randy Wood #1.
When I arrived, the only picking circle at the party was in a handsome and rather large, tall, and minimally-baffled room (no rugs and not much furniture, but plenty of echoey, hard walls and floor). The result was that it was really loud in there. I was playing a mandolin (Randy Wood #1) that is not drowned out even in extreme acoustic situations, but the banjo player was playing really loudly–and sometimes during my mandolin breaks as well as his own. Between his loud playing and the loudness of the room, I decided to change a variable: in this case, it was my picking location.
At a polite time I excused myself to get something to eat, and after some munching I started a session in a different room. This is a good technique in all sorts of awkward picking situations. If other pickers are crowding you out (physically or musically), or not using proper bluegrass etiquette (though that was not the case here), or any time you feel a need for a change, just start a new circle elsewhere. If the jam venue is short on rooms or all in just one room, you can even start a new picking circle outdoors, if the weather permits. All you need is a few folks who’d like to pick, and at this party they were there in abundance. And the new room I’d found was full of furniture and carpet. The sound in there was excellent.
If you’ve picked a really good new place to play (call it Circle #2), you’ll sometimes find, as we did, that you attract players not just from among the folks who had been just standing around, but also from Circle #1. This may mean that you’ve chosen a better place to pick than Circle #1 had, and that other folks were uncomfortable there too. Circle #2 was good. In time, though, some musical incompatibilities appeared. The session consisted almost all of mandolins and fiddles, about three or four of each, and they started getting (musically speaking) in each other’s way. So I went to have another plate of supper, and then found a place for Circle #3.
Circle #3 was in a good-sized room, but most of the space was taken up with furniture and boxes. There wasn’t much space to play in. This was good. It meant that for one thing the room would sound pretty good, and for another thing, the circle wouldn’t grow out of control– there just wasn’t enough room for that. Chris and his fiddle-playing girlfriend Jenny had arrived, so we started picking. We were soon joined by a bass player and a Legendary Banjo Player.
Circle #3 was the best of all for me, and in fact we had a pretty amazing time. The Legendary Banjo Player was enjoying it, and the notes were coming out of his banjo like bullets. Chris and Jenny played great, and Randy Wood #1 seemed remarkably easy to play in that group. We went on until after midnight, and a good time was had by all of us in Circle #3 (and by everyone in Circle #1 and Circle #2 as well, for that matter).
. . . . .
So that’s the story of the party. I just said all this to make a point: If a picking circle is almost-but-not-quite right for you, try changing things and starting a new one. If that one doesn’t work out, just try, try again. There can be picking circles which suit everybody’s levels and needs, and everyone can have a good time. That’s why we pick.
Tags: picking circles
Thanks for the good advice given in the above entry. The Randy Wood #1 photo is a good one too.