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Category Archives: Philosophical Ramblings
Setting Bluegrass Standards
Not everyone can set standards for how we do things in this world. If we all did, then there would by definition no longer be any standards. Both famous and not-so-famous people have contributed in creating most of the standards … Continue reading
Posted in Banjos & Bluegrass, Philosophical Ramblings
Tagged Bill Keith, Bill Monroe, Bluegrass, Bobby Thompson, idea, individuals, influence, refinement, Scruggs, society, Standards, tree diagram
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Originality in Music
“Originality is nothing but judicious imitation. The most original writers borrowed from one another.” – Voltaire So it goes with music, too. We start out learning ‘Cripple Creek’ on the banjo, for instance, then advance to learning other songs by … Continue reading
Growing Older & Laying Off Less
When I was younger, there were a couple of periods of time that spanned longer than I care to remember. Times when I didn’t practice the banjo. No guitar, mandolin, dulcimer or drums, either. I didn’t even think much about them, other than … Continue reading
Posted in Philosophical Ramblings
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Pursue the Difficult, the Easy Will Follow
One of my myriad hobbies is birdwatching, or ‘birding’ to the dyed-in-the-wool birder. One of the main areas of interest to a birder is adding to his or her life list. A life list is the list of bird species … Continue reading
Posted in Philosophical Ramblings, Tips & Techniques
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Do What You Love
Do what you love. Positive thinking. Winning friends and influencing people… If you’re like me, I know you’ve heard this all a hundred times before elsewhere, starting with Dale Carnegie, then Norman Vincent Peale, then perhaps Napoleon Hill, Zig Ziglar, … Continue reading
Posted in Philosophical Ramblings
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Who's the Best?
When I was a Boy Scout years ago, we used to sing marching songs while out hiking. That was a lot of fun. One particular thing we did was this shout: the Scoutmaster would shout “Who’s the Best!?” And we … Continue reading
Posted in Philosophical Ramblings
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Bringing Out the Best
One of my banjo pickin’ buddies and I were talking a while back and the discussion turned to musical goals. I mentioned some of mine: things like wanting to explore more jazz, record a CD and the like. In turn, … Continue reading
Posted in Philosophical Ramblings
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What if we awarded belts for banjo playing like they do in martial arts?
What banjo belt would you be? I’ve taken several different forms of martial arts, including Ju-Jitsu, Karate and Tae-Kwon-Do; each one seems to have different belt systems, but they all seem to start at white and go to black, at which … Continue reading
Posted in Philosophical Ramblings
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Banjos are Like a '64 Valiant
Someone I read recently said banjos are the hot-rods of the musical world, and I agree. What other instrument can you laterally take apart and put back together again yourself? I remember my neighbor on Green Mountain brought his ’64 … Continue reading
Posted in Philosophical Ramblings
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Phill Gibson 