OH, KIDDO ARE YOU LEARNING!!

The "folk music life" will continue to be a dichotomy for as long as you keep playing (which, I hope is a long time). This is why one of my all-time favourite quotes is "Pete Seeger taught the world to sing........and we'll never forgive him for it!"

Have you ever noticed in the various "Jam etiquette" threads, how people get VERY heated? People who suggest that everyone get in tune, are often put down for "trying to make the music 'professional". People who specifically ask others (or certain others) NOT to play along, risk a lot of criticism.

Check out some of the "bodrhan" threads. A BAD drummer is hugely irritating. But of course "bad" players rarely know they are, and it's the person who tries to "organise" a bit who usually gets dumped on.

My experience over 30+ years has been that , no matter how simple or basic the music is, the experienced players will happily pick away, but the moment that chaos or rudeness takes over....they just kind of disappear into the shadows. It happens in Jam sessions, song circles etc. Simplicity and manners will never scare anyone away...but cacaphony will.

Rick