I agree that bluegrass often seems to devolve into a "pickier than thou" competition. I've run into less of that syndrome at other types of gatherings, but it's still rampant in the world of music -- as it is in practically any other gathering of human beans. We just seem to need to draw circles that close people out while they're surrounding us. Territorial imperative, I suppose. I certainly see it all the time in faith communities, BP, since you brought up in a different thread that that is your milieu. We all have "means tests" to make certain others don't encroach on OUR territory, group, community, etc.

But you have hit the nail on the head of what keeps me from being very interested in bluegrass, at least compared to other genres, and especially as a singer, it's just not very interesting to hang around a group of musicians who seem to think the goal is to pick faster and faster and to get more and more Baroque until someone drops over in a heap or their fingers fly off. No, thenkyew. I'll go find an unaccompanied ballad circle...

(I was so utterly clueless a few years back when I first started doing music circles that I took a tambourine and shakey egg to a circle that turned out to be mostly bluegrass. I didn't even realize until after I'd been to a lot more singarounds, etc. -- different ones because that one was absolutely chock full of not-fun anal pickin-but-no-grinnin' types -- just how much of a faux pas I'd committed. Doh!)

ww