Re: Picking Fiddle Tunes?
Originally Posted by
Jeff Mando
I guess what I am really asking is what would Doc Watson would have meant by it?
Doc Watson was a gifted and skilled musician who probably never thought much about the meaning of "I'm going to pick some fiddle tunes." As I said before "fiddle tunes" is a common term in the English-speaking worried, besides which "picking" is a common term in much of the USA. If Doc grew up using these terms, they'd just slip out of his mouth. The best way to understand what Doc or others meant by "picking fiddle tunes" is to listen to what they play after saying "I'm going to pick some fiddle tunes." Similarly, you can read tomes explaining what is meant by "playing the blues," without really understanding what is meant by "playing the blues". On the other hand, if you listen to a few people who are regarded as outstanding blues musicians, you'll soon develop a sense of what "playing the blues" means. I'm a scholar, and we're fixated on definitions, but I've found that with music, observation often works far better than explanation.
Robert Johnson's mother, describing blues musicians:
"I never did have no trouble with him until he got big enough to be round with bigger boys and off from home. Then he used to follow all these harp blowers, mandoleen (sic) and guitar players."
Lomax, Alan, The Land where The Blues Began, NY: Pantheon, 1993, p.14.
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