I’m listening to Martin Sexton sing and play at the 42nd Kent State Folk Festival, on Folk Alley’s “Alleycast” webcast. His vocals are amazing, of course, as he sings an accappella scat version of the Star Spangled Banner. This is making me think about virtuosity in folk music and whether instrumental and / or vocal virtuosity is a requirement for success in this genre.
Martin Sexton
In jazz, rock, and pop, the songwriting is focused more consistently on the music. The song is a vehicle for vocal or instrumental fireworks.
There are certainly performing songwriters in the folk genre who are among the best at what they do, instrumentally and vocally. Mr. Sexton is a great example. Brooks Williams, Caroline Aiken, and Pete Kennedy are all famous in folk circles and beyond for their guitar work. Chris Thile on mandolin, and Amanda Shires on fiddle.
Caroline Aiken
Thinking of Caroline Aiken makes me think of Jack Williams, Teri Hendrix, Jeff Black, Eliza Gilkyson, and Guy Clark. Is there a stronger tradition for mastery at the guitar in folk music from the southland? (Brooks Williams is originally from Georgia, if I’m not mistaken.)
Folk music success does not always require virtuosity in your instrument, however. Many of the biggest draws in folk music have found their audience not through their musicianship, but instead, through their songwriting and their ability to engage a live audience in an intimately shared experience.
hope to, and have developed into very competent instrumentalists who accompany themselves extremely well. But their guitar work is not the focus of their talent. We love these performers because they write terrific songs that reach us in ways that their guitars never will. We love them for the way they make us feel as if we are their best friends when we are in their audience.
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on Monday, May 25th, 2009 at 5:56 pm and is filed under Commentary.
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Folk Virtuosity
I’m listening to Martin Sexton sing and play at the 42nd Kent State Folk Festival, on Folk Alley’s “Alleycast” webcast. His vocals are amazing, of course, as he sings an accappella scat version of the Star Spangled Banner. This is making me think about virtuosity in folk music and whether instrumental and / or vocal virtuosity is a requirement for success in this genre.
Martin Sexton
In jazz, rock, and pop, the songwriting is focused more consistently on the music. The song is a vehicle for vocal or instrumental fireworks.
There are certainly performing songwriters in the folk genre who are among the best at what they do, instrumentally and vocally. Mr. Sexton is a great example. Brooks Williams, Caroline Aiken, and Pete Kennedy are all famous in folk circles and beyond for their guitar work. Chris Thile on mandolin, and Amanda Shires on fiddle.
Caroline Aiken
Thinking of Caroline Aiken makes me think of Jack Williams, Teri Hendrix, Jeff Black, Eliza Gilkyson, and Guy Clark. Is there a stronger tradition for mastery at the guitar in folk music from the southland? (Brooks Williams is originally from Georgia, if I’m not mistaken.)
Folk music success does not always require virtuosity in your instrument, however. Many of the biggest draws in folk music have found their audience not through their musicianship, but instead, through their songwriting and their ability to engage a live audience in an intimately shared experience.
Ellis Paul; Cheryl Wheeler; John Gorka; Don White; Vance Gilbert, Lori McKenna; Peter Mulvey. These people play the guitar far better than I’ll ever
Lori McKenna
hope to, and have developed into very competent instrumentalists who accompany themselves extremely well. But their guitar work is not the focus of their talent. We love these performers because they write terrific songs that reach us in ways that their guitars never will. We love them for the way they make us feel as if we are their best friends when we are in their audience.
Who are the local folkies whose instrumental prowess is their major asset? Don Campbell, Jason Spooner, and Dave Rowe on guitar? Anybody ever hear Lindsey Montana play his guitar? Ed Howe on fiddle? Joe Walsh on mandolin?
Dave Rowe
On the other hand, which local folkies rely more on their songwriting and performance skills? Vanessa Torres? Putnam Smith? Sara Cox? Christian Cuff? Jud Caswell?
Your thoughts?
Yours in folk, Bob McKillop
This entry was posted on Monday, May 25th, 2009 at 5:56 pm and is filed under Commentary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.