Mr. Bluegrass Manners has been absent for quite a while, working on his forthcoming book, Advance and Retreat – A Guide to Appropriate Fan-to-Artist Distancing. We did persuade him to return, however, to take some questions that have been simmering among Bluegrass Today readers.
Dear Mr. Bluegrass Manners,
I attend a weekly bluegrass jam in our area called “Pete’s Home Jam” which takes place at—and this may surprise you—Pete’s home. Pete’s a great guy and a decent guitar player and singer. He’s very hospitable, always has great snacks and drinks (though it’s pot luck, in theory), but there’s one problem: Pete insists on adding random extra chords where they don’t belong, like throwing in a 6 minor chord into the chorus of Big Spike Hammer, or a flat 7 into Live and Let Live. Is it okay to correct him, even if it’s his house? What’s appropriate here? By the way, “Pete” isn’t his real name and I don’t actually live in the Twin Cities.
Chord-sensitive in the Twin Cities
Dear Chord-sensitive (not in the Twin Cities),
First of all, I commend you for the very polite shielding of the real host of this jam session from unwanted piling-on by readers in the Bluegrass Today comments section. As to your question, this is sometimes a tough call. I’ve seen many a jam session derailed because of arguments between purists and semi-purists about whether Foggy Mountain Breakdown contains an E major or E minor chord. At some point you just have to play the tune and not worry about it. Chords that don’t belong in a song can be annoying, though, especially when some people are playing one chord while the others are playing something else. I think it’s usually appropriate to defer to the person who called the tune, especially if he or she presents it as an arrangement idea to try. The fact that “Pete” is the host of the jam shouldn’t necessarily give him extra license in chord interpretation, but if “Pete” says, “Let’s play Live and Let Live in A. I like to make that second chord a flat 7. Let’s try it that way.” There’s nothing wrong with that, even if it’s likely going to bug a few people. When it comes around to you, you can always call a song and suggest using fewer chords than the original version, like Charlie Monroe’s Rosa Lee McFall with no 6 minor chord. I saw a traditional bluegrass band at a festival turn the Keith Whitley hit, I’m No Stranger To the Rain, into a three-chord song. It was weird, but I had to admire them for trying to pull it off.
Finally, there are ways to question people’s chord choices without being abrasive or condescending, like this approach: “That’s an unusual chord progression you’re using for Little Cabin Home on the Hill. I’ve never heard it with a 2-minor chord in the chorus. Is that your own arrangement?” This way, if the person is thinking that’s how the chords are actually supposed to be played, you’ve perhaps caused them to question the choice without acting judgemental about it. Now in the case of a 6-minor chord in the chorus of Big Spike Hammer, or a 2-minor in Little Cabin Home on the Hill, that’s pretty wrong, so feel free to be just a little tiny bit judgmental.
Also, if “Pete” works a major 7th chord into Little Maggie, he should be ejected from the jam and the house, even if it’s his own house.
Dear Mr. Bluegrass Manners,
A bluegrass musician I normally like posts political content on his social media accounts, so I told him to knock it off and just play music. A friend of mine told me that was rude and that I should just let it go. Who’s right? Aren’t artists being rude by expressing political opinions when no one wants to hear them?
Offended in Oregon
Dear Offended,
Well, if you used the phrase, “knock it off,” it might be a little rude, but I guess there are even ruder ways to say that. Part of the problem is your implication that musicians aren’t permitted to have or express an opinion. I’ve noticed that often the people on the various social media platforms who tell bluegrass artists to “shut up and pick” have an awful lot of political opinion posts themselves, some even on the abrasive side, so this presents a double standard. Is your real objection not that the artist is expressing an opinion but rather that he or she is expressing an opinion you disagree with? Also, the idea that “no one wants to hear” this artist’s views on current events is an assumption on your part that most people think the same way you do.
A number of artists have personal pages that are separate from their professional pages, which for them can be an important distinction. On the professional or band fan page or account, you might see mostly music promotion, videos, photos from the road, etc. whereas on the personal account (which the artist has kindly given you access to), you might see more personal photos, family or pet pictures, pictures of breakfast that morning and yes, maybe an opinion or two about tariffs on coffee. It’s their right to do that. What you can do on most social media platforms is mute or unfollow that artist’s personal account, but keep following the public fan account to keep up with their events, music, etc. You might miss out on some cat or food photos but you can avoid the opinion posts that bother you. You might even be able to return to those more sheltered and innocent days when you had no idea what that artist’s opinions were and didn’t really care.
Now if the artist is actually being rude—and let’s face it, rudeness appears to be pretty commonplace, even encouraged on social media—I think you’re well within your right to call that out, as you would be with anyone else who does that, regardless of their profession. We’ve all seen the memes that go beyond expressing support for one ideology or another to denigrating or even ridiculing other points of view, ones that say something like, “If you think such-and-such, you must be a special kind of stupid! Share if you agree.” These are rude, plain and simple, and they don’t help or accomplish anything. Bear in mind, though, that when you respond to one of these, you’re actually helping to increase the exposure of that post, because social media companies love a fight, it turns out. We’re all performers in their big social media WWF, and we’re paying them for the privilege.
Dear Mr. Bluegrass Manners,
What instrument did Paul Williams play as a member of the Lonesome Pine Fiddlers?
Curious in Kentucky
Dear Curious,
I think guitar but I’m no expert in this area. Was there a bluegrass etiquette question in there somewhere?
Thanks for all your questions!
Mister Bluegrass Manners
