Music is worth the price of admission ~ August 7, 1997

David Heiller

Last week was a special one for me. I’d like to share it with you, in hopes of having you attend something similar.

Last week I took a two-day banjo workshop. It was offered by the Minnesota Bluegrass & Old-Time Music Association (MBOTMA), as a kickoff to their annual music festival.

The lessons were held at Camp In the Woods, which is near Zimmerman, Minnesota. That is where the MBOTMA festival is held every year.

Music was a huge part of David's life. He was never shy about getting in and trying. He is playing here
with Bob Bovee and Gail Heil, and Sara Lubinski. 
I am the music appreciator in the group!

It had been about 25 years since I had taken any banjo lessons. I’ve played the instrument for all those years, but it seemed like I never really got better.

That didn’t bother me. I like to play music for fun, with friends. I’m not a professional, and probably never will be. Still, it’s nice to make improvements in whatever you do. Sometimes lessons are the only way to do that.

That’s part of what happened last week. The lessons worked, although not in the way I expected. Of the seven people in my class, I was at the bottom. I was the dunce.

Singing with the daughter
made David so very happy!

 
That was frustrating. I just couldn’t get the knack of the clawhammer style that the teacher, Rafe Stefanini, was demonstrating. I could see it and hear it, but I couldn’t do it. I didn’t get it.

So I followed along as best I could, and taped a lot of his songs, and hoped that something would click.

In the meantime, I enjoyed listening to Rafe and watching his hands. He played so well. I could have sat and listened all day.

The group he played with, Big Hoedown, did a lot of songs too. They play old-time music, with fiddle, banjo, and guitar. It was amazing to see the skill they had on their instruments, and their love of that style of music. They are totally dedicated to it.

They don’t change songs to make them sound prettier. They are carrying on a tradition that is almost as old as our country.

Wednesday night, after the evening session, I played music with a couple of guitar players. I learned some beautiful new songs, and I shared some of my favorites. We sounded good! And without ever having played together before. There’s something special about playing and singing with people. Making music is really a magical thing.

When I crawled into my tent late that night, I could still hear people singing and playing throughout the campgrounds. Different groups doing different songs, with different levels of skill. But they all had one thing in common: They loved to sing and play. Wouldn’t it be great, I thought to myself, if more people did that?

That leads to my sales pitch, if you can call it that. Check out MBOTMA’s music festival. http://www.minnesotabluegrass.org/
I went back to it on Saturday with my wife, Cindy. We heard so much good music. We went to Cajun and clogging dance workshops. I jammed with some musicians, and took another brief banjo lesson.

On our way home, Cindy and I sang in the car for over an hour. We haven’t done that in many years. The music festival bug had bit us. And it felt good!

You can get more information on MBOTMA http://www.minnesotabluegrass.org/ 

Music in the kitchen is the BEST!

My workshop wasn’t for naught either. When I got home on Thursday evening, I sat at the kitchen table, which is always the best place to play the banjo, and started playing like Rafe had tried teaching me. And just like that, I got it. It clicked. I figured out the clawhammer style, and, suddenly my old songs sounded like new ones, only much better.

Cindy noticed it. Her mother noticed it. The kids noticed. Of course I did too. Wow, that was a neat feeling. It was like having a whole new instrument, and a whole new desire to play the banjo and improve and learn new songs. That was worth the price of admission.