At the opening jam on Friday afternoon, Bruce announced to everyone to let go of any expectations we had about the weekend. Going into it I was just happy to finally get off the Greyhound bus. Over the next three days, I heard sounds I can honestly say I've never heard before. I experienced a kind of joy that is very rare in my life. And for the first time in a long while, I didn’t feel lonely.
In October 2017 I put down the first deposit to hold my spot at the Old Time Rollick to take place seven months in the future. It was a gamble, a bet for my future in fiddling. I have a pretty spotty record when it comes to long term goals, so it was a shoot and find out what happens kinda thing.
When I arrived at Ashokan, I was awestruck by the natural surroundings - the trees, the river, the little dirt paths that run down to the riverbank, and the spacious yet intimate performance halls and the large bunkhouse. I met my first Canadian (from Hamilton no less!) within the first five minutes of arrival, and that made me feel at home right away.
Friday night was my first exposure to group jamming. There was an open jam, then split into a fast jam and a slow jam. The sound was enormously complex, with around 20 fiddles, at least as many banjos, about 10-15 guitars, and a double bass. At first it was hard to track my own violin, but after the first 15-30 minutes it became freeing. I could hear myself, the more advanced players in the room, as well as all the other beginners like me. I could play whatever I wanted, as long as I was within the right rhythm and right key, it actually sounded great! We started jamming together - I wasn't playing any tunes really, just trying to follow along and being carried away by the torrent of sound, backed by the stomping rhythm of the banjos and guitars, and the pulsing bows of all the old time fiddlers in the room.
I went to bed buzzing, looking forward to the weekend. On Saturday morning, the learning began in earnest.
Bruce's intermediate fiddle workshop was very enlightening about how far I have yet to go. The sound of forty fiddles, all trying to learn tunes by ear (Eighth of January and Dolly) in call and response format was something I've never ever experienced before. I picked up a couple of tunes, and they stuck in my ear so I don't give myself enough credit. This morning session was when I finally realised that yes, I really can do this. I can learn this way, and it's a matter of practicing. Seeing and hearing all participants, both advanced and beginner working on the same tune at the same time really puts things in perspective. Bruce played for us one of my favourite tunes "Bonaparte's Retreat" in DDAD and I'm determined to learn this tune for real.
I changed tracks over to the beginner session with Becca Wintle, an old time fiddler who comes from England. We learned a simpler version of Eighth of January and I really enjoyed the slower pace - I no longer needed to rush just to catch up frantically, and I could start to learn the bowing, watching her bow like a hawk, capturing when to shuffle, when to slur. It was an incredible lesson.
I think I was fiddled out by the afternoon. I just couldn't absorb any more and my brain was tired. I jumped tracks over to the Old Time harmony singing workshop and that was illuminating in its own way.
I am a better singer than fiddler - for now - and I could understand the harmonizations shown in the workshop in a more visceral manner. Singing by now is second nature (whew all those years of choral singing finally paid off!) and I really enjoyed the singing workshops on both a musical as well as an intellectual level.
I skipped the square dance that followed a delicious dinner, and ran smack dab into a quartet of participants jamming away in the cafeteria after all the tables were cleared. There were two fiddles (one a five string), a mandolin, and a guitar. All of them were advanced musicians and they were just playing away. It was a screechy, familiar tune and this moment became my favourite memory in all of the camp.
Sunday morning we had a gospel sing, and had another fiddle workshop to finish out the tune we started learning on Saturday. By then, I really felt comfortable in that moment. In that time, in that space, I didn't feel lonely or small or scared or unwell or deaf or unrequited.
I felt the music with my whole body. My ears, natural and artificial, were firing on all cylinders. My fiddle confident. People I admired responded in kind, gave me advice, listened to the sound of my fiddle and my bow just as I listened to theirs.
Debra and Becca called me "the smiler" because throughout the weekend I had the hugest smile on my face. It was such a special moment of exhilaration and suspension that lasted 72 hours long. It sill lingers today and I've decided to keep that feeling.
Some things I learned:
About the fiddle:
- the fiddle is both a percussion/rhythm instrument as well as a melody/harmony instrument
- keep the fiddle out, hanging on a peg or within easy reach
- practice everyday, even if it's only for 10 minutes
- sing the tunes, it helps
About musicality:
- there's something that's hard to define about what makes something musical. It's more than just notes, more than just rhythms. There's a feeling and while we can't really say what it is, when we hear it, it is clear as day
- get off book as early as possible, even to the point of learning without sheets to begin with
- also aim to get off book in the choral music I'm learning
What do I do now?
I'm already missing the amazing structure that was in place during the weekend. Life was simple. Get up, go for a walk, eat breakfast, start workshops. Listen, learn, and practice. Jam and share your music.
A perspective shift has occurred that changes how I look at everything in my life. How do I reconcile what I did, what I heard at the camp with my daily life?
I'm going back next year, and this time I'm paying more for the children's bursary to sponsor kids to be at the camp. I would also like to explore a persons of colour/diversity bursary so there are more opportunities for people of all kinds to access this kind of music. And I'll be dancing next year! It looked like so much fun.
Next, I'm warming up to the idea of visiting The Swannanoa Gathering at Warren Wilson College near Asheville, North Carolina in 2019.
I can see a winding road from here to there. It'll be twangy.
Sounds from the Camp:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/miva1iyzjl8peee/AADwfR5O483Md0Rg-lCD3mIya?dl=0