Viola interlude

Someone said to me recently that he liked the music posts best.  So here's my latest viola adventure.

There's a place called the Baggot Inn on W. 3rd that has a bluegrass jam session every Wednesday night led by a guy who calls himself Sheriff Bob.  It's a scene.

In the back room of the bar on Wednesday nights, there are twenty or so people standing in a circle playing banjos, guitars, and a couple of other instruments.  They're playing LOUD.  Some of them play really really well. They've chosen a key, and a song, and they're off.  As they get to the next eight-bar section, there's a signal (ineffable, but firm) to the next person who's supposed to take off and play.

I went there a couple of weeks ago to show a friend of mine that I could play there too (he's been having a lot of fun playing there), and I plunked myself right down in a chair in the middle of the room.  There was a guy next to me playing the violin who kept saying, “Oh, I love the sound of the viola.”  And every once in a while someone would signal to me and yell VIOLA and then I had to play.

But I don't know a thing about how to play bluegrass, and mostly all I could do was play long foghorn-like interludes (that's the viola for you).  At least they had the right notes in them.  The guys seemed pleased. 

It was great, it was loud, it was late, it was was steamy hot in that back room.  It was fun to be in the middle of all that synched sound. 

But, truthfully, I don't think the viola is a bluegrass instrument.  It's more of a humming kind of instrument.  Accompaniment.  Off-beats.  That's the viola for you.

September 27, 2005 | Filed Under main page 

Comments

4 Responses to “Viola interlude”

  1. Anonymous on September 30th, 2005 12:23 pm

    Jam session sounded like fun! In case you need a place to share your Viola Thoughts …. http://www.violawiki.com has been set up for you :-)

  2. Anonymous on October 1st, 2005 5:35 pm

    Thanks, Ray! How great. I know some violists who will really like the violawiki.

  3. Anonymous on November 12th, 2005 12:46 pm

    Dear Susan,
    Oy, forget racial profiling - now we have instrumental profiling?! As much as I love playing offbeats (it gives me the power to change the “heart” of a chord), the viola is way cooler than that. And you know better!
    I'm about to start a viola revolution, for a preview of the uprising go here:
    http://Ljova.com/vjola-preview/
    yours,
    ljova

  4. Anonymous on November 12th, 2005 12:48 pm

    Dear Susan,
    Oy, forget racial profiling - now we have instrumental profiling?!
    As much as I love playing offbeats (it gives me the power to change the “heart” of a chord), the viola is way cooler than that. And you know better! I'm about to start a viola revolution, for a preview of the uprising go here: http://Ljova.com/vjola-preview/
    yours,
    Ljova

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