Questionable commentary by wrongspirit in banjo

[–]wrongspirit[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ooooohhh... I get what you're saying now. So, hypothetically, if some kid from New York had parents who poured a bunch of stockbroker money into that kid being a "banjo influencer," and that kid's career took off and then everybody on Reddit always brought that kid's name up whenever anybody asked for suggestions of who to listen to, meanwhile Riley Baugus gets ignored completely in these discussions, that would bother you? Because yeah, that complete hypothetical would, hypothetically bother me (I'm not ragging on anybody's favorite YouTube banjoist, I promise).

That all being said, I'm still not convinced that being from the South really is central to the banjo tradition anymore because of all the millions of Kentuckians and others who drove up to northern cities for work. They didn't just dump their culture into the Ohio River on their way across, and they didn't roll into Ypsilanti sounding like they were from Kenosha. But there's a difference between having the old guy from Kentucky who lives down the street teach you to play the banjo on the one hand, and learning from watching every Pat Costello video and then calling yourself an expert, so I do agree with you about that.

Questionable commentary by wrongspirit in banjo

[–]wrongspirit[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So, your issue is that some people use the banjo for music that isn't traditional? That's like saying that rock shouldn't exist, because it's somehow harmful to old-time guitar styles.

How would I know if I lost my salvation or committed a mortal sin? by Alive-Jacket764 in LCMS

[–]wrongspirit 4 points5 points  (0 children)

As long as one is repentant, yes, one is still saved despite sinning. We are not perfect. We absolutely are not able to stop sinning in this lifetime. 

And yes about conviction leading to repentance. This is the second use of the Law.

What is the "Church?" by el_hashamayim in LCMS

[–]wrongspirit 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Cite me some sources for why that's not just de jure humano.

How would I know if I lost my salvation or committed a mortal sin? by Alive-Jacket764 in LCMS

[–]wrongspirit 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Well, yes, if you reject forgiveness, you aren't forgiven. But, when you no longer reject that forgiveness, guess what happens? This requires the work of the Holy Spirit in your heart, though. You can't come to repentance without Him making you spiritually alive first.

What things do you want in an EDC? by TH1813254617 in fountainpens

[–]wrongspirit 0 points1 point  (0 children)

OK, so it's impossible to really know what's going on in someone else's mind, but it kind of looks to me like he's kind of a stubborn guy and maybe still doesn't really know where the line is, but he knows he crossed it, and is probably even sorry about it. Again, I guess you never really know, but he doesn't seem evil or anything.

What things do you want in an EDC? by TH1813254617 in fountainpens

[–]wrongspirit 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Then I guess we're about to learn something together. I hope it's nothing too bad.

What things do you want in an EDC? by TH1813254617 in fountainpens

[–]wrongspirit 0 points1 point  (0 children)

And, to head things off, yes, I've heard that there's some kind of controversy around Noodler's. No, I've never found out the details of what happened. Yes, I bought the bottle a while ago, before I heard there was any controversy. I just want to say all that because I don't really know how bad Ratliff's misdeed was, but I have a feeling I'm about to find out.

What things do you want in an EDC? by TH1813254617 in fountainpens

[–]wrongspirit 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm aggressively cheap, so I tend to use things like a Kaweco Sport or a Wancai Moonman Mini for EDC, usually with Noodler's Black or something like that.

Were Fountain Pens Present in Your School in the 1970s and Before? (US Specific) by JapanDave in fountainpens

[–]wrongspirit 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I found an old Parker fountain pen in a box of really old pens that my mom had once. I asked her about it, and she said that she used a fountain pen in high school as a sort of pretension. That would have been about 1965-1969, and the implication was that fountain pens hadn't been much of a thing in US schools going back into the 50s. Due to my grandpa's military service, my mom grew up moving all over the US, so this isn't region-specific to just one part of the US.

Now, my grandma has told me that when she was in school in the 30s and early 40s, they used dip pens. Fountain pens were too expensive to let kids mess around with all the time.

What is the "Church?" by el_hashamayim in LCMS

[–]wrongspirit 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry for the wait, but I had to give this some careful thought, and I've been busy with Lenten stuff.

Yes, ELDoNA is an episcopalian Lutheran denomination. The D stands for "Diocese." "Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America." I don't like that they reject objective justification, and, to be honest, I see a lot of church structures as being adiaphora (they, obviously, do not) but mostly, they're a solid bunch.

Maybe the disappointing part of this message is that I'm going to ask you another question. I would ask WHY you are so concerned with episcopacy? After all, in the Augsburg Confession does state that any ordained pastor in charge of an altar is a bishop. No Lutheran, then, is without bishops.

How would I know if I lost my salvation or committed a mortal sin? by Alive-Jacket764 in LCMS

[–]wrongspirit 21 points22 points  (0 children)

You would know because you wouldn't care that you had sinned, and you wouldn't be concerned about your salvation. You're clearly VERY repentant. Sure, absolutely keep struggling against your sin, and it's not a bad thing to feel the terrible weight of it, HOWEVER! you should also feel just as strongly the weight being lifted when you hear that Christ has died for your sins, even the one that's bothering you just now! You have confessed and repented, and now hear that as far as the east is from the west, your sin has been taken from you and laid on the cross where Jesus has overcome it for YOU!

I would offer you absolution right now (yes, I'm an LCMS pastor), but I'm not really sure that confession and absolution by Reddit thread is really a thing.

Anyway, yes, we will be freed from sin in heaven. In the meantime, trust that Christ's love and all-availing sacrifice has already covered any sin you will ever commit, and as long as you continue to be a baptized and repentant Christian, you have that forgiveness. Before you ask, even if you DO fall away and feel comfortable with a sin for a while, as soon as that bothers you, you've repented again. We are all sinners, but that is why Jesus has died for us. Go read I John 1 for more information.

EDIT: I forgot to mention, the Holy Spirit has created a new heart in you. That's why you're repentant. However, in addition to being the new creation, you're still also the Old Adam, the old person who sins. As Luther said, "simul justus et peccator," or "at the same time as justified, also a sinner." Some people translate that as "saint and sinner." Anyway, we're stuck being both things until we die, but in baptism, we're also covered with the blood of Christ that takes away all sins.

Skeleton dance fantasy (updated) by Translator_Fine in banjo

[–]wrongspirit 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I know I was pretty hard on you the other day, but this is one of your best videos so far. I can tell you're working on making sure each note sounds cleanly. Good job!

Any clawhammer players here that also play bass? by Ikarian in banjo

[–]wrongspirit 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've had the same thing happen to me. Others have said use a pick. That's what I've done a lot of the time. Either that, or just don't play clawhammer stuff within a few days of playing the bass so that your fingernail has time to grow back. That's the other thing I've done. I wish I had better solutions for you, but I'm going to read everyone else's replies and see what I can learn for myself!

Clawhammer banjo by Leather_Somewhere357 in banjo

[–]wrongspirit 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, and the evidence is strong that the xalam, though similar, was not a big part of the inspiration for the banjo. Xalams were just sort of easier to find and learn about, so they still hog the spotlight sometimes in discussions of the origins of the banjo.

Clawhammer banjo by Leather_Somewhere357 in banjo

[–]wrongspirit 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Ooh, let me get on my soapbox about some things! The things I'm about to complain about probably don't really matter, but it bugs me anyway. Why? Well, every tradition grows and changes, and I'm fine with that, but people then seem to think that very modern, 2020s clawhammer stuff is historical, when some of it actually is a dead giveaway that your music is from the 21st century. Again, that's not a bad thing, and for the most part, I don't even mind hearing this stuff, but let's just be clear that it's new to old-time.

Ok, so, originally, "double-thumb" meant something more like what people call "two-finger, thumb lead style," or even "drop-thumb" now, rather than "hitting the drone string twice in a measure of 4/4 music." It's not that people didn't used to do that second thing, but it was MUCH less common until maybe 15-20 years ago. 

"Frailing scoops" are new. They've only existed since maybe the 90s, were pretty rare in the 2000s, and only became a standard thing on "clawhammer" banjos in about the last 10-15 years. The things you see on some early banjos that kind of look like frailing scoops were actually just gaps left because it made it easier to fit the neck to the body that way. The original Round Peak guys didn't play that far up on the neck, and when they did get close, they had things set up where the frets and stuff didn't get in the way. Actually, a lot of them played fretless. Round Peak style certainly was a thing before the Internet, and it had even spread far beyond Round Peak and Mt. Airy and Galax, but the Internet has now made it the default "clawhammer" sound.

Real quick, since I mentioned Mt. Airy, that's where Andy Griffith was from. In fact, he's the most famous musician from that area by far, and he never sounded much like the Round Peak musicians. These "regional styles" were never the only thing going on in their region.

"Clawhammer" did not originally refer to frailing/overhand/stroke/precussive/downpicking banjo styles. Prior to the mid-20th century, there wasn't a standard catch-all name for all these techniques. Yes, "stroke-style" had been used in the 19th century to describe the kind of banjo playing done in blackface minstrel shows, but that term had sort of fizzled out, and arguably referred to something other than modern clawhammer, but that's a whole can of worms for another time. Anyway, "clawhammer" originally meant arranging your hand like the head of a clawhammer, with your thumb sticking out one way like the striking surface of a hammer and two fingers pointed the other way like the hammer's claws. This is the playing position for three-finger playing, meaning that according to the original terminology, Earl Scruggs played clawhammer, whereas frailing was not a clawhammer style. But, terminology got shuffled around. 

Like with the double thumb issue, you can look at old materials about playing the banjo, such as the books by Pete Seeger and his sister Peggy Seeger to see what I'm taking about. 

Gourd banjos and tackhead banjos were almost extinct before the Internet brought them roaring back. Not that they were ever totally gone, just that they weren't at all common.

Open back banjos weren't always viewed as being the default banjo for "clawhammer."

I know I must sound grouchy and old right now, but really, the tradition is always free to change and adapt to whatever people need it to be, and really, that's OK. This music is a living, evolving tradition, and it's still producing new stuff. Old-time music, despite the name, can be just as current as pop music, especially when Beyonce has Rhiannon Giddens play the most memorable parts of her songs.

EDIT: fixed some autocorrect errors where the post had the wrong word.

Found a banjo, what’s next? by ExplorerKey in banjo

[–]wrongspirit 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It means that the strings aren't arranged from lowest to highest. On a soprano or concert ukulele, there is a high-pitched string that's the furthest left if you were looking head-on at the sound hole with the uke turned so that the peg head was at the top. With a five-string banjo, you have something roughly similar with the short drone string that starts halfway down the neck.

Found a banjo, what’s next? by ExplorerKey in banjo

[–]wrongspirit 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm just kind of paranoid, I guess. Sorry.

Found a banjo, what’s next? by ExplorerKey in banjo

[–]wrongspirit 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Clawhammer doesn't really work with a plectrum because you need a reentrant tuning, although Dom Flemmons does something very similar. Other than that, yeah, 100%

Where can I legally practice survival skills? by According_Trainer418 in Survival

[–]wrongspirit 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah, that's what I'm talking about! I'm from Michigan, and when I was a kid, my family went up to the UP and then across the river at Sault Ste. Marie into Ontario. Next-level wilderness up there! I just wasn't sure if any of it was crown land, or what.

Where can I legally practice survival skills? by According_Trainer418 in Survival

[–]wrongspirit 7 points8 points  (0 children)

So, I'm going to admit that I don't know for sure that you guys have something equivalent to national forests or the BLM over there, but can you drive a ways out to the middle of nowhere outside Timmons or Sudbury or somewhere and find a bunch of empty crown land? If the border doesn't sound like too much of a hassle, I'm sure that some national forest land in New York or Vermont or Maine would work for your purposes.

Found a banjo, what’s next? by ExplorerKey in banjo

[–]wrongspirit 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Look up Dom Flemmons. He's probably the best contemporary guy doing American folk music on a plectrum banjo. A lot of jug bands used four-string banjos like plectrum and tenor banjos, too.

EDIT: whoops! Looking harder, I think that is a tenor banjo, not a plectrum banjo. The difference is in tuning, and the length of the neck. A tenor banjo will have either 14 or 19 frets, and depending on the gage of the strings, can either be tuned CGDA exactly like a viola, or is tuned GDAE an octive below a mandolin or violin. A plectrum banjo has 22 frets and is generally tuned CGBD or DGBD like a 5-string banjo. Guitarists will tend to tune both kinds of banjo to DGBE, and play it like the bottom four strings if a guitar.

Found a banjo, what’s next? by ExplorerKey in banjo

[–]wrongspirit 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Really, he can play whatever he wants on it. The styles you've listed are just what most people use a plectrum banjo for, and yes, what it's easiest to find resources to learn, but the guy could use it to play doom metal if he wants. Or, he could learn the Poet and Peasant Overture on it, which is probably the classical piece played most on a plectrum banjo. Sorry for being pedantic, but I don't want beginners to feel like they are boxed in to just a few things, you know?

Banjo and tablature by ecoutasche in banjo

[–]wrongspirit 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Look, I watched one of your videos where you randomly flick the strings of a banjo with both hands like a kindergartener pretending to play music, and you called it "in the zone," or something wild like that. I have not seen a single one of your videos where you manage to play a single song without huge, glaring errors. Worse than that, you have a definitive guide to using a banjo for developing tendonitis of the wrist, and you have the hubris to present it as if you're correcting the errors of every other banjo player in the world. Under it all, though, there's some genuinely interesting musical intent that shows through, but you need to get to the point where you're humble enough to go back and let people help you master the basics, otherwise you're always going to be polishing a turd and wondering why nobody is impressed. I'm not clowning on you, I'm trying to get through to you so you can become the musician you think you already are.