Finally: a signature quote

[Bill Cameron]

I have been waiting and waiting for the right quote. While attempting to deal with the zillions of books in my late, beloved aunt’s house, I found the Oxford Companion To Music, by Percy Scholes. This is a reference tome of 1,195 pages. Plenty of pictures but none of mandos.

OK Percy’s not one of us. His entry for ukes is similar “...became very popular in the United States amongst people whose desire to perform was stronger than their willingness to acquire any difficult technique or their desire to make intimate acquaintance with any very elaborate music.”

Fiddles get barely two lines! “A colloquial tune for any kind of bowed string instrument, especially the violin.”

Bagpipes get five pages of text and two of illustrations. Even banjos get more attention than our 8-string friends, several paragraphs, inevitably noting “the dryness of its tone and the small variety of chords available limit its services pretty narrowly to amusement music.” (Please notify Mssrs Trischa, Fleck etc).

This copy is the 8th edition, published in 1955 with a new forward by Mr S. He does go on about Ballads, Folk Song, Community Singing etc but generally cares not for the creations of the 20th century, except for jazz. Wonder what he would make of the 21st.

[Bill Cameron]

Also, I finally got a Collings, so this summer wasn’t all bad.

Well, back to ye olde amusement music.

[dhergert]

Sounds pretty much like the mainstream western music world, even today. That ability to ignore anything that doesn't apply directly to either orchestral or jazz music is still pretty amazing.

[CarlM]

There is a thread on Mandolin "slurs" going in the theory section. This definition might be a good example.

[Bill Cameron]

Slurs are better than being ignored. I’ve long been miffed about the lack of mandolin jokes. It’s as if they’re not artistically valuable.