How much interpretation is too much?

[Austin]

Okay so I recorded and uploaded a video of me playing skeleton dance by Norton Greenop. Now it's my interpretation doesn't sound like classic banjo much at all. I'm just wondering if maybe I should play it straight or with my own interpretation.

[Austin]

Have I been excommunicated from the banjo community?

[thereallyniceman]

When things are quiet on here I would'nt expect immediate reaction. My view is, play with as much variation and interpretation as you like, but this piece is a "Dance" and I think it would be pretty difficult to dance along to your playing at this tempo.

Just my humble opinion. ;-)

[Russ Chandler]

Videos sometimes don't get much of a reaction so don't let that bother you.

I like the idea of slowing the tune down and making it more of a sonic exploration but as you say it isn't really classic banjo by that point.

I'd encourage any sort of experimentation you feel like trying, but do keep the straight playing up too!

[Austin]

Of course. I sort of Incorporated the best of my abilities at the moment. I can't play the whole thing in time so why not experiment a little bit.

thereallyniceman said:

When things are quiet on here I would'nt expect immediate reaction. My view is, play with as much variation and interpretation as you like, but this piece is a "Dance" and I think it would be pretty difficult to dance along to your playing at this tempo.

Just my humble opinion. ;-)

[Austin]

I practice playing in time as well. I just like improvising I guess. It's not classic banjo at that point. I agree. It's Lisztian banjo only nowhere near as skilled.

Russ Chandler said:

Videos sometimes don't get much of a reaction so don't let that bother you.

I like the idea of slowing the tune down and making it more of a sonic exploration but as you say it isn't really classic banjo by that point.

I'd encourage any sort of experimentation you feel like trying, but do keep the straight playing up too!

[Joel Hooks]

Hi Austin, I have to admit, I did not get more than a couple of minutes in.  I certainly appreciate and respect the "interpretation" but it is not for me.  

Totally do what you want and play how you want, you own this public domain music.  But there is something to be said for consistent cadence and note duration.

Also there is the old "learn to walk before you run".  Perhaps focus on more approachable pieces that you can play with consistent rhythm and cadence.  

When I approach a piece, at first I try to play it as written, with attention to all dynamic markings. I look at the title and they type of piece to try an understand the composer's intent.  After I internalize the piece as written, I will then begin to make personal choices about interpretation. 

I find that practicing "jigs and reels" found in many folios of banjo music to be excellent for improving reading and rhythm.   Set the metronome and stay on beat.  Work slower than you think you need to.  Don't neglect alternate fingering exercises.  Build the foundation. 

[Jody Stecher]

Why not experiment? 

 Because then you might not ever be able to play in time. First things first. I can't prove it but I'm pretty sure that Greenop did not have in mind skeletons doing "Modern Interpretive Dance".  Though that would be hilarious.  Rhythm is the thing.  The banjo *can* play "rubato" but it is designed to have a short sustain and that makes banjos ideal for clear rhythmic phrases. A banjo is as much a a rhythmic instrument as it is a melody instrument. . Half of it is a drum.   If I were you I would aim for a steady tempo in all I play.  It doesn't have to be up-to-speed.  If it is a dance piece it does have to be all at one tempo.  

Why the lack of response to the video?

 Experimenting is fine. It educates the left hand.  But why post videos of messing about? What you played in the video you now say is not classic banjo but in the video you say that it is.  That is false.  I thought the best response was to say nothing.   I think it likely others here had the same reaction.  That might account for the silence.
Austin said:

Of course. I sort of Incorporated the best of my abilities at the moment. I can't play the whole thing in time so why not experiment a little bit.

thereallyniceman said:

When things are quiet on here I would'nt expect immediate reaction. My view is, play with as much variation and interpretation as you like, but this piece is a "Dance" and I think it would be pretty difficult to dance along to your playing at this tempo.

Just my humble opinion. ;-)

[Jody Stecher]

What Joel said. All points, all well said. Especially the last sentence: "Build the foundation". It applies to all instruments, all kinds of music, all arts, all sciences, all endeavors.  With no foundation the house collapses. 

Joel Hooks said:

Hi Austin, I have to admit, I did not get more than a couple of minutes in.  I certainly appreciate and respect the "interpretation" but it is not for me.  

Totally do what you want and play how you want, you own this public domain music.  But there is something to be said for consistent cadence and note duration.

Also there is the old "learn to walk before you run".  Perhaps focus on more approachable pieces that you can play with consistent rhythm and cadence.  

When I approach a piece, at first I try to play it as written, with attention to all dynamic markings. I look at the title and they type of piece to try an understand the composer's intent.  After I internalize the piece as written, I will then begin to make personal choices about interpretation. 

I find that practicing "jigs and reels" found in many folios of banjo music to be excellent for improving reading and rhythm.   Set the metronome and stay on beat.  Work slower than you think you need to.  Don't neglect alternate fingering exercises.  Build the foundation. 

[Russ Chandler]

Just to chime in that metronome practice is really really powerful.

Start slow then knock it up by 10bpm each time you've got it down.

It's a complete pain until you get it and then you wonder why everyone doesn't do it all the time!  it really is one of the best ways to improve ones playing.

[Jody Stecher]

The metronome does not lie. That's the good part. If we are speeding up or slowing down we will not be in synch with the click of the metronome.  It makes us aware of our deficiencies in rhythmic steadiness. It's a good tool to help us become more regular in our timing.  If a music student's music remains metronomic however, that musician will sound more like a machine and less like a human.

Metronomic music is usually boring. Music recorded to a click track, more often than not, sounds robotic and not pleasurable to hear. Music needs to breathe rhythmically. There needs to be ebb and flow. I have never heard a recording of the great banjo players of any genre where the music synched with a metronome for more than a few beats.  This includes Van Eps and Ossman. Pick any recording and try to get a metronome to synch with it. The best you'll get is a down beat that agrees for a few seconds, then becomes slower or faster than the recording and then suddenly that downbeat is a reliable off beat (!) for a few seconds until it once again does not synch. 

Does this mean that these great musicians were rhythmically deficient? No. It means that absolutely regular timing is not a musical virtue.  The approximation of steadiness certainly is a virtue and obvious slowing and speeding kills the music.

Russ Chandler said:

Just to chime in that metronome practice is really really powerful.

Start slow then knock it up by 10bpm each time you've got it down.

It's a complete pain until you get it and then you wonder why everyone doesn't do it all the time!  it really is one of the best ways to improve ones playing.