The Pleasure of Playing with Others

A people's shared sense of responsibility and purpose deepens social unity. While this probably makes sense, our modern life style has limited the ways in which we feel a collective sense of purpose. Gone are the days where a tribe's survival depended on its shared sense of responsibility. Now we usually end up in an 'every man for himself' situation with each of us following our own interests. A few shared meals and yearly family gatherings at Christmas and Thanksgiving, or even weekly church can hardly fill this void.

So, what can help fill this void in common purpose? Most activities, occupations or pastimes require particular intellectual or physical abilities which inherently leave many people by the wayside. Nothing that I know of can span the ages, from children to the elderly, like 'people music'. It connects people regardless of age or personal inclination.

Of course, there are a few hitches. First, recorded music obliterated much of the ancestral 'playing by ear' tradition where the adults passed the music of their region down to their children spontaneously 'by ear'. Next, the music produced by the professional and highly talented musicians can't be easily replicated by people of common talent. Furthermore, technology has made the widest possible variety of musical tastes available to everyone, making it difficult for us to find common musical ground.

We are attempting to correct these hitches in a number of ways. We have developed a playing by ear learning method that makes it easy as pie for everyone to start playing right away, yet challenging enough to hold even a virtuosos interest. We have compiled a common repertoire of traditional song that have withstood the test of time. Having a common 'traditional' repertoire is crucial for being in musical sync with others. We have developed a JamPool where people can jump it and jam with others. Any ideas of how to further encourage this return to the 'old ways' will be greatly appreciated.