JF said:
> Jacey Bedford wrote:
>
>>> Then you are not doing it right
>> 
>> <Splork!>
>> (Sound of coffee being exhaled through nose all over keyboard.)
>> 
>> Jacey
>
>> (He's got a point.)
>
> Yebbut. It's folk music -- it also belongs to those of us who do 
> it simply, not just the stars who tune their guitars to strange 
> effect and wouldn't dream of singing in the sort of pub where 
> making them shut up and listen is about as complicated as it gets.
>
> If it's worth doing, it's worth doing badly.

grin

I like your punchline, but. What about the people for whom, to tune a guitar
to any effect would be a technical challenge beyond their ability, does it
also belong to them ? or does that depend on whether they then play the
guitar in question ? [1]. Surely, one has to look for some kind of skill
somewhere ? If they "can't sing", maybe they can tell the story anyway ? Or
there's something about their timing, or delivery, or something ? Or how do
you know there's any kind of intention there at all ? Doesn't there have to
be some kind of musical Turing Test ? "In a folk club, no-one can tell
you're a dog" ?


At which stage, I ought perhaps to remind myself that on a different day
with different weather, 'stars' can also make me nervous and I'd be arguing
against spurious pointless cleverness for its own sake, and so on.


[1] "A gentleman is someone who can't tune a guitar - and doesn't play it" ?



-- 
Richard Robinson
"The whole plan hinged upon the natural curiosity of potatoes" - S. Lem

My email address is at http://www.qualmograph.org.uk/contact.html