Notes from the Music Teacher (and others), part 3

Dear Messrs Berry, Buck, Mills, and Stipe,
We're sorry, but your music does not fit our needs at this time. We feel that your singer does not have enough hair, and his voice is too nasally. Also, a name like REM will not appeal to many people.
Signed,
The Record Company Man.

Dear Mrs. Johnson,
Jack has been placed in detention for skipping class to go surfing.
Signed,
The Economics Teacher

Dear Mrs. Daniels
Your son Charlie is being removed from choir. He refuses to sing properly, and instead shouts in a loud voice.
Signed,
The Choir Director

Dear Mrs. Daniels,
Your son Charlie is being removed from Orchestra. He plays his violin too fast and uses improper technique. He refuses to sit down to play his instrument, and he gives the other musicians bad feelings.
Signed,
The Orchestra Director.

Dear Mrs. Daniels,
Your son Charlie is disrupting my class. During my lectures on the Civil War he repeatedly shouts "The South's gonna do it again." If this pattern of behavior continues, I will have to take action.
Signed,
The History Teacher.

Dear Mrs. Daniels,
Your son Charlie is failing comparative religions class. He keeps insisting that "The Devil went down to Georgia", even though this has no basis in any known religious tradition.
Signed,
The Comparative Religion Teacher.

Dear Mr. Ives.
Your current image does not reflect the record company's needs. A recent poll shows that audiences prefer singers who weigh less than 200 pounds. We insist that you change your image to suit this development. Also, we do not believe a Christmas recording would be commercially viable.
Signed,
The Record Company Man

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Crosby,
Your son Bing sings too softly for choir class. He needs to improve his vibrato.
Signed,
The Choir Teacher

Dear Mrs. Armstrong,
I am not making any progress with Louis. I suggest you point him to a different hobby, such as checkers.
Signed,
The Voice Teacher

Dear Mrs. Stevens,
Your son Sufyan is failing choir. He does not pay attention during class. When I try to teach he sings to himself, or scribbles on his music. His voice lacks definition, and he sings too quietly. I suggest moving him to shop class.
Signed,
The Music Teacher.

Dear Mrs. Bach,
Your son Johnny shows absolutely no aptitude for music whatsoever.
Signed,
The Conservatory Director.

Dear Mrs. Malmsteen,
Remind Yngwie that he will only become a good guitarist if he practices.
Signed,
The Guitar Teacher

Dear Mrs. Rodgers,
Tell Jimmie that yodeling is not part of our music curriculum.
Signed,
The Music Teacher.

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Tubb
Ernest is a disturbance during choir. He spends all of his time winking at the girls.
Signed,
The Music Teacher

Dear Mrs. Carter.
A.P. is not aware that in choir one must sing at all times. "Bassing in" is not a recognized feature of classical vocalism.
Signed,
The Music Teacher.

Dear Mrs. Beethoven.
No matter how much I rebuke him, Ludwig never seems to hear what I'm saying. I suggest you discipline him at home.
Signed,
The Teacher.

Dear Mrs. Stravinsky,
Your son is failing music theory.
Signed,
The Professor.

Dear Ms. Hildegard of Bingen,
You are failing music theory class. You need to watch out for those parallell 5ths.
Signed,
The Professor.

Mr. Adam Duritz (Counting Crows)
The correct way to say the phrase is "Mr. Jones and I."
Signed,
The Grammar Teacher.

Dear Mr. Dave Matthews,
Thank you for sending us your demo CD. We regret to inform you that it does not fit our current needs at the time. We suggest that you work on your enunciation and write shorter songs.
Signed,
The Record Company Man

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Williams,
After much consideration, I am dropping Hank from the choir. His voice is not suited to the choir's needs. His voice sounds thin and stretched, he does not widen his mouth enough, and he is unable to enunciate words properly. He has shown up late for class, or skipped class several times, and has given as his excuse that he was "honky-tonkin', honey baby", or that he was "down on the bayou." Yesterday he greeted our piano teacher with "Hey good lookin', what you got cookin'?" He also seems to have problems with depression and social awkwardness. He told me that "he was so lonesome he could cry." I suggest setting up an appointment with the school psychologist. I think that deep down Hank is a good kid, and I hope that he will see the light.
Signed,
The Music Teacher.

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Yankovic,
Your son Alfred shows talent and potential on the accordion. I think that if he continues to practice it could help him overcome some of his social difficulties.
Signed,
The Music Teacher

Bluegrass Music--Penetrating the Veil

Ralph Stanley: Short Life of Trouble--Songs of Grayson and Whittier

A few days ago, while listening to Ralph Stanley sing the songs of Grayson and Whittier, I was reminded of the phrase Louise Cowan uses in her essay "Epic as Cosmopoesis."  She refers to the primary feature of epic literature being the "penetration of the veil separating material and immaterial existence" or "the veil separating the human from the divine."  The point that led to this thought relates to the themes of so many of the songs on this bluegrass collection as well as songs lodged within the broader scope of bluegrass, mountain, folk, southern, and rural music.

These songs deal with brutal, cruel, sad, and tragic aspects of life.  Not every song has a somber theme, for sometimes trains, love, women, dancing, and dogs lift the spirits. Yet, the darker side of life is ever present in bluegrass music.  Consider the song "Rose Conley" in this collection.  The story in this song is about a man who kills the woman he loves.  This idea comes up repeatedly in bluegrass and folk music.  The passion and irrationality associated with love and hate can evoke the strangest of actions.  It is unthinkable, but men have responded with jilted love or unrequited love by violence.  It is the human heart in emotional chaos.  While it does not happen often, the fact that it does happen is enough to unsettle the soul.  And bluegrass music is soul music.

"Short Life of Trouble" has a theme that is self explanatory.  In this song, the young man has been rejected by the girl who promised her love only a week before.  This is a heart-ache quite familiar to many people.  Rejection is painful, but the lyrical experience of a poem or song expresses the pain of a moment.  That moment of pain, however, seems to be extended into eternity when it is happening.

Short life of trouble
A few more words to part
Short life of trouble dear girl
For a boy with a broken heart

"Nine Pound Hammer," despite its jaunty air, is a lament of the pains of physical labor.  Bluegrass music grew out of the experience of farmers, miners, lumbermill workers, factory hands, and other folks who sweated long and hard to survive.  A teacher like me who works in an air conditioned building could never write true folk and roots music about my experiences.  (Consider "I was lecturing on the history of the War Between the States...." to the tune of "Tennessee Waltz.") 

"He's Coming to Us Dead" is a mournful song about a man waiting for his son at the train station.  As the song develops, it becomes clear that the son was killed in battle and his body was being returned home for burial.  The homecoming is a sad one.

"A Dark Road is a Hard Road to Travel" works on the biblical imagery of light and darkness. 


A dark road's a hard road to travel
A light road is always the best
A dark road will lead you to trouble
A light road will lead you to rest

Those troubles can include jail and other miseries.  These things may come out of the choices men make, but the troubles are painful all the same.

"On the Banks of Old Tennessee" deals with loss and displacement.  The singer laments not having a father, a mother, a brother, sister, or true love.  They are all resting on the banks of the Old Tennessee.  Whether it is a specific tragedy or just time, he has been separated from family.  There is an empty sadness in this kind of song.  Again, that is a momentary emotional response fitting for lyrics.

It is interesting that fans and artists in the bluegrass arena gravitated to so many doleful, melancholy, shocking, and saddening themes and ideas.  No doubt this was because of the proximity of human woe and depravity.  Folks either experienced these sad times or they had kinfolks and neighbors who experienced them.  Life experiences were not sanitized.  Death was not ignored.  The tunes, often driving and perhaps upbeat, reflect an attitude that accepted the tragic dimensions of life because life here on this earth is only part of the story.  Music was a coping mechanism that enabled hurt people to press on with life under the sun.  Only God knows the reasons for all our troubles.  The music penetrates the veil separating us and our woes from God and His glory.

It is no wonder that Ralph Stanley, along with his brother Carter, borrowed from the obscure duo known as Whittier and Grayson.  Those two Virginia boys recorded about 40 songs from 1927 to 1929.  "Train 45" contains fiddle playing that, when done well, sounds like a train.  Bluegrass, country, and folk musicians were fascinated by the world-changing nature of trains.  Trains could become means of leaving, returning, sinning, hoping, or figuring out life.

Gilliam Grayson, 1888-1930, was basically blind (he had a small amount of vision), so he turned to the only outlet for a man in his situation:  He learned to play the guitar, harmonica, mandolin, organ, piano, and fiddle.  He teamed up with Henry Whittier, a guitar player.  Their small body of bluegrass songs (before it was defined as bluegrass) included such tunes as "Tom Dooley," "Little Maggie," "The Banks of the Ohio," and the songs listed above.  Their short singing career included an appearance on the Grand Ole Opry in 1930, but later that year, Grayson was killed in an auto accident. 

Sad to say, but there is no available collection of Whittier and Grayson themselves, but other artists like Stanley have kept the music alive.  This collection was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album in 1998.


Pioneers of Roots Music: Gilliam Grayson and Henry Whittier (c. 1928)