After I had been playing mandolin for a few years, I found my eye wandering to other bluegrass instruments. I decided to give the banjo a try, and I’m really glad that I did–not because I have become a great banjo player, but because it changed the way I think about the music that I play. When I decided to give the bass a try, I found my world broadening even more, and I realized that there are benefits to playing multiple instruments, even if you don’t become proficient on all of them.
learning
Book Review: Wayfaring Stranger: A Musical Journey in the American South, by Emma John
In the spring of 2017, I sat down to lunch one day at Pete Wernick’s Bluegrass Camp in Boomer, NC, and I met Emma John, a journalist and writer from London. Emma, a classically-trained violinist, had traveled to North Carolina from the UK to learn about bluegrass, and she has now written a book about her adventures. Wayfaring Stranger: A Musical Journey in the American South is the book and I encourage you to go out and find a copy and start reading!