A comment from last night on my wordless Son House bottleneck workshop:
Sorry of my ignorance, but what is this no speaking. I love watching from Patrick and learning from him but this bullshit of not talking is both silly and ridiculous. Go back to who you were or you are losing me as a listener as many others you are so talented and perhaps a little egotistical but I’m a follower. There are plenty of others that want to teach with their skills and their oral teaching. Oral is often more important than just show how talented you are . Thanks and I hope you will consider immediate changes in your utube tubing. Thanks for considering my recommendations. Thanks.
YouTube Troll
“this bullshit of not talking is both silly and ridiculous.”
The left abutment for my BAHA hearing aids is loose and possibly broken. The abutment is screwed on to a bolt that was drilled into my skull. The sound processor snaps onto the abutment. Long story short, I am almost deaf again.
Since the Covid-19 global pandemic is in full swing and I am a diabetic, it is not safe for me to go to Johns Hopkins to get the abutment fixed. It will not be safe until there is a vaccine.
In addition to the hearing issue, I have had a lot of dental work recently and it will be some time before I am able to speak clearly. I can manage for lessons, but The Wednesday Night Banjo and Donut Marching Society meetings leave me with a massive headache that requires me to lie low the entire following day.
“Go back to who you were or you are losing me as a listener”
Go back to who I was?
Dude, I have always been Joseph Patrick Costello III. I have never played a role or a character as a performer or teacher. As an artist I am always changing, growing, learning and evolving, but I have and always been myself.
“you are so talented and perhaps a little egotistical”
Talent does not exist.
Skill is acquired through hard work.
Fame is acquired by hiring a publicist.
As for my ego, I have been playing more or less with one hand behind my back for the last twenty years to keep the craft approachable. If something about my work make you see me as being full of myself, I apologize.
“There are plenty of others that want to teach with their skills and their oral teaching.”
If that were true, you would not be bothering me.
Yes. There are plenty of people trying to teach the five-string banjo.
No. There are not many musicians teaching how to make music with the five-string banjo. Narrow the focus down to my chosen technique and the number grows even smaller.
I have never been interested with handing out tab files. I am not interested in working with unmotivated students. A good lesson should challenge the student and the teacher. We both should walk away from the lesson with more questions than answers. Learning music is not just remembering memorized notes, it is a form of expression that transcends language.
“Oral is often more important than just show how talented you are”
Some teachings cannot be presented with words. If the silent workshops are not reaching you, my advice is to go back to basics and try these workshops when you have a better grasp of both the craft and the language of music.