American  Music Legacy: Getting Connected

There are many ways to learn more about music of all kinds. They best way is to go directly to the source. Ask the people you know if they play music, or know anyone who does. You can find that you have family, friends, neighbors, teachers, or fellow students who play or have similar interests in music. This is a way to find out things that may be unique to your community, and could be useful information to music historians and researchers (a possible future career?).

Radio and TV are still easy and inexpensive ways to explore the variety of musical styles in the world. Look for concerts or programs that feature music styles and artists. Even talk shows sometimes have musician guests who are interesting to listen to.

Record stores give you a chance to browse many categories and even let you sample some artist’s recordings before you buy. You can also find many recordings and videos at local libraries.

Look in the papers for local concerts that you might like to attend. Many communities have arts organizations or universities that run concert series. Pittsburgh has the Renaissance and Baroque Society, as well as Calliope: The Pittsburgh Folk Music Society to name a few. I’ve performed at the Portage Railroad National Historic Site in Cresson, which has a summer outdoor series. Most arts organizations have mailing lists that you can get on to have scheduled performances sent to you. Some even have newsletters with articles and reviews as well.

Festivals of all kinds are held throughout the year, and all over the world. Many are multi-cultural and are good opportunities to get exposed to a wide variety of cultures. Check out local community festivals, county and state fairs, as well as various arts festivals. Some regional festivals include the Pittsburgh Children’s Festival and the Three Rivers Arts Festival (Pgh, PA).

Many like the Westmoreland Co. Arts and Heritage Festival (Greensburg, PA) hold fiddle contests, but other festivals, like the one in Galax, VA are entirely contests.

Bookstores and libraries are the traditional places to do research for books, magazines, and other materials about backgrounds on music and artists, but everyday the Internet becomes an increasingly more valuable resource. Many performers have their own sites, and give email addresses for getting in touch. Here are just a few links I’ve found very helpful, but you should do searches to find your own specialized interests:

 Library of Congress: Online collections

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/mdbquery.html

Open Directory Project: Website directory

 http://dmoz.org/

Old Time Music on the Radio: http://www.brandywinefriends.org/otr/

Cajun History (Balfa Toujours website) http://www.balfatoujours.com/cajuns.html

Beyond just listening is doing. You can learn to play music by teaching yourself from books or recordings, or you can get instruction. If you have someone in your family to teach you, it could be a great way to do something together. Most music stores have teachers who give private lessons, or you can find many instructors through the yellow pages. Also available in some areas are group classes, which can be a lot of fun because you meet others with your same interests and ability level. Classes can be found at some cultural centers; in Pittsburgh – Calliope Folk Music Society, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts; in Sewickley - Sweetwater Center for the Arts; in Chicago - Old Town School of Folk Music. Other places in the country have weeklong programs in the summer; in West Virginia – Augusta Heritage Center; in North Carolina - John C. Campbell Folk School. Good luck, I wish you success in whatever you do, and hope you have fun doing it. __Mark Tamsula.