The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on every aspect of our lives. For those of us who enjoy playing old-time music, opportunities to play our instruments with others has been severely limited. No more going to jams at bars or coffee shops. No more festivals. No more workshops. No more lessons. Just sit at home and play alone. Thankfully, technology can ease some of that pain. In the last couple weeks, I participated in a couple of online fiddle workshops and a virtual old-time jam. As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, video conferencing has hit the mainstream. People using the technology for everything from remote work meetings to virtual cocktail hour with family and friends. Zoom has become the technology du jour. The online conferencing platform seems to have materialized out of nowhere with the advent of social distancing, stay-at-home orders and mass quarantines. While some old-time musicians have been offering lessons through Skype for years, many are...
How to learn to stop worrying and love the twang. A journey into old-time music.