Honest Woman of Many Trades

There are many instruments in which I have interest... obviously the fiddle is my main focus these days. There are times though, when it is useful to speak fluently with other instruments. I can pretty easily provide enough guitar backup, and can pick along with the mandolin at a moderate pace. Tonight at our jam I got to play the mandolin, the fiddle, the bodhran... and a bit of banjo with the help and instruction of my friend Terry. I feel challenged and empowered to learn more strumming chords with the banjo and work into some picking, flailing, and maybe even some claw hammer if that style appeals to me. The fun thing about music is finding the group of people that you can let yourself try new things. Our Tuesday night jam this week offered just that sort of environment... safe and encouraging. We had a great time calling out tunes and playing.
We had a guitar, two fiddles, a banjo, an egg... and an assortment of other instruments that I got to play as the mood caught me. There can't be much more fun than that... other than the jokes, laughs, and camraderie that overtook us between tunes!
Honest Woman of Many Trades can be found in the Lighthouse Collection as well as Jerry Holland's Collection of Fiddle Tunes. I like to think that I'm an honest woman (I also like to think that those who disagree with me just don't know me well enough) of many trades (do you know that I've dipped leather, ran spinning machines, cared for the elderly, mowed cemeteries, sold groceries, dipped ice cream, and washed hair)... Ah, life offers so many opportunities when the mind is open to possibilities!