File: dauschmidtkathryn06-oh-philosophy_M.mp3
Speaker:
KD – Kathryn Dau Schmidt
KD: I figure everybody can learn something, can learn enough to have fun at it. And that's the first thing, to have fun. And the second thing is, you have to have a lot of people who just enjoy fiddling, who play just for the fun of it. In order to have any kind of traditional music industry here on the Island you have to have a lot of people who just enjoy it, who play it maybe just for fun, who don't perform it, who just enjoy the music, and will go out to hear the really good performers perform, who will buy the CDs, who will encourage the good performers. If your only aim is to produce exceptional performers there's going to be no market for those exceptional performers. You have to keep a wide variety of people interested in the fiddle music. And there's a lot of ways to keep them interested; performing is one. But another is just to encourage people to have fun with the music themselves. So I've never turned anybody away from any of my classes, because I always figure somebody can learn enough to have fun at it. And I've always said how important these people were. Even if they were never going to be good enough to perform anywhere, they're really important because they support the people who do perform. They keep the whole traditional music going here on the Island, they make it more than just something you trot out for the tourists.