A Worn Out Porch

This picture is from a couple of years ago. We were performing for the 30th Anniversary of the Smithfield Times outdoor concerts. We have many different participants in our music program now. This is the opening post of a brand new blog that will focus on the music program at Mill Swamp Indian Horses.

As we move along more of this will make sense. At first blush what we do might seem confusing. We are a non-profit breed conservation program that works to prevent the extinction of several strains of Colonial Spanish horses and other breeds of Heritage livestock. We teach riding lessons. We have one of the largest and most diverse herds of American Indian Horses in the nation. We teach microbial pasture management and soil and water conservation.

We have a range of educational programs and we do every bit of it without a single paid staff person. We are located outside of Smithfield, Virginia. More on the program can be found at our website www.millswampindianhorses.com.

And we teach/learn Americana and Roots music to any program participant that wants to learn to play an instrument and perform on stage. We teach music in the traditional form of unstructured exploration and experimentation that kept so many of the ancient songs, that were the sound track for rural life in America for two hundred years, alive. We don't read music. In fact, only a few of the songs that we do have written lyrics to learn from. We do not teach a musical discipline. We teach musical freedom. We encourage immersion in the music to the degree that much of the instruction can be left unsaid. Perhaps it is better to say that we give direction and encouragement instead of music lessons. For example, instruction might simply be "Figure out which notes make up a "D" chord and when you get to the end of the first line let your fingers dance on those notes while keeping time with your right hand."

 At the moment our instruments include bouzouki, mandolins, three string wooden banjo, dulcimers, guitars, tenor banjo, fiddles, cajon, dobro, wash board, wash tub bass, harmonica, ukulele, and auto harp. Participants learn the history of their instruments, the history and meaning of the songs and how those songs fit into both the time in which they were created and into the present moment. They learn the connection between music that grew from the traditions of poor white families and that that grew from the traditions of poor black families. They learn to understand the power of songs that kept rural people going when everything around them seemed helpless. They learn to see the thread that runs between the Carter Family, Charlie Patton, Steve Earl, Townes Van Zandt, Gram Parsons, Woody Gutherie, and Lead Belly. They learn the meaning of what it is to find meaning in life.

Future posts will focus on finding that meaning. We also just set up a facebook page Pasture #3. Check it out and follow it regularly. It will cover where we will be performing and will feature some great pictures of young people finding meaning through music.