The bigger picture

I've been stuck at home for the past two weeks and have been doing a lot of thinking. A chunk of time off is always a blessing and a curse - it makes me question what I am aiming for (good) but until I find the answers I'm pretty anxious (difficult).

I've been passionate about music for as long as I can remember. For various reasons sorting out a career has been a difficult process though I remain determined. However as I'm getting older my priorities are shifting. Just playing music is not enough - while I remain completely nuts about the stuff and it is vitally important to me that I go somewhere amazing with my playing, I want to use my skills to change the world around me too. It doesn't matter how good your performances are - a gig is only ever a gig.

At heart I am a folkie for two reasons -

• the aural method suits me well and music to me has always been movement in sound
• folk music has such a community / cross generational element to it

It is this second point that I am thinking on now. There is a capacity for all music to help develop communities and friendship groups. These are the structures that sustain people through difficult times. However you find it, wherever you find it, your support network is vital.

The folk community thrives and those within it are happy and healthy. Old and young mix and are supported by each other. The social dances provide community meeting spaces, safe spaces. The dances and sessions themselves provide human contact in a brilliant way, well balanced. Music and dance provides a reason for us to enjoy each other, a way in to share our lives.

So my questions are... what does the folk scene provide that makes it so supportive? What in this do I think is important? How do I want to use it?

Folkies - join the dots

There is a network of dedicated and passionate people through out this country supporting the folk arts. There are plenty of websites detailing the activities and providing information. However the professional community is spread out over many miles and often there may be something just around the corner that you know nothing about. Even as someone working within the folk arts, I will not come into contact with these people unless I actively arrange to do so.

Mostly we consider communities to be something that just evolve. However faced with this situation, I feel like my professional community is something that I have to seek out, to construct, until there are enough links it can take care of itself.

Community

I am really interested in the way that practising folk arts can create communities that then support outside that particular activity. This perhaps the most valuable aspect of all artistic practise - the arts give us a reason to enjoy each other's company and a shared goal.

More and more our localities have a large through-flow of people and this present problems. The less stable a community is the poorer our network is with which to judge newcomers and the more isolated we feel. I think the arts and sports are a crucial tool in breaking this isolation.