[devellis]

I much prefer listening to players than singers and don't sing myself.

A whole lot of guitar interest groups, I've discovered, are actually much more about singing than they are about guitar. Let's face it, singing is far more common and pretty much anyone can sing at least a little. Ask a stranger to sing "Happy Birthday" and they probably can. Hand them a guitar and ask them to play it, and not so much. So, in a group setting, more people can relate more fully to singing than to guitar playing. So, as a social activity, singing has a real leg up and a guitar may serve best in support of a song in that context.

Really good singers (and songwriters) are a pretty rare breed and finding one can certainly be a joy. Don't get me wrong -- I appreciate good songs and singing. But the trouble is that a lot of so-so singers and songwriters are out there. And honestly, even most of the good ones simply don't move me as much as a really good guitar player. It's soooo hard to play guitar really well (and I certainly don't) that when I encounter a really good player, it really captures my interest. And even someone with modest skills who's doing interesting stuff will win my attention. Perhaps it's the relative scarcity of people who take playing seriously (relative to the number of singers, that is) that makes them interesting to me. Playing behind a song and playing as the main thing are very different.

The fact that I'm not a singer, of course, has to have something to do with this. I can relate to a player's skills and the time and effort it took to acquire them. Singing, at least at the level at which most people do it, doesn't seem to reflect a lot of hard work to me. It's something they've always done and they've managed to get pretty good at it. Others, of course, go well beyond that but those seem pretty thin on the ground in most small-town venues.

I've encountered a lot of singer/songwriters who can barely sing and who sort of talk their songs. If the songs are exceptionally well-crafted, that can work. But often it doesn't really capture my interest. Songwriting is a real skill, cultivated through hard work and a rich trove of experience and imagination. I very much admire good songwriters and a great song can certainly be moving. But great songs don't really come around all that often, while mediocre songs abound. Couple a great song with an interesting delivery (not necessarily a "pretty" voice but an expressive one) and you really have something. But again, that combination seems pretty rare. It's okay for people not to excel. Few of us do. I'm not criticizing people who are honing their talents and have the courage to put it out there. I'm just not enthralled by their performances. On the other hand, someone who's even stumbling a bit with some fairly intricate guitar work is more likely to catch my attention. Again, a big part of that is that I can relate to the latter (struggling guitarist) more than the former (struggling singer/songwriter).

So, for me, an evening of mostly guitar with a bit of singing would win hands down over an evening of mostly singing with a bit of guitar thrown in. But clearly, I'm in the minority. When I was more involved in Irish traditional music, the balance was heavily toward instrumental, with only the occasional song or dance in the mix. I enjoyed that a lot but it's dwindled considerably in these parts. And my musical tastes have also shifted a bit. But I think I always have, and always will, have a preference for good instrumental music over good vocals.