hans wrote:
If there are indeed musicians who think themselves and their pals as accomplished ITM musicians and "tradition bearers" and judge others by standards they can't put into words, other than: "that is good ITM, this is not", or "it's in my bones, I feel it, I can't explain", then I am alarmed and uncomfortable. It is the irrational judging.
I share Hans' discomfort (though maybe not alarm). It was the feeling that there was some kind of judgement of ITM or not ITM that was going on which was not explained which prompted me to start this thread. Unlike Hans, I did not see it as a 'conspiracy' but a bit like the the 'hunting of the snark'. I suspect that there is no one definition of ITM, and that different groups of people are using it in different ways, but all assuming that they mean the same thing.
[***apologies if I caricature the argument slightly. It is a difficult topic and hard for me to be subtle as well as clear. I have aimed for harsh clarity, rather than muddled softness. I do not really see things as this black-and-white.***]
From an 'outsiders' point of view I see:
- no defined standard
- no definition of how the standard is defined
- no agreement over what is and what is not ITM
- an unwillingness to state any firm opinions (what is/is not, who is/is not)
E: That is not being played in an ITM style
N: What do I need to do to improve?
E: Listen to the experts.
N: Who are the experts?
E: The people who play genuine ITM
N: How can I tell that they are playing genuine ITM
E: They are playing in good ITM style.
Now, to someone trying to understand what ITM is (not trying to get a shortcut to proficiency, just trying to define ITM as a goal) this seems rather circular and defensive. Oddly enough, I can see how it looks completely sensible from the view of someone who understands ITM. The 'experts' are defined by the style, and the style is defined by the experts. That works well if we have an agreed list of experts, but different people have different lists, which means that we may not all be talking about the same style, group of styles, or whatever.
I must admit that I had given up about a page ago. Trying to pin down the meaning of term ITM seems a pointless exercise
for me. I doubt that success would affect my life in any significant way - my listening and playing skills are insufficiently developed to benefit from the nuances.
I will go with Ben, it is about good music which is something that I can aspire to (or at least 'good' by my definition
). I will also say that folk like Ben and MrGumby amongst others have been (and I hope will continue to be) very helpful and inspirational in helping my whistling develop. I suspect that their grounding in ITM, whatever it is, forms a large part of expertise and enthusiasm to help the likes of me.
"They sought it with thimbles, they sought it with care;
They pursued it with forks and hope;
They threatened its life with a railway-share;
They charmed it with smiles and soap."
