Yesterday I learned that
in the December 2013 Banjo Hangout Virtual Competition – in which competitors
were to play their versions of Auld Lang
Syne – I placed 11th our of 24 contestants.
This is what I played:
This contest ranking might
not sound like much, and indeed this might not be much, but it does represent
the first time in about three competitions that I have placed above the lowest
50th percentile.
It’s true that when you
rank in the ratings in that lowest 50th percentile, the web platform
managers don’t tell you where in that universe you placed so I could have been
in the top tier of the lower half or in the ranks of the lowest of the
low. Knowing that might make placing 11th
out of 24 even more dramatically important, to a banjo player – or it might
dull the achievement by making it clear that I really only nudged up one place
from that thin band representing the border between the lower and the upper
half.
But I’ve decided that it
represents a breakthrough.
When I was a little kid,
on a local swimming team -- a team that was blessed with a real concentration
of talent -- those of us who were on the second stream, the bench warmers so to
speak, used to say that if and when we ever managed to win a race we should
quit the team and retire undefeated.
Following that logic, I
should put this 11th place on my banjo curriculum vitae, and call it quits.
However, in a fit of
optimism I’ve begun preparing for the February Banjo Hangout competition, which
features love songs. As the BHO “challenge”
page notes, “In honor of
Valentine's Day our challenge will feature only love songs. Tunes may be
played in any style, with or without vocals. The name of the song must be
mentioned in the video or included in the title.”
That’s a wide open
challenge. In a field that might include
as many as 25, perhaps I’ll manage to rank 10th this time, though I’d
probably celebrate another 11th ranking as an equally legitimate
validation of my continued commitment to playing banjo.
Play hard,
Lew
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