Pierce County
WOTFA District 8
A classic meeting point for Old Time Music lovers!
WELCOME
I have left the activities posted here pretty much unchanged, though we are unable to participate too much these days. Please contact us or read your newsletter for updates.
Welcome to District 8. We meet monthly on the 3rd Sunday 2:00 PM at the Mid County Community Center in Tacoma. Contact: Barbara Peterson 253-926-8457 No meetings May-Aug.
Doors open at 2:00 for a short business meeting at 2PM. After that there is an open circle jam. Finger foods are welcome. Don’t forget that the Old Time Music isn’t just for fiddles. All acoustic instruments that play Old Time music are welcome.
It’s easy to find! From 104th Street E, pass the school on the right, and turn right onto 44th Ave E. which runs along a fence. The community center is in the back. See the map below.
Please join us!
Reasons to join WOTFA:
- Meet many people who love to play music together
- Learn new tunes
- Improve your skills
- Discover many available resources
- Find out what’s happening state wide
- Your dues support our ongoing activities, camps, shows, lessons, contests, web page, newsletter
- Support this genre of American music
- You don’t have to be a musician to support this American art form
- The price is reasonable too! Click on WOTFA HOME above then Membership.
DISTRICT 8 EVENTS
DON'T MISS THESE EVENTS!
OUR HISTORY
DANCE BAND
If you are interested in playing with the District 8 Dance Band, we meet on the 1st and 3rd Mondays 5:30-7:30PM at the Mid County Community Center above. We will play contradance, square dance, and swing style music. It’s a good time to urge your playing to another level, plus it’s fun! The more the merrier!
We have played at the NW Folklife Festival, Wilkeson Days, the Ballard Norwegian Independance Day Parade, as well as the local square dances. Again, this is open to all acoustic stringed instruments. 253-590-9046
We have played at the NW Folklife Festival, Wilkeson Days, the Ballard Norwegian Independance Day Parade, as well as the local square dances. Again, this is open to all acoustic stringed instruments. 253-590-9046
There are several ongoing contra dances throughout Puget Sound. Contra dance is a folk dance made up of long lines of couples. The dance is led by a caller who teaches the steps in the dance before the music starts. Early evening dances are usually the easier forms. For more information, click on the links below.
LOCAL CONTRA DANCES
LOCAL SQUARE DANCES
BEGINNER'S JAM
Has it been too long since you played your violin? Never jammed before? Not sure if you’re ready? Need a coach, some lessons? Come and play with us in a “slower jam” tailored to help you rekindle your skills in a fun way. Still not sure?
Contact: Barbara 253-926-8457
For the Younger Musicians
We’ve started a junior jam/band. Please join us!
1st and 3rd Mondays 6-7:30PM at the MCCC above.
Play music with your pals, meet some new people.
Contact Barbara 253-926-8457
“If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music.”
SOME INTERESTING LINKS
WOTFA TUNE OF THE MONTH - April 2020
OLD TIMEY MUSIC - WHAT IS IT?
Basically, this is North American folk music (excluding Native American) dating from the colonial period through the 1800s and even to the early 1900s, prior to the wide spread availability of radio music. In most communities, folks played their own music with input from their British, Scottish, Irish, European, African heritage. Music was played on acoustic stringed instruments (mostly fiddle, guitar, mandolin, banjo, bass) for dances, clogging, singing, and evening get-togethers after a hard day’s work. Various styles are now associated with rural areas such as Appalachia, North and South Carolina, Alabama, Missouri, Texas, and Tennessee to name just a few, and “old timey” music may often be referred to as “mountain music.” Pioneers brought this music to the northwest as they migrated via the Oregon Trail. Our musicians do play other genres of music too. If it’s fun, we’ll play it!
Music of the Old Time Fiddlers of District 8
Featuring Musicians from District 8 1992
Andy Anderson
Marilyn Becker
Zella Chase
Harbetta Chihuly
Frank Christoph
Shelly Frankel
Carrol Gaskins
Marilyn Scott
Tom Stone
Lynn Wehmeyer
This publication is one example of ordinary people gathering to enjoy playing old-time music together. These were our friends. Cassette tapes were produced by Terry Shaw in 1992, and re-engineered for CD in 2011.
Old-Time Music stems from the American colonial period through the early 1900s. From Scotland, Ireland, Europe, and Africa came dances such as reels, squares, waltzes, clogs, hornpipes and jigs, plus folk songs, aires, and ballads. These traditional North American tunes are alive today in festivals, workshops, community organizations, shows, private homes, and through various recording efforts, including the Library of Congress, to preserve this history.
This publication is intended for practice purposes only, and it is hoped that future musicians will appreciate this effort to share some of our past. If you believe copyright laws have been violated, please contact Noel Thomas at Noelula@aol.com
