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I.
Thou shalt not ever forsake the beat.
II. Thou shalt arrange thyselves in a small circle so
that thou mayest hear and see the other musicians.
Thou shalt listen with thine ears to the songs and
attempt to play in accord with the group; also, open
thine eyes betimes to look about thee, lest there be
some visual sign someone is endeavoring to send thee. Thou shalt play softly when someone lifteth his voice
in song, when playing harmony, and when thou knowest not what thou is
doing.
III. Thou shalt play in tune. Tune thine instument
well, and tune it often with thine electric tuner,
lest the sounds emanating from thine instument be
unclean.
IV. Thou shalt commence and cease playing each tune together as
one, so that the noise ye make be a joyful noise, and not a heinous
tinkling that goeth in fits and starts, for that is unclean, and is an
abomination. Whensoever a musician sticketh forth his foot as though he
were afflicted with a cramp in the fatted calf, thou
must complete the rest of that
verse, and then cease.
V. Thou shalt stick out thine own foot or else lift up
thy voice crying "This is it !", or "Last time !" if
thou hast been the one to begin the song, and it has
been played sufficient times over. If the one who
began a tune endeth it not by one of these signs, then
the tune will just go on and on, like the Old
Testament, until the listeners say, "Hark ! It all
soundeth the same."
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VI.
Thou shalt concentrate and thou shalt not confound the music by mixing
up the A part and the B part. Most songs, but not all, proceedeth
according to the ancient law "AABB". But if thou sinneth in
this regard, or make any mistake that is unclean, thou may atone - not
by ceasing to play - but by reentering the tune in the proper place and
playing on.
VII. Thou shalt be ever mindful of the key the banjo is tuned in,
and play many tunes in that key, for the banjo is but a lowly
instrument, which must needs be retuned each time there is a key change.
VIII. Thou shalt not speed up or slow down accidentally when
playing a tune, for it is an abomination. (See commandment I)
IX. Thou shalt not, by thine own self, commence noodling off on a
tune the other musicians know not, unless asked or unless thou art
teaching that tune, for it is an abomination, and the other musicians
will not hold thee guiltless, and shall take thee off their computer
lists, yea, even unto the third and the fourth generation.
X. Thou shalt have fun and play well.
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