Bluegrass music
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Template:Genrebox Bluegrass music is considered a form of American roots music with its own roots in the English, Irish and Scottish traditional music of immigrants from the British Isles (particularly the Scots-Irish immigrants of Appalachia), as well as the music of rural African-Americans, jazz, and blues. Like jazz, bluegrass is played with each melody instrument switching off, playing the melody in turn while the others revert to backing; this is in contrast to old-time music, in which all instruments play the melody together or one instrument carried the lead throughout while the others provide accompaniment.
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Early History
Bluegrass as a style developed sometime during the late mid 1940s. Due to war-rationing, recording was limited during this time and the best we can say is that bluegrass was not played before World War II, and it was being played after. As with any musical genre, no one person can claim to have "invented" it. Rather, bluegrass is an amalgam of old-time music, blues, ragtime and jazz. Nevertheless, bluegrass's beginnings can be traced to one band. Today Bill Monroe is referred to as the "founding father" of bluegrass music; the bluegrass style was named for his band, the Blue Grass Boys, formed in 1939. The 1945 addition of banjo player Earl Scruggs, who played with a three-finger roll now known as "Scruggs style," is pointed to as the key moment in the development of this genre. Monroe's 1945-48 band, which featured banjo player Earl Scruggs, singer/guitarist Lester Flatt, fiddler Chubby Wise and bassist Cedric Rainwater, created the definitive sound and instrumental configuration that remains a model to this day. Unlike mainstream country music, bluegrass relies mostly on acoustic stringed instruments: The fiddle, banjo, acoustic guitar or folk guitar, mandolin, and upright bass are sometimes joined by the dobro (also known as a resophonic guitar or steel guitar), and a bass guitar is occasionally substituted for the upright bass. This instrumentation originated in rural black dance bands and was being abandonded by those groups (in favor of blues and jazz ensembles) when picked up by white musicians (van der Merwe 1989, p.62).
By some arguments, as long as the Blue Grass Boys were the only band playing this music, it was just their unique style; it could not be considered a musical genre until other bands began performing the same style. In 1947 the Stanley Brothers recorded the traditional song Molly and Tenbrooks in the Blue Grass Boys' style, and this could also be pointed to as the beginning of bluegrass as a genre.
It is important to note that bluegrass is not and never was folk music under a strict definition. From its earliest days to today, bluegrass has been recorded and performed by professional musicians. Although amateur bluegrass musicians and trends such as "parking lot picking" are too important to be ignored, it is professional musicians who have set the direction of the genre.
Instrumentation
Debate rages among bluegrass musicians, fans, and scholars, over what instrumentation constitutes a bluegrass band. Several general criteria have been put forward. One sugested definition is that a bluegrass band includes at least four musicians who play instruments including an upright bass, an acoustic guitar, and a banjo, though those instruments need not always be played. (Example: During gospel songs many banjo players switch to lead guitar, a tradition dating to Earl Scruggs.) Other common instruments include the fiddle, mandolin, and resophonic guitar. Bluegrass bands have included instruments as diverse as drums, electric guitar, accordion, harmonica, mouth harp, and piano, though these are not widely accepted within the bluegrass community.
As in jazz, bluegrass is played with each melody instrument switching off, playing the melody in turn while the others revert to backing; this is in contrast to Old-time music, in which all instruments play the melody together or one instrument carried the lead throughout while the others provide accompaniment. Instrumental solos are improvised, and can frequently be technically demanding.
Vocals
Besides instrumentation, the distinguishing characteristics of bluegrass include vocal harmonies featuring two, three, or four parts, often featuring a dissonant or modal sound in the highest voice (see modal frame); an emphasis on traditional songs, often with sentimental or religious themes.
Notable artists
The core bluegrass sound
- Del McCoury
- J.D. Crowe
- Hazel Dickens
- Flatt and Scruggs
- John Hartford
- Johnson Mountain Boys
- Tony Rice
- Doyle Lawson
- Jimmy Martin
- Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys
- Ricky Skaggs
- The Stanley Brothers
- Ralph Stanley
- Rhonda Vincent
- Doc Watson
Notable outliers
- Country Gentlemen
- Newgrass Revival
- The Seldom Scene
- Earl Scruggs Revue
- Osborne Brothers
- Alison Krauss
- Nickel Creek
Bluegrass_group_jamming.jpg
The following are/were also notable bluegrass artists, despite being better known for their contributions to other musical genres:
Bluegrass in movies
- O Brother, Where Art Thou?
- King of Bluegrass: The Life and Times of Jimmy Martin
- That High Lonesome Sound
- Deliverance
- Harlan County, USA
Publications
- Bluegrass Unlimited
- Banjo Newsletter
- Bluegrass Europe
- Bluegrass Now
- International Bluegrass
- Moonshiner (Japanese)
- Women in Bluegrass Newsletter
External Links
- International Bluegrass Music Association (http://www.ibma.org) (trade association)
- International Bluegrass Music Museum (http://www.bluegrass-museum.org) Owensboro, Kentucky
- Bill Monroe Foundation / Bill Monroe Museum (http://www.billmonroefoundation.com) Rosine, Kentucky
- Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Hall of Fame and Country Star Museum (http://www.beanblossom.com) Bean Blossom, Indiana
Reference
- van der Merwe, Peter (1989). Origins of the Popular Style: The Antecedents of Twentieth-Century Popular Music. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0193161214.
| American roots music |
| Appalachian | Blues (Ragtime) | Cajun and Creole (Zydeco) | Country (Honky tonk and Bluegrass) | Jazz | Native American | Spirituals and Gospel | Tejano |
| Country music | Country genres |
| Bakersfield sound - Bluegrass - Close harmony - Country blues - Honky tonk - Jug band - Lubbock sound - Nashville sound - Outlaw country |
| Alternative country - Country rock - Psychobilly - Rockabilly |
| Styles of American folk music |
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| Appalachian | Blues (Ragtime) | Cajun and Creole (Zydeco) | Country (Honky tonk and Bluegrass) | Jazz | Native American | Spirituals and Gospel | Tejano |
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