| Bluegrass |
| Stylistic origins: |
Country music, Scots-Irish Folk , Appalachian folk music, Blues, Jazz |
| Cultural origins: |
Mid to late 1940s US |
| Typical instruments: |
Fiddle, banjo, acoustic
guitar, mandolin, resonator
guitar, and upright bass |
| Mainstream popularity: |
originally Southeast United States, but now pockets of popularity throughout
U.S., and in locales as diverse as the Czech Republic and Japan, along with strong support in the northern European
countries. |
| Subgenres |
| Progressive bluegrass -
Traditional bluegrass |
| Fusion genres |
| Jam band |
| Regional scenes |
| Czech Republic |
| Other topics |
| Musicians -
Hall of Honor |
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music which has its own roots
in Irish, Scottish and English traditional music. Bluegrass was inspired by the music of immigrants from the British Isles
(particularly the Scots-Irish immigrants of
Appalachian), as well as that of rural African-Americans, jazz, and blues. In
bluegrass, as in jazz, each instrument takes a turn playing the melody and improvising around it, 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 carries the lead throughout while the others provide accompaniment. Bluegrass is distinctively acoustic, rarely using electrical instruments.
Characteristics
Instrumentation
Unlike mainstream country music, bluegrass relies mostly on acoustic stringed
instruments. The fiddle, five string banjo, acoustic guitar, mandolin, and upright bass are often joined by the resonator guitar (popularly
known by the Dobro brand name). This instrumentation originated in rural black dance bands and was
being abandoned by those groups (in favor of blues and jazz ensembles) when picked up by white musicians (van der Merwe 1989,
p.62). Instrumental solos are improvised, and can frequently be technically demanding.
Debate rages among bluegrass musicians, fans, and scholars over what instrumentation constitutes a bluegrass band. Since the
term bluegrass came from Bill Monroe's band, The Blue Grass Boys, many consider the
instruments used in his band the traditional bluegrass instruments. These were the mandolin (played by Monroe), the fiddle,
guitar, banjo and upright bass. At times the musicians may perform gospel songs, singing four-part harmony and including no or
sparse instrumentation (often with banjo players switching to lead guitar). Bluegrass bands have included instruments as diverse
as the resonator guitar (Dobro), accordion, harmonica,
Jew's harp, piano, drums,
washboard, electric guitar, and electric versions of
all other common bluegrass instruments, though these are considered to be more progressive and are a departure from the
traditional bluegrass style.
Vocals
Besides instrumentation, a distinguishing characteristic of bluegrass is vocal harmony featuring two, three, or four parts,
often featuring a dissonant or modal
sound in the highest voice (see modal frame). This vocal style has been characterized as the
"high lonesome sound." The "High Lonesome" sound can be credited to Shape-Note music where a
high-pitched harmony, that can generally be characterized as having a nasal timbre, is sung over the main melody. There is also
an emphasis on traditional songs, often with sentimental or religious themes.
History
Creation
Bluegrass as a style developed during the mid 1940s. Because of war rationing, recording was limited during that time, and the
best that can be said is that bluegrass was played some time after World War II, but no
earlier. 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 originally developed by Snuffy Jenkins but now almost universally known as "Scruggs style", is considered the key moment in
the development of this genre. Monroe's 1945 to 1948 band, which featured Scruggs, singer-guitarist Lester Flatt, fiddler Chubby Wise and bassist Howard Watts, also known as "Cedric Rainwater," created the
definitive sound and instrumental configuration that remains a model to this day.
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 style until other bands began performing in similar fashion.
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 style.
Bluegrass is not and never was folk music under a strict definition; however, the topical
and narrative themes of many bluegrass songs are highly reminiscent of "folk music". In fact, many songs that are widely
considered to be bluegrass are older works legitimately classified as folk or old-time performed in a bluegrass style. 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 style. While bluegrass is not folk music in that strict sense, the interplay between bluegrass music and folk forms has
been studied. Folklorist Dr. Neil Rosenberg, for example, shows that most devoted bluegrass fans and musicians are familiar with
traditional folk songs and old-time music and that these songs are often played at shows and festivals.
First generation
Second generation
Bluegrass's second generation came to prominence in the mid- to late-1960s, although many of the second generation musicians
were playing (often at young ages) in first generation bands prior to this. Among the most prominent second generation musicians
are The Dillards, J. D. Crowe, Doyle Lawson, Sam Bush, John
Hartford, Norman Blake, Frank
Wakefield, Harley "Red" Allen, Bill
Keith, Del McCoury and Tony Rice. With the second
generation came a growth in progressive bluegrass, as exemplified by second
generation bands such as the New Grass Revival, Seldom Scene, The Kentucky Colonels. In that vein,
first-generation bluegrass fiddler Vassar Clements, mandolin virtuoso David Grisman, Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia (on banjo) and Peter Rowan as lead vocalist
collaborated on the album Old and in the Way; the Garcia connection helped to
expose progressive and traditional bluegrass to a rock music audience.
Third generation
The third generation in bluegrass reached primacy in the mid-1980s. Third generation bluegrass saw a number of notable changes
from the music played in previous years. In several regards, this generation saw a redefinition of "mainstream bluegrass."
Increased availability of high-quality sound equipment led to each band member being miked independently, and a "wall of sound"
style developed (exemplified by IIIrd Tyme Out and Lonesome River
Band). Following the example set by Tony Rice, lead guitar playing became more common (and more elaborate). An electric
bass became a generally, but not universally, accepted alternative to the traditional acoustic bass, though electrification of
other instruments continued to meet resistance outside progressive circles. Nontraditional chord progressions also became more
widely accepted. On the other hand, this generation saw a renaissance of more traditional songs, played in the newer style. The
Johnson Mountain Boys were one of the decade's most popular touring groups, and played strictly
traditional bluegrass.
Fourth generation
It could be argued that a fourth generation of bluegrass musicians is beginning to appear, marked by a high level of technical
skill. Although it is too soon to see definite trends, one of the most notable fourth generation musician to emerge so far is
probably Chris Thile, who has recorded five solo albums since he was 13.
Recent developments
Since the late 1990s, several mainstream country musicians have recorded bluegrass
albums. Ricky Skaggs, who began as a bluegrass musician and crossed over to mainstream
country in the 1980s, returned to bluegrass in 1996, and since then has recorded several bluegrass albums and tours with his
bluegrass band Kentucky Thunder. Around the same time, country music superstars
Dolly Parton and Patty Loveless have both released
several bluegrass albums. Along with the Coen Brothers' movie, O Brother, Where
Art Thou? and the subsequent "Down From the Mountain" music tour, this has brought bluegrass music to a much wider
audience. Meanwhile, bands such as the Yonder Mountain String Band in the
United States, and Druhá Tráva in the Czech Republic have attracted large audiences while
pushing at the edges of progressive bluegrass.
Though she is often considered a crossover or mainstream country artist, Alison Krauss
is a prominent contemporary bluegrass star. A vocalist-fiddler whose first album was released when she was just 16 years old,
Krauss and her band, Union Station, were major contributors to the soundtrack of O Brother, Where Art Thou? As a solo
artist, collaborator, and producer, Krauss has won (with Union Station), as of 2006, 20 Grammy Awards, the most of any female
artist in history. She is now tied for seventh on the all-time winners list.
Other notable recent bluegrass bands Cherryholmes, The
Grascals, and Mountain Heart. It is also need to be noted that the Grascals and
Cherryholmes play more traditional bluegrass than progressive bluegrass, the term has been coined that these bands are neo-traditional bluegrass.
Subgenres
In addition to what might be considered "mainstream" bluegrass, which has gradually changed over the last 60 years, three
major subgenres have existed almost since the music's beginning.
Traditional bluegrass
- Main article: Traditional bluegrass.
Traditional bluegrass, as the name implies, emphasizes the traditional
elements. Traditional bluegrass musicians are likely to play folk songs, songs with simple traditional chord progressions, and
use only acoustic instruments. They generally follow the pattern set by Bill Monroe and the
Bluegrass Boys in the late 1940's. In the early years, traditional bluegrass sometimes included
instruments no longer accepted in mainstream bluegrass, such as washboards, mouth harps, and harmonicas. Traditional bands may use bluegrass instruments in slightly different ways (claw-hammer style of
banjo playing, or multiple guitars or fiddles within a band). In this sub-genre, the guitar rarely takes the lead (the notable
exception being gospel songs), remaining a rhythm instrument. Melodies and lyrics tend to
be simple, and a I-IV-V chord pattern is very common.
Nationally popular traditional bluegrass bands include Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, Dan Paisley and the Southern
Grass, Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys,
James King Band and arguably, Larry Sparks and the
Lonesome Ramblers and The Del McCoury Band.
Progressive bluegrass
- Main article: Progressive bluegrass.
Another major subgenre is progressive bluegrass, roughly synonymous with
"newgrass" (the latter term is attributed to New Grass Revival member Ebo Walker).
Progressive bluegrass came to widespread attention in the late 1960s and 1970s, as some groups began using electric instruments
and importing songs from other genres (particularly rock & roll). However, progressive bluegrass can be traced back to one of
the earliest bluegrass bands. A brief listen to the banjo and bass duets Earl Scruggs
played even in the earliest days of the Foggy Mountain Boys give a hint of wild
chord progressions to come. The four key distinguishing elements (not always all present) of progressive bluegrass are
instrumentation (frequently including electric instruments, drums, piano, and more), songs imported (or styles imitated) from
other genres, chord progressions, and lengthy "jam band"-style improvisation. String Cheese Incident is a good example of a band that occasionally coordinates a bluegrass
tune mixed with a jam band feeling (especially original tunes like "Dudley's Kitchen"). A twist on this genre is the combining of
elements that preceded bluegrass, such as old-time string band music, with bluegrass music. Imagine that, for instance, you add a
clawhammer banjo (an archaic style that preceded the bluegrass banjo style of Earl Scruggs) to
bluegrass arrangements as played by Mark Johnson ("Clawgrass" music) and Dick Kimmel.
Bluegrass Gospel
Although nearly all bluegrass artists regularly incorporate gospel music into their repertoire, "Bluegrass Gospel" has emerged as a third subgenre. Distinctive elements of this style of bluegrass music
include lyrics focused on Christian faith and theology, soulful three or four part
harmony singing, and occasionally subdued instrumentals. A cappella choruses are popular with bluegrass gospel artists, though the harmony structure differs somewhat from standard "barber-shop" or choir
singing. Although some "mainstream" bluegrass artists such as Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver and
Third Tyme Out have produced extraordinary bluegrass gospel music, others, such as
Mount Zion and The Churchmen have chosen to focus on it
exclusively.
Social and musical impact
Bluegrass in movies
Publications
- Bluegrass Festival Guide [1]
- Bluegrass Unlimited [2]
- Flatpicking Guitar Magazine [3]
- Bluegrass Now [4]
- Bluegrass Works [5], a bluegrass
webzine
- Banjo Newsletter [6]
- Bluegrass Europe [7]
- Moonshiner (Japanese) [8]
- Women in Bluegrass Newsletter (has suspended publication) [9]
- Bluegrass Music Profiles [10]
- British Bluegrass News [11]
Opera and theater
- The Original Bluegrass Opera of Detroit [12]
Museums
References
- Kingsbury, Paul (2004). The Encyclopedia of Country Music: The Ultimate Guide to the Music. Oxford University Press.
ISBN 0-19-517608-1.
- Rosenberg, Neil (1985). Bluegrass: A History. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-00265-2.
- van der Merwe, Peter (1989). Origins of the Popular Style: The Antecedents of Twentieth-Century Popular Music. Oxford:
Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-316121-4.
External links
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