Country Bluegrass
Bluegrass is said to have been inspired by the music of the Appalachia region in America (Cantwell, 1984). Bluegrass is a style of country music that was originally created as the 'stringboard' sound of Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys, a band first formed in 1938 and named after Bill Monroe's home state of Kentucky, the Blue Grass State (Kingsbury, McCall, & Rumble, 2012). Monroe originally tried to develop a sound that was a bit different from other performers of the time however, the sound was so admired that the style was imitated and eventually evolved into a distinctive country style now known as bluegrass. Although Bill Monroe was the first artist of the bluegrass genre, the genre before bluegrass, with a similar 'string band' feel was called old-time music and used similar instruments found in bluegrass however, it did not typically contain the 'bluesy' sounds as Monroe and his band introduced.
As bluegrass evolved so did the definition of what constitutes music as bluegrass. The definition of bluegrass as defined in the Macquarie Dictionary (2009) is “music of the south-eastern US, often featuring the solo banjo, with other instruments such as steel string acoustic guitar, bottleneck guitar, and fiddle.” However, this definition is not all encompassing of what has been debated as bluegrass. Bluegrass has certain recognizable characteristics such as the simple traditional chord progressions and the use of acoustic instruments. Within the bluegrass style, many elements from other styles can be present such as blues, gospel, and square dance fiddling (Kingsbury, McCall, & Rumble, 2012). Other distinctive features of bluegrass include a five-string bango, fiddle, mandolin, six-string guitar, and bass. Vocalists typically play an instrument and sing in a higher pitch. In bluegrass the second and fourth beat are emphasized, very typical of country music. However, bluegrass has an interesting syncopation in that it either plays slightly ahead of or anticipates the main beat to create an energized and joyful effect, that people have grown to associate with bluegrass music (Kingsbury, McCall, & Rumble, 2012).
In 2015, so many years after bluegrass was first originated we still see and hear about bluegrass music. Bluegrass music not only unites people from the Appalachian regions but has also extended outside of these regions and onto the radio where we still hear it today. Bands such as Mumford & Suns are incredibly popular in today's society and the core elements of their music include instruments such as the banjo, bass and acoustic guitar, typical with bluegrass. Even since bluegrass music became popular it has been present in society. The Stanley Brothers, Flatt & Scruggs, The Johnson Mountain boys, Mumford & Suns have all been famous bluegrass bands from different generations, thus showing how music from such different generations can make it's way through the ages and still be relevant and still have beautiful core elements that will forever be remembered as beginning with Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys.
References:
Cantwell, R. (1984). Bluegrass breakdown: The making of the old southern sound. Chicago: University Illinois Press.
Kingsbury, P., McCall, M., & Rumble, J. W. (2012). The encyclopedia of country music. New York, New York: Oxford Press.
As bluegrass evolved so did the definition of what constitutes music as bluegrass. The definition of bluegrass as defined in the Macquarie Dictionary (2009) is “music of the south-eastern US, often featuring the solo banjo, with other instruments such as steel string acoustic guitar, bottleneck guitar, and fiddle.” However, this definition is not all encompassing of what has been debated as bluegrass. Bluegrass has certain recognizable characteristics such as the simple traditional chord progressions and the use of acoustic instruments. Within the bluegrass style, many elements from other styles can be present such as blues, gospel, and square dance fiddling (Kingsbury, McCall, & Rumble, 2012). Other distinctive features of bluegrass include a five-string bango, fiddle, mandolin, six-string guitar, and bass. Vocalists typically play an instrument and sing in a higher pitch. In bluegrass the second and fourth beat are emphasized, very typical of country music. However, bluegrass has an interesting syncopation in that it either plays slightly ahead of or anticipates the main beat to create an energized and joyful effect, that people have grown to associate with bluegrass music (Kingsbury, McCall, & Rumble, 2012).
In 2015, so many years after bluegrass was first originated we still see and hear about bluegrass music. Bluegrass music not only unites people from the Appalachian regions but has also extended outside of these regions and onto the radio where we still hear it today. Bands such as Mumford & Suns are incredibly popular in today's society and the core elements of their music include instruments such as the banjo, bass and acoustic guitar, typical with bluegrass. Even since bluegrass music became popular it has been present in society. The Stanley Brothers, Flatt & Scruggs, The Johnson Mountain boys, Mumford & Suns have all been famous bluegrass bands from different generations, thus showing how music from such different generations can make it's way through the ages and still be relevant and still have beautiful core elements that will forever be remembered as beginning with Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys.
References:
Cantwell, R. (1984). Bluegrass breakdown: The making of the old southern sound. Chicago: University Illinois Press.
Kingsbury, P., McCall, M., & Rumble, J. W. (2012). The encyclopedia of country music. New York, New York: Oxford Press.
Instruments in Bluegrass
Banjo |
Banjos are stringed instruments that are plucked or strummed. The distinctive tone from the banjo comes from the strings being supported by a bridge that rests on a tightly stretched skin membrane. The banjo originated in West Africa, however since the first prototype the banjo has changed dramatically (Kingsbury, McCall, & Rumble, 2012). The most common banjo is the five-string banjo that is commonly played in bluegrass and other styles of country music.
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Fiddle |
The fiddle has its roots in European traditional dance music, however since being brought into the United States the fiddle has been commonly used in bluegrass music. Although the fiddle is used in different genres and styles of music, the typical bluegrass fiddle sound is achieved through sliding in and out of notes rather than just simply playing the notes (Kingsbury, McCall, & Rumble, 2012).
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Mandolin |
Before Monroe decided to play the mandolin in his band the mandolin (a short-necked, eight stringed instrument) was typically only played in Italian music. Combined with the other instruments in the band, the mandolin blended well and helped define bluegrass (Kingsbury, McCall, & Rumble, 2012).
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Song Choice for
Presentation
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When trying to decide on a piece of music for the performance I originally searched on you-tube for bluegrass music and listened to a clip called “The Best of Bluegrass music” to get a feel for the music. I heard a lot of the instruments that I had been researching about and found the music to be very upbeat and joyful. I was really excited about being able to come back to my group with some more information about my style. |
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I then began searching for artists and found Bill Monroe & His Blue Grass Boys, and their song Blue Moon of Kentucky. This gave me a different appreciation for the style as it was quite slow to begin with, which was very different to the original clip that I watched which was quite fast paced. This song also reminded me of a child’s song that I had heard called Wonky Donkey. The song was written in 2005 by singer-songwriter Craig Smith who then created a book that children could read along with as they listened to the music. |
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Our group aimed to be able to perform our presentation to primary school students. Once I listened to Wonky Donkey I found similar elements to bluegrass. These elements include the folky tune, simple traditional chord progressions and the use of acoustic instruments, I decided that this would be a perfect song to tie our whole idea together, make a fun presentation to young students, and also showcase the beautiful sounds that bluegrass has to offer. |