Bluegrass fiddle
| Bluegrass |
| Stylistic origins |
Anglo-Celtic music,also music of African-Americans Appalachian folk music, Blues |
| Cultural origins |
Mid to late 1880's United States |
| Typical instruments |
Fiddle, banjo, acoustic guitar, mandolin, resonator guitar, and upright bass |
| Mainstream popularity |
originally eastern Midwest US and Southeast US, but now diffused throughout US, and in other countries, especially Japan and parts of Europe. |
| Subgenres |
| Progressive bluegrass – Traditional bluegrass |
| Fusion genres |
| Jam band |
| Regional scenes |
| Czech Republic |
| Other topics |
| Musicians – Hall of Honor |
"In the 1940s Bill Monroe and his Bluegrass Boys revolutionized American string band music by incorporating virtuosic instrumental solos and a “high lonesome” vocal style".[1] Bluegrass fiddling burst into national view during the folk revival of the 1960s with the first televised documentary Bluegrass Roots: On The Road With Bluegrass Musicians shot in the Mountain of North Carolina. Old Man Bascom Lunsford took center stage at the Asheville Mountain Music Festival, itself a trail blazing event. which (also the first such event). It is aptly described by a publicist as "the hard scrabbling, dirt road real people sounds that dominated the back country of the southern mountains 40 years ago."[2] Other trends have brought renewed interest in bluegrass fiddling: major mainstream performers have recorded bluegrass albums, and the Coen Brothers' released the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou? in (2000), with an old-time and bluegrass soundtrack, and the Down from the Mountain music tour.
History and development
Kenny Baker is perhaps the most famed early bluegrass fiddler; he met Bill Monroe and cut a record with the Bluegrass Boys in 1957.[3] Kenny Baker served more years in Monroe's band than any other musician and was selected by Monroe to record the fiddle tunes passed down from Uncle Pen Vandiver. After leaving the Bluegrass Boys in 1984,Baker played with a group of friends, Bob Black, Alan Murphy, and Aleta Murphy
Distinctives of the style
Bluegrass fiddling is commonly confused with old time fiddling, from which it derived, but they are quite distinct. Bluegrass is certainly the product of Bill Monroe, who was aware of old time but also of jazz, swing and other traditions.[4]
Purists
In an essay with the short title Why Old TIme is Different from Bluegrass,[5] Allan Feldman argues against the proposal of an "inclusive cover name that would bring oldtime music, bluegrass, clawgrass and dawg music under the same umbrella in order to attract new audiences. The unfortunate trend in this country is to homogenize things. I think old time music stands against homogenization. Having thus staked ground out for himself as a purist, he continues that "he for one celebrates the fact that oldtime music is not bluegrass or dawg music or new grass or even claw grass".[6] Nevertheless old time influence is strong, even reflected in lyrics such as the reference to old time, actually Scottish/Irish Soldier's Joy, in Uncle Pen.[7] </ref> [1]
Techniques
Bluegrass fiddlers combine from many genres and tend to be highly skilled with strong roots in fiddle rather than violinistic traditions. As such, they can be seen to disregard the rules that violinists follow: they hold the fiddle the "wrong" way and don't necessarily use the chin rests, shoulder rests.[2] Kenny Baker is famous for a "long-bow" style which is reputed to add a smoothness and clarity to the music. Notes are often slid into, a technique seldom used by Celtic-influenced stylists outside of bluegrass.[8] Double stops and open tunings are used adeptly as is the full panoply of technique from jazz players such as Stuff Smith and Joe Venuti as well as Western swing technique of players such as Bob Wills.
Repertoire
Famous songs from Bluegrass Roots include Groundhog, Johnson Boys, East Virginia Blues, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Blue Ridge Mountain Blues, and Heavenly Light is Shinning On Me. Orange Blossom Special is often performed by bluegrass fiddlers. See also
Notable bluegrass fiddlers (partial list)
Bibliography
- Vassar Clements - Fiddle: Bluegrass Masters Series, Matt Glaser (Editor)
- 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.
Videographic documentation
Richard Greene's Chop technique Great fiddle licks
Other external links
See also
References
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| Typical instruments |
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| Stylistic origins |
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| Sub- and fusion genres |
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| Notable festivals |
Bill Monroe's Bean Blossom Festival · California Bluegrass Association Father's Day Bluegrass Festival · Delfest · Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival · High Sierra Music Festival · Kentucky Festival of the Bluegrass · Merlefest · San Francisco Bluegrass & Old Time Festival · South Carolina State Bluegrass Festival · River City Bluegrass Festival · Rockygrass · Telluride Bluegrass Festival · Wintergrass |
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