Deeper Dig of Bluegrass

    I picked Bluegrass because while I was interviewing my mom for the family blog, she talked a lot about it so I figured it was a perfect for me to dive more into it. Before you go any further listen to Wildwood Flower by Reese Whiterspoon; she played June Carter on Walk the Line (if you haven’t watched, It’s so good.) That song was actually a bluegrass song but she covered it. If your just like me then Bluegrass and country music sound very similar to me, so for this blog I really wanted to dig down and figure out the differences. 

    Before we get to know the difference, I feel we should get a little history or background on Bluegrass Music. The first thing that I’ll start with is where it came from and where it moved to from there. In the 1600’s many people were migrating here from Ireland, Scotland and England; those who came brought their style and it contributed to Bluegrass music. Of course, after they finally got to North America, they moved once again. They would move to North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia. The songs they made or wrote were about their daily lives. We know that Bluegrass is American – born, it is the mixture of music between gospel and the blues mostly in the Mississippi Delta area. Learning about Bluegrass continues to show us that syncretism is so popular in music. I love all the mixture of genres and most of the time we don't even realize that the music we listen to is a product of syncretism. 

   

    The picture above is of the “father” or founder of bluegrass music would be Bill Monroe from Rosine, Kentucky. It seemed like him and his family just stubbled across the creation of bluegrass. In 1939 Bill and his band played bluegrass at the Grand Ole Opry. They stole the show and bluegrass was an automatic hit. Below there is a video of a more recent group of Bluegrass; Carolina in the Fall - Kruger Brother. 

  

  There are three big differences between Bluegrass and Country Music: Instrumentation, Sound and Rhythm, & Artists and Songs. Instrumentation is the certain instruments that are used in a piece of music and how they are arranged. In Bluegrass the mostly commonly known instrument is the BANJO. For this particular genre the musicians focus on more unamplified instruments. This may not be an instrument but Vocal Harmonies are very distinctive in bluegrass. Sound and Rhythm is probably the biggest difference we could pick out because the sound and rhythm are what we pick up on for the most part. Country music is more of dance tunes and ballads with steady rhythm. But there are so many Subgenres of country as well. Bluegrass usually sticks to its origins and its specific sound. In Bluegrass there is much more use of Stringy instruments. Unlike with country keeping to a steady rhythm, in bluegrass there is a free rhythm where they can improvise a lot. This is a stable for bluegrass. The last difference are the Artists and Songs. Straight from the source there are very different artist for each. Examples of Bluegrass would be: Foggy Mountain Breakdown – Earl Scruggs, Country Boy – Ricky Skaggs, and Blue Moon of Kentucky – Bill Monroe. Examples of Country Music would be: Jolene– Dolly Parton, Hurt – Johnny Cash, and On the Road Again – Willie Nelson. More Bluegrass songs that are probably some of the most known; Foggy Mountain Breakdown, I'll Fly Away, John Henry, I saw the Light, Sailor's Hornpipe, Blackberry Blossom, Cripple Creek, Old Joe Clark and Arkansas Traveler. Personally the only one that I knew off the top of my head without having to listen to it would be I'll Fly Away covered by Alan Jackson. 

    According to Studio Notes the Characteristic of Bluegrass Music are that it’s “High Energy, Fast Tempos, Improvisation, Unique Instrumentation, Highly Skilled Musicians, Vocal Harmonies featuring two, three, or four parts, All string band and the Absence of Drums.”The guitar, banjo, and fiddle played a key role in this foundation of Bluegrass. Now they use the Fiddle or the Violin, the Banjo, the Mandolin, the Guitar, and the Acoustic Bass. Yes, they are all string instruments or chordophones, but they are all needed because they all are important to bluegrass. Each instrument and Musician have their own responsibilities and such to do.  The banjo is present in the absence of a drum set.  The purpose of a fiddler is to support the melody of the tune. The guitar/guitarist has the responsibility to keep the rhythm; sometime ever take over for the improvisation. I’m not a familiar with mandolins and they come in different styles. The most common used, has 8 strings in total to make an amazing rhythm backup to the guitar in the melody. Last but not least we have the Acoustic Bass. The Bass is the largest and is the lowest-pitched out of all the string instruments. The Bass gives the harmonization to the song. All of these instruments plus singing equals the bluegrass that I’m beging to love. 

    

This last part are a few random and intriguing facts I found along the way, enjoy! 

-     There’s a state that is sometimes referred to as the Bluegrass State, can you guess which one? IT’S KENTUCKY!!  

-     The movie; O Brother, Where Art Thou? Made bluegrass reach so many people, the soundtrack from the movie went triple-platinum. I’ll Fly Away was also a part of this sound track. 

-     June is the kickoff of Bluegrass season and the festivals are held through the summer into fall. 

-     The picture above is of a Bluegrass band playing at the Ole Smokey Distiller, visitors can sit and listen to the musicians play. 

I think the best part of this research of Bluegrass is making the connects of what I've heard but didn't know it was considered a part of Bluegrass. One of my favorite Artist is Tyler Childers is considered a Bluegrass singer. Well listening to his music, you can hear the banjo and so much reminds me of bluegrass. I’m glad I chose to dig deeper into Bluegrass because now I found a new genre to listen to.     

Works Cited: 

Admin. “Difference between Bluegrass and Country Music.” Grizzly Rose, Admin Https://Grizzlyrose.com/Wp-Content/Uploads/2020/02/Grizzly-Rose-Live-Country-Music-Logo.png, 27 Dec. 2017, https://grizzlyrose.com/difference-between-bluegrass-and-country/. 

byhsotr, Posted. “Top 10 Bluegrass Songs You Should Know.” Homestead on the Range, 23 June 2015, https://homesteadontherange.com/2015/06/23/top-10-bluegrass-songs-you-should-know/. 

CrafthouseCinema. “5 Interesting Facts about Bluegrass Music.” Crafthousecinema.com, 23 Mar. 2018, https://crafthousecinema.com/2018/03/23/5-interesting-facts-about-bluegrass-music/. 

History of Bluegrass Music |, https://bluegrassheritage.org/history-of-bluegrass-music/. 

Rick. “Elements of Bluegrass Music by Studio Notes Online.” Studio Notes Online, 11 Aug. 2021, https://studionotesonline.com/elements-of-bluegrass-music/.