It’s Portable
I spent a weekend at a cabin in Lake Tahoe, and the place we stayed had a Martin guitar in it. It was there when we arrived (although we brought several other guitars). We played in the living room, we played in the kitchen and we played on the porch. I have played bluegrass standing ankle deep in a mountain stream, in an alley in Ireland, at a train station in Scotland and 500 feet underground in a gold mine. This music goes anywhere and it sounds great anywhere.
It’s Low Tech
More than once, I’ve been playing bluegrass at a place where the electricity went out. A rock band would have been stopped. The jukebox won’t work, and the TVs wouldn’t either. But the band continued to play as people continued to party. They sipped beers and enjoyed music that came to their ears from vibrating wires strung on wood – no electric current needed at all!
It’s Easy to Begin Learning It
It’s really not hard to learn to play G, C and D chords on a guitar. Within a few weeks, you can change the chords fast enough to begin slow jams, and you’re on your way! Go to a festival or two, and you’ll have a dozen or more songs learned and you’ll be set for a lifetime of portable, low-tech fun.
It’s Impossible to Master
If you’ve been bitten by the bluegrass bug, you’re on your way, but it’s a journey without an end. Work hard, pay attention, and you’ll get better and better at playing. This will reveal tons of wonderful things along the way, and you may be duped into thinking “I finally got this!” Then you’ll see something or hear something that will humble you and you’ll realize you’ll never finally get it. But you’ll have a great time trying, and occasionally fooling yourself!
It Brings People Together
Bluegrass is a folk music, and no doubt about it – folks like to play it together. You can enjoy long hours playing with family, old friends, and even strangers. While playing with friends is always a pleasure, I have really enjoyed the times I’ve played with people with whom I didn’t even share the same language, except for bluegrass. It’s the great uniting force, and music is the great translator.
What other music besides bluegrass has these five attributes? I’d be hard pressed to name one.
