We all like to categorize things. We like to have nice convenient boxes to fit everything into. It helps us stay organized. And almost every human likes to listen to music so we have lots of categories for that too. Suppose you ask someone: “What kind of music do you like?”. They might say something with a beat, or something that tells a story or something that has a nice melody. But more likely they would give you a category. I like rock. I listen to classical. I’m into country. Rap. Pop. Bebop. Motown.
Very few people would respond with the word bluegrass but I would wager to say that many of the people who would respond to the above question without making a category would like bluegrass music. And some of the other genre-limited listeners as well.
Bluegrass is by its very nature an inclusive music. Bill Monroe and others cobbled together elements of old time country, blues, gospel and other genres to make a very distinctive sound. None of the founders of the music tried to give it a name. They were just trying to make a living in the competitive music business of the day. Bill Monroe for example would have considered himself a country music musician.
Since the founding of the category, bluegrass musicians have continued to experiment with the sound and have tried their best to appeal to contemporary audiences. The Bill Monroe of 1948 sounds nothing like the bill Monroe of 1978 but they’re both still worth listening to. And as new musical categories became popular, bluegrass musicians were at the forefront of trying to adapt trending musical ideas into a bluegrass format. The Bluegrass Boys sang Hank Williams. Joe Val cut a whole album of Beatles tunes. The Country Gentlemen played Gordon Lightfoot. Del McCoury adapted old time tunes from Ola Belle Reed and the motorcycle classic Vincent 52 from an English folk single.
Some people might worry that these infusions of music from other categorized genres dilute our own categorized genre. I say Balderdash! I’m honored for my chosen genre when a “roots” band that I like gets labeled as a bluegrass band. If it weren’t for other genres, there wouldn’t be bluegrass in the first place. There is of course an essential core of bluegrass from the foundation laid down by Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs and the Stanley Brothers and i hope that essence is always somewhere in the music.
Here’s a question or two for you other bluegrass fans out there. If there’s no banjo in the band is that still bluegrass? How can you have a bluegrass sound without an Earl Scruggs equivalent? Was Ralph Stanley still playing bluegrass when his studio producer induced him to go with a guitar heavy sound?
Musical genres are not static and they never can be. Take for example jazz. Louis Armstrong had one version of incorporating the blues into the music and Winton Marsalis has another. Ornette Coleman played a very different style than John Coltrane. In classical music, Brahms adapted folk tunes whereas modern composers now use semitones to make a completely different sound. Is that still classical music?
What is bluegrass? I have to confess that I don’t know the answer yet. I am an aging boomer and I have to admit that I still incline toward the old traditional bluegrass. That includes bands I would have considered on the edge years ago, bands like the Osborne Brothers, the Country Gentlemen and New Grass Revival. I’m confused about what bluegrass is but I do know that it is still a musical genre with an identity.
Rap has an identity too but personally, I have always hated that particular genre. Let’s listen to a bunch of misogynist rants to the rhythm of a scratched record turntable (with no melodic input at all) while I make some veiled gang threats and set myself up to get shot some fine day. That’s the stereotype but actually my son showed me his guitar practice today for a four chord rap song that he likes and vows to master by the end of the summer. It sounded pretty good. Four chords, including a B minor 7th. One up on most of my three chords and the truth bluegrass tunes by the way. Ethan’s new tune could probably be made into a good bluegrass tune without very much effort.
Music is music. There is music that gives us joy. There is music that annoys us. There is music we are not sure about and we have to listen to it again before we really like it. If you play bluegrass music and you are creative enough you can make any good music that speaks to people sound good in a bluegrass context. Artistry and creativity are the only limiting factors. If you do it well you will enrich the musical source genre and bluegrass at the same time.
I am sure that if you love bluegrass as I do you have a strong opinion on these issues. It might be very different than mine and I respect that. After all if you have read this far you are really interested in what it is that defines bluegrass. You care about how we can preserve this special music that speaks to us and could speak to many others. I hope you will flood the message board with your input about what makes our music so special. Please tell me because I haven’t a clue.
