Why Bluegrass

Jun 9, 2020 | Welcome Column

Some have probably heard the story about all of the learned academics who were summoned from across the globe to answer one simple question. Many spent weeks writing volumes to answer the question, but none were able to provide an acceptable answer. The field of potential respondents was expanded and finally somebody walked in, wrote down the answer and left within five minutes. The question was “Why” and the answer was “Why not”. I know, answering a question with a question is way too Socratic for Bluegrass, but fortunately I think the answer to “Why Bluegrass” is so much more than “Why not” (although if you want to cut the conversation short it will work).  There are many different genres of music out there for folks to choose from. In fact, according to the Music Genre List there are 41 different genres listed with most of them having many subset genres. While some may question the validity of a few of the major categories listed, most of them are readily recognizable as musical genres from Alternative to World and all of the subsets in between. Bluegrass makes the list as a subset of Country. Everyone will have their own reasons, but here are a few of my thoughts about the question of “Why Bluegrass”.

First, from its very origin, Bluegrass has always been the “people’s music”. Bluegrass music started as folks got together and sang songs about life, trials, troubles, triumphs, and happiness. They sang songs about life, death, and all of adventures in between. There was nothing grandiose about the music. It was common folks taking well known events, locally and otherwise, and putting those events to music. Some were lyrics applied to the tunes of other songs people knew already. Others were new in that they took simple chord progressions and arranged them to follow a familiar pattern. Folks would gather around on a Saturday after a long week of hard work and play music, sing, and dance as a community. Because most of the tunes were either commonly known or relatively simple chord progressions, even folks who had never met could get together and play music. Bluegrass was something that most anybody could participate in if they wanted to play an instrument. In short, it is inclusive and promotes widespread participation by its very nature.

Further, not only is Bluegrass inclusive, but also it does not promote exclusiveness or the elitism that at least appears to be the case with some other generes of music. For example, the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America (SPBMA) held the 43rd Annual SPBGMA Bluegrass Music Awards & 34th National Convention & Band Championship in Nashville last weekend. Although not quite as large as IBMA, it is a similar event. At both of these events it is quite common for headliner band members and award winners to join folks in the hallways, private rooms, and in corners everywhere to jam and play music. Similarly, at Bluegrass Festivals across the US and worldwide, many performers are very happy to warm up with folks in the camp ground before going on stage or to join them afterwards to participate in the community of bluegrass. It is very much like it was in the beginning when folks who have never met can come together and have fun playing music together. This is not to say there is not some elitism in Bluegrass. There are some, performers and otherwise, who are pretty full of themselves and look down on folks. There are some “invite only” exclusive jam sessions. However, as a general rule most jams encourage and help beginners as well as the intermediates and the pros. The pros are happy to participate, help, and have fun playing music right alongside folks who are just learning and can barely keep up with the chord changes. You find folks like Kenny Smith and members of Cherry Holmes joining in a parking lot jam after performing at the Red, White, and Bluegrass Festival. You have Alison Krause running up to a jam outside of an RV at The National Bluegrass Festival in Winfield, Kansas exclaiming, “I love this tune” as she joins in with her fiddle and harmony vocals. I don’t know for certain, but am pretty sure Lady Gaga didn’t do anything like that after the Super Bowl performance nor is it common for most performing artists from other musical traditions to join in with the fans for an after performance jam. Even most of the award winning performing artists in Bluegrass help promote inclusiveness of the music by routinely joining in with folks who are just having fun jamming in the parking lot.

Finally, the inclusiveness of Bluegrass music promotes diversity. Diversity is a substantial topic, but I will focus on just a few areas. First is the diversity of people who join in Bluegrass jams. They come from all kinds of economic and educational backgrounds. I see a lot of Doctors, Lawyers, and other traditional white collar folks next to the construction worker, farmer, and retiree at jams and jam camps. People of many different political perspectives and backgrounds who ordinarily would not likely associate or even consider having a conversation interacting and helping each other through Bluegrass music. There are Professors and students, small children and retirees, as well as all different races and religions who come together to enjoy making music together. All of the differences mean nothing to the music. There are folks who have different musical backgrounds from classical, to rock, to old-time that also bring a different flavor to the music or the jam. In many respects this diversity is like the origins of Bluegrass itself and the construction of instruments. Bluegrass instrumentation resulted from immigrants from around the globe meeting for the first time in the bottleneck of the Appalachians as folks headed inland for various reasons. The guitar from Spain, the Mandolin from Italy, the Fiddle from Ireland, and the Banjo from Africa all met for the first time as folks from across the world where channeled together by the terrain. Similarly, the guitar I am building right now is made up of different woods from across the globe, Africa, India, Canada, the US, and even Southeast Asia. A guitar all made from one type of wood might sound OK, but most certainly would not sound as good and may not even be structurally stable enough to withstand the tension of the strings. It is this diversity in these and in many other categories that makes Bluegrass sound the way it does and it not only keeps the music interesting, but also ensures that it continues much the way it started; as a group of people who have never met with their own musical traditions and instrumentation joining together to have fun making music.

There are plenty of other answers to the question, “Why Bluegrass” and this is just a brief overview of my thoughts about the question. I like the idea that the music remains interesting while simultaneously remaining very much like it was originally. I like that it is inclusive and as a result promotes the diversity that helps keep it interesting. I like the idea that it remains the “people’s music” where the pros sit down with us common folks and just have fun playing music. Perhaps a topic for another Welcome Column in the future, but I suspect that it is because of these things that many people who have become well known names in related and other genres of music started off playing bluegrass. When asked why they ever departed from Bluegrass music, most have responded with something along the lines of “I like to eat”. Folks like Ricky Skaggs, Vince Gill, Marty Stuart, and others transitioned into mainstream country while remaining grounded in, and in some cases, returning to Bluegrass. Some like Jerry Garcia and Clarence White ventured into other genres completely, but never left Bluegrass music behind. I think the role that Bluegrass music has played by influencing other genres may be a good topic for future consideration. However for now, what about you? Give it some thought. Why Bluegrass?

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