Bluegrass music is a tradition-based modern style of string band music. Typically a bluegrass band consists of four to seven performers who sing while accompanying themselves on acoustic string instruments such as the guitar, double bass, fiddle, five-string banjo, mandolin, steel guitar, and Dobro .
Which instrument did Bill Monroe play?
Bill Monroe played the mandolin , but the banjo is the instrument that has come to define bluegrass music for many listeners. In fact, some peg the birth of bluegrass music to late 1945, when Earl Scruggs joined Monroe’s band.
What instrument did Bill Monroe play Dobro mandolin banjo?
At the end of the 1930s, a new musical genre which combined Scottish and Irish fiddle tunes, blues and African American banjo with traditional American songs began to develop. Bill Monroe, a Kentucky fiddler and mandolin player, was the first to bring all of the elements of this new genre together.
What is the typical instrumentation of a bluegrass group?
What is the typical instrumentation of a bluegrass group? The acoustic guitar, fiddle, mandolin, bass, fiddle, and five-string banjo – no electric guitars, drums or keyboards .
What is the most popular instrument used in bluegrass music?
Fiddle . The fiddle is a mainstay in all styles of traditional and rural music, from classic country to bluegrass, folk, and roots rock.
What is the difference between country and bluegrass?
Bluegrass is a sub-genre of Country Music with characteristics that differentiate it from mainstream Country : The instrumentation is purely ‘string band’ based: Guitar, Banjo, Mandolin, Fiddle and Upright Bass. There is more emphasis on an ‘acoustic’ sound. The music is more free and the structures are more complex.
What is the most popular string instrument?
The most common string instruments in the string family are guitar , electric bass, violin, viola, cello, double bass, banjo, mandolin, ukulele, and harp.
Who was Bill Monroe’s first banjo player?
Buck Trent (60-61) – Several road trips, per his son Charles Trent. Bill Keith (63) – introduced melodic/chromatic/fiddle style to the mainstream Bluegrass world. From Boston at the time, almost certainly Monroe’s first non southern banjo player. Bobby Diamond (63-64?)
Who came first in history of bluegrass?
Bill Monroe , a native of Rosine, Kentucky, is often acknowledged as the “father” of bluegrass music. Bill grew up working and playing music with his siblings on the family farm (known as Jerusalem Ridge) in the early 1900s.
Why is it called Blue Grass?
Legend has it that when early settlers looked out on the fields of Poa pratensis in Central Kentucky, the seed heads took on a purplish hue. In the sun, it looked blue-green . Hence, the name bluegrass was born.
What are the general characteristics of bluegrass?
Besides instrumentation, the distinguishing characteristics of bluegrass include vocal harmonies featuring two, three, or four parts , often featuring a dissonant or modal sound in the highest voice (see modal frame); an emphasis on traditional songs, often with sentimental or religious themes.
What kind of music is played on a mandolin?
Neapolitan mandolins feature prominently in European classical music and traditional music . Archtop instruments are common in American folk music and bluegrass music. Flat-backed instruments are commonly used in Irish, British, and Brazilian folk music.
What is bluegrass known for?
Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music that developed in the 1940s in the United States Appalachian region. The genre derives its name from the band Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. ... Bluegrass features acoustic stringed instruments and emphasizes the off-beat.
Is a violin a fiddle?
Western classical players sometimes use “fiddle” as an affectionate term for the violin , that intimate companion and workmate. But in the United States, most often “fiddle” means the violin as used in Irish-Scottish-French traditional music and all the descendant American styles: Appalachian, bluegrass, Cajun, etc.
Where was bluegrass invented?
Bluegrass music came out of the rural south after World War II , but its roots date back to the 1930s. The genre was named after Bill Monroe’s band The Blue Grass Boys who began performing in the 1940s. Bluegrass songs were about issues important to everyday people.
