The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
Reply to Thread Bookmark Thread
Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Posts 1 to 25 of 49
  1. #1

    User Info Menu

    I don't really know anything about bluegrass, but every now and then something jumps out at me. Here is one of those things. My question is, is this a specific type or subgenre of bluegrass? I'd like to check out more along this line, but would also like to avoid "You Are My Sunshine" crosspicked at 300bpm.

    Fretboard Journal Subscription Drive: Molly Tuttle | Fretboard Journal

    Incidentally, Molly Tuttle seems to be an absolute monster player.

  2.  

    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2

    User Info Menu

    I don't know, but do you think this is similar?


  4. #3

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by Jehu
    but would also like to avoid "You Are My Sunshine" crosspicked at 300bpm.
    Yeah, well, bluegrass is practically nothing but monster pickers, usually on multiple instruments. It's also the other major music genre besides jazz that is heavily invested in improvisation.

    If you haven't checked out Dave Grisman and his Dawg Music, start there (Quintet '80 is a classic). It's a glorious collision of bluegrass and gypsy jazz. Others along that line would include the Tony Rice Unit, Mike Marshall, and Darryl Anger.
    Bryan Sutton is more of a straight-ahead bluegrass guitarist, probably thought of as the foremost in the genre these days.

  5. #4

    User Info Menu

    The only bluegrass I could ever get into was the jazz-fusion-esque that Bela Fleck and the Flecktones did.


  6. #5

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by BigDaddyLoveHandles
    I don't know, but do you think this is similar?
    Yes, I suppose it is, thanks.

    I know the snippet I linked to in my original post was quite short, but I guess what I'm referring to is the more kind of atmospheric, bluesy end of bluegrass... as opposed to the traditional-country-at-breakneck-speed end.

    Are these considered stylistic differences within the genre? Or is it all just bluegrass in a similar way that for example, in 50s jazz some tunes are ballads and others are rhythm changes based?

  7. #6

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by FatPick
    Yeah, well, bluegrass is practically nothing but monster pickers, usually on multiple instruments. It's also the other major music genre besides jazz that is heavily invested in improvisation.If you haven't checked out Dave Grisman and his Dawg Music, start there (Quintet '80 is a classic). It's a glorious collision of bluegrass and gypsy jazz. Others along that line would include the Tony Rice Unit, Mike Marshall, and Darryl Anger.Bryan Sutton is more of a straight-ahead bluegrass guitarist, probably thought of as the foremost in the genre these days.
    Grisman is what got me to explore bluegrass improvisational music. I love the 'clean' sound of the acoustic instruments.My favorite Grisman album is 1977's The David Grisman Qunitet. The interplay between the musicians (lot of call and response), is what makes this a must-have album for me.
    Attached Images Attached Images Bluegrass-david_grisman_quintet-jpg 

  8. #7

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by Jehu
    I don't really know anything about bluegrass, but every now and then something jumps out at me. Here is one of those things. My question is, is this a specific type or subgenre of bluegrass? I'd like to check out more along this line, but would also like to avoid "You Are My Sunshine" crosspicked at 300bpm.
    You are just digging the vibe of a bluegrass instrumental ballad, which can have the moody goodness as any other genre. Bluegrass is an awesome style of music with a rich tradition that keeps getting better. Surely most stuff is vocal at dance tempos, but it's got everything a music lover could want, great melodies, instrumental virtuosity, great stories, vocals, harmonies.

    I play in an eclectic Americana trio, and always include some bluegrass in the repertoire. A couple recent tunes we cover...




  9. #8

    User Info Menu

    There aren't really subgenres in bluegrass, it's bluegrass or it ain't! Not to be confused with old-time, country, or just plain folk, although all those categories can be played bluegrass-style, as can other songs. The bluegrassers have taken over songs like Georgia and Summertime and like to play them. Tony Rice used to do those two and also played Shenandoah a lot. He also took over many of Gordon Lightfoot's tunes, which are probably 'folk', and played them bluegrass style.







    I suppose, as someone suggested, Dawg music is a sort of subgenre or off-shoot of bluegrass. It's really an attempt at incorporating jazz sounds, or a jazz feel, to acoustic bluegrass-type music. Whether it was any good depends on one's taste, I guess.



    Bryan Sutton is certainly one of the premier pickers but there are plenty of others. David Grier, for instance. Here, start with this and there are four more to go! Everyone's at it these days!


  10. #9

    User Info Menu

    Incidentally, just to show I'm not all mouth and trousers, I used to do bluegrass. I did this slower a couple of years ago and enjoyed myself so much it went on for ages... so I tweaked it up a notch (electronically) and made this. Enjoy or turn it off :-)



    That's why I do jazz now, I can relax

  11. #10

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by Zina
    I like the little medium-tempo Appalachian (that's similar, right?) and Bluegrass music that I've heard more and more. If you know of a good comprehensive site with traditionally well-known songs in the less jolly, grittier styles I'd be grateful for directions. That 'Man Of Constant Sorrow' for instance is great stuff; one can hear where Blues came from (Appalachian and Bluegrass are much older, no?)
    I prefer that stuff too. I don't think there's one comprehensive site, though. It's more a question of trying the various artists by name. Most of the past and current players/singers do quieter tunes. It's a question of wrinkling them out. There's a lot of it about, no question. And it's about what you like personally, of course.


  12. #11

    User Info Menu





    I like this. Suzanne Cox younger :-)


  13. #12

    User Info Menu

    Martin, (who happens to be my all time favorite guitar player) has a lot of varied material over the years, and some of it might be what you are looking for.

  14. #13

    User Info Menu

    Bluegrass isn't that old. The style was popularized, if not originated, by Bill Monroe and his band, the Bluegrass Boys. He somewhat changed the way older music was played, and his style became known as bluegrass. He also wrote many of the classic bluegrass repertoire tunes.

  15. #14

    User Info Menu

    Last one, promise. This is a great trad song.

    By the way, the girl on the bass is Bryn Davies. She's also a cellist and a pianist - and a jazz major from Berklee. Oh, yes :-)


  16. #15

    User Info Menu


  17. #16

    User Info Menu



    This is not bluegrass, but I never get tired of listening to it. Tiny Moore made me start building instruments, because I couldn't find any 5-string electric mandolins to buy. He was truly a great player.

  18. #17

    User Info Menu

    This was written as a rock song (by Englishman Tony Hazzard, who wrote songs recorded by the Hollies, Manfred Mann, and Herman's Hermits but has become a bluegrass staple. I've always loved the chorus

    "She walks through the corn leading down by the river,
    Her hair shone like gold in the hot morning sun
    She took all the love that a poor boy could give her
    And left me to die like a fox on run."


  19. #18

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by Jehu

    Incidentally, Molly Tuttle seems to be an absolute monster player.
    She is truly unbelievable. She is beginning to get real celebrity as one of the top players in the world today.

    In person she is painfully shy young woman. Celebrity and that level of social reticence are not a good mix. I wish her the best.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

  20. #19

    User Info Menu

    I wasn't going to but I think I'll put this in. It's a jazz-style reharm of the classic 'I Am A Pilgrim'. I'm not sure if this kind of thing is a subgenre of bluegrass but I suppose it could be. I just did it this afternoon.


  21. #20
    Couldn't open the op link...

    Always loved Alison Krauss and Union Station. Different, more modern instrumental sound. Lots of backbeat, subtle, atmospheric stuff. Best dobro playing you'll ever hear.

    There are other who are more modern than them in the genre as well. Honestly, there's a lot of diversity in the style. More than specific artists etc, enter a specific performance you like into apology, and let the algorithm do its thing. That's where you find the good stuff.

  22. #21

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by matt.guitarteacher
    Couldn't open the op link...
    Try this:


  23. #22

    User Info Menu

    Thanks for all of the suggestions, folks... looks like I've got some listening to do!

    I'm a bit surprised to hear that there aren't subgenres in bluegrass like there are in, well, every single genre I can think of. (Or is bluegrass itself the subgenre?) I know it might seem silly to harp on about arbitrary categories, but I was really just hoping to avoid something like having to listen to Wes play a thousand 'Surrey With A Fringe On Top's before stumbling upon a 'Unit 7', if you see what I mean.

    In the meantime, more Molly!






  24. #23
    There are sub genres for sure . Honestly I don't know what they're called . I've heard people talk about Newgrass. There's gonna be a lot of overlap with things like Americana etc.

    Honestly, Labels for sub genres and things are largely lost on people who listen to this specific music being categorized , maybe more so than others. The categorization of music into smaller and smaller subgenres is a pretty modern thing. I think it mostly came about with the advent of iTunes etc. It makes it a lot easier for people to find some more things they like.

    Several years ago, I had a conversation with my oldest son in which we talked about the music I grew up with . He's a musician too and a fan of different types . Anyway, he started mentioning all these labels for very specific subgenre niches. I guess I sounded like one of those music snobs when I told him basically that "we just called it music or rock etc. We didn't have all those labels for it back then ".

    He'd gotten all of those labels off of the descriptions on iTunes. I don't really have a problem with that , but it does point to a very real phenomena: the people who know the most about a type of music maybe don't really know what it's called in a super specific way.

  25. #24

    User Info Menu

    Bluegrass is a subgenre of country music. Music evolves, and bluegrass has (sort of) subdivided into subgenres, but I'm not fluent enough to distinguish most of them. To me, it's all bluegrass - banjo, fiddle, guitar, mandolin, bass, and sometimes dobro, the instrumentation is the primary distinguishing feature. You don't see pianos or steel guitars in bluegrass bands.

  26. #25

    User Info Menu

    Quote Originally Posted by matt.guitarteacher
    the people who know the most about a type of music maybe don't really know what it's called in a super specific way.
    Hear, hear.