Music Analysis Of Bluegrass Music Essay

Music abridgment Of morosegrass Music Essay unconsecratedgrass is a word which came into be after its adoption by harmonyians and radio disc-jockeys in the early 1950s. Denoting a form of American country or bushwhacker medicine yet, distinguishing it from other(a) types of analogous musical styles, which were common through step up the Kentucky and greater Appalachia even before the reach of the century. Due to the demographics of the settlers in the portion, blue grass is a unison built on strong southern traditions and was originally play primarily by the duster working class. Although it is fluid somewhat debated, it is generally veritable that tear Monroe and his Blue puke Boys played the first of what we now call blue grass medical specialty in 1945. (International blue grass Music Association, 2001) The banjo came to the fore as it had not through with(p) previously accompanied by multiple vocal pauses and a now familiar line-up of bass mandolin mess aro und and guitar. The argument against, rebukes not the endowment of flush Monroe or his air, only when the pre-inception of a less formalised bluegrass genre. No matter which side of the debate one falls on, Monroe is accredited with the commercialisation and formalisation of the characteristics which contrastiveiates the harmony from other strains of so-called hillbilly music much(prenominal) as country-western, rockabilly, and other forms of western- slice. (Smith, 1965)Both the immigration of the Scotch-Irish settlers during the latter part of the nineteenth century and subsequent emigration of the second and third generations from the region play distinct roles in the social and economic background of the music itself. Celtic fiddling styles played in the home and birdsongs of herit get on were commonplace. Monroe fondly recalls his mother walking through the house singing, and playing the fiddle as she prep ard the dinner. His uncle, who he first witnessed at the age o f roughly sextuplet years senile playing this style of fiddle on the forward porch at his family home captured the young Monroes imagination.He got the wonderful Scotch-Irish sound out of it, ..and if wed have supper of a night, wed sit around the fireside and hed play the fiddle.Most musicians of the time allude to fathers, grandfathers, and uncles who fiddled and mothers who played the organ, it seems everyone sang. Mechanically reproduced music and radio was therefore a luxury not numerous of these barren farmers at the time possessed, and although by the early 1900s, some rural settlers gabardinethorn have had experienced the radio, it was not as pervasive as it was to afterward become. It is for this reason we can refer to these strains as a form of common music. (Rosenberg, 2005)During the late 1930s however, these types of technologies had come to the fore allowing greater access to music and germinate. The film industry in particular had made singing cowboys a fav ourite trend and this was cosmos reflected in the rise of western swing accommodates such(prenominal) as Bob Wills and Bill Boyd. Other influences began to seep into the old time style, as country music began to move squiffyr to the popular music of the era rather than the folk music of its distinct roots. (Rosenberg, 2005)George D. (Judge) Hay, a former in the raws reporter, turned disc jockey with a popular Saturday night show titled The Grand Ole Opry, was adamant within his class to keep these influences at bay and began to promote his radio show as authentic-hill country music. Urging his musicians to stay true to their roots and keep it close to the ground,(Rosenberg, 2005) he fought for years keeping drums off the Opry stage and very overmuch discouraged the attempts to introduce electric style instruments, instead insisting on the musicians authenticity. It was subsequently the first country music styled show to gain a reputation on a national scale. His hatred of the word hillbilly and refusal to use it on his show gained him a respect from one Bill Monroe who tried out for the show in 1938. Cleo Davis who accompanied Monroe at the trial recallsBill and I did .. a duet yodel, fast as white lightening. And were told if you ever leave the Opry, itll be because youve fired yourself(Rosenberg, 2005)Two of the immediate differences Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys brought to the Opry, and anything that had gone before were the sheer speed that they performed their songs and the key they performed in. plain slow or medium paced favourites were faster than usual, highlighting the skill that was unavoidable to maintain the instrumental manual dexterity and vocal accuracy if these up-tempo performances were to retain their precision. on with a speed heretofore unnatural, was the use of unconventional keys. Monroe is accredited with aphorismWe was the first outfit to ever play in B-flat or B-natural and E. originally that it was all C, D, and G. Fiddl e men had a fit. (Rosenberg, 2005)Accompanying these alterations was a pretty unusual melodious practice whereby all instruments were tuned a half-step above commonplace pitch. This elongation and tightening of the strings served a multipurpose, gaining both in tawdriness and achieving a brighter tone which subsequently served to suit the vocals better than it had previously. (Rosenberg, 2005)These musical alterations coincided with arguably the close to significant social, political, and cultural movement of the entire century, the Second orbit War. During this period many a(prenominal) economic sectors, including the music and recording industries, were in a state of decline. bargonly despite this lull of music sales, the sale of hillbilly records grew exponentially. (Rosenberg, 1967) The major reasons for this were, a population shift, incorporating a migration of southern workers to northern cities, and a mass growth in the popularity of the genre within the armed forces , where many were exposed to these strains for the first time. Military service resulted in long rest constituents having to leave their post for the war effort. This resulted in an array of performers playing different roles for the following war years. Retaining his slot on the Grand Ole Opry, and gaining his own camp show, Monroe continued to perform with a roulette wheel of differing musicians, yet equable managed to continuously be the nearly sought-after performer on the circuit. It is about this time that the real elements of bluegrass necromancerted to form with the addition of extra musical elements, and it was at this stage Robert Russell (later to be renamed Chubby Wise) joined the fray. A co-composer of orangeness Blossom Special a song which Monroe and his boys had covered on many an occasion had heard of Howdy Forresters depart, leaving the roach without a fiddle player. Having approached Monroe backstage he joined the Opry tour. Although the musician roulette continued for a time with instruments such as the jug, accordion and harmonica making appearances, the seeds that would constitute the latter sound were beginning sprout. (Rosenberg, 2005)In 1945, debatably the most influential member was auditioned for the line-up. A young banjo player named Earl Scruggs made an impact with a song titled Dear Old Dixie, showcasing his baron to do things you could hardly believe, with Monroe reportedly saying hire him, get him whatever it costs(Rosenberg, 2005). For the first time the band had a banjo player who was not a comedian, but instead had the ability to play solos on songs where all previous players could not. Lester Flatt, a mandolinist and tenor utterer was also taken aboard at this time, returning to his guitar and singing move vocals to accommodate the Blue Grass Boys. Much of the music was actually similarly fast for Flatt to keep rhythm on the guitar, but he remedied this by using a guitar run at the end of phrases. The run began as an F on the lower sixth string and ended with an pass G. Runs of this type were common in previous country guitar styles, but became so synonymous with Flatt and bluegrass music that it is still referred to as the Lester Flatt G-run.(Malone and McCulloh, 1975) Both were extremely popular with fans, with Scruggs solos demanding encores from the boy from North Carolina who makes the banjo talk (Malone and McCulloh, 1975) Scruggs used a tierce finger picking style adapted from other north Carolina banjo players such as Wade Mainers two-finger style. His solos on the Opry from 1945-48 resulted in almost instantaneous star status as a country music instrumentalist.Monroes Blue Grass Boys now consisted of a mandolin played by Monroe himself, a guitar a banjo a fiddle and a bass, a construct that is now the presently accepted make-up of the traditional bluegrass band. The sound they produced together had evolved substantially from the geezerhood Bill and his brother Charles Monroe entertained locally in Kentucky, and yet, with the early charge of Judge Hay in Bills c areer, managed to keep true to the roots of the music. Scruggs and Flatt left(a) the Blue Grass boys line-up late in 1948, due to the strain of being on the road. They still played together however forming the Foggy bulk Boys. While in this line-up they decided to include the resophonic guitar, (or Dobro) in their band and as a result it is often included in some bluegrass bands today.(International Bluegrass Music Association, 2003) By this time there were other groups mimicking the style set by their outfit, most notably The Stanley companions. Monroe had replaced Scruggs with a player similar to Scruggs own banjo style, and after setting the precedent it became the norm to describe a good banjo player as playing just like Earl Scruggs. (Malone and McCulloh, 1975)Robert Cantwell describes the coition speed in which bluegrass music permeated the psyche as he recalls an appearance from the Eller Brothers in 1980. They began with an old song authorise On and On, but could not remember where it had originated or who had written the piece. It was the work of one Bill Monroe and had apparently been inducted, along with those songs brought across the Atlantic, into the realms of tradition at the tender age of twenty-seven. A tradition according to Cantwell, that was violently foreshortened by radio (2003) The strong suit of bluegrass has proven this apparent presumption correct however, as the genre grows not only in the Americas but internationally, owing much of its triumph to the adaptability of the music through other genres, and the capacity to reach wider audiences through the festering medium of technology. The 1960s saw the birth of a new concept, the bluegrass festival. As bands seemed to be competing for the same audience, it was more(prenominal) productive for all parties gnarly to put them on the same bill, appearing at festivals around America. These fes tivals are now internationally common with attendances growing annually. (International Bluegrass Music Association, 2003)Monroes most famous contribution Blue Moon of Kentucky has transcended multiple genres and been re-recorded by artists such as Patsy Kline, Elvis Presley, Rory Gallagher, Johnny Cash, Ray Charles and Paul McCartney among others. Scruggs and Flatt as mentioned continued recording, and wrote songs that appeared on the sound hang backs of the cult movie Bonnie and Clyde and the Beverly Hillbillies television show. Bluegrass was once again shot to the forefront of consciousness when Eric Weissberg traded banjo phrases with Steve Mandels guitar in the film Deliverance, and audiences were once again reintroduced to bluegrass as the soundtrack for one of the Coen brothers cinematic ventures O Brother, Where art Thou? went triple platinum. (International Bluegrass Music Association, 2003)Bluegrass is still providing additives, foundations and inspiration in artists today , as Bla act (possibly the most recognisable banjo player worldwide presently), describes his most powerful memory on first hearing the music during an interview for the popular American earnings PBS My most powerful memory was hearing Earl Scruggs.as a pentad or six year old. That sound just blew me away, shook my clearance up. (PBS, 2001) Fleck has attained international fame for his ingenuity with his own band the Flecktones and for his confederation of a fast paced picking style with the jazz and blues undertones of the Dave Matthews Band, an outfit he makes regular appearances with. Once again keeping bluegrass unwaveringly in the minds of the masses.The three audio files chosen represent three differing aspects of the bluegrass genre The original bluegrass sound, the rise of the genres popularity through the prismatic range of a function of media, and its gradual evolution as these strains enevitably are influenced by other facors. The first, played by Bill Monroe and th e Bluegrass boys is a recording from 1946 entitled harsh Top. It showcases the finger-picking style of banjo thoroughly referenced throughout this essay, while emphasising the vocal layers and dexterity by using choral harmonics. The lyrics themselves reference Rocky Top Tennessee a domesticated hometown scence which much of the country bluegrass music was concerned with, the norm generally being a migration or a return to motherlands.The second track was chosen for a number of purposes. Sang by Alison Krauss an extreemely winning country/bluegrass singer with accompaniment by Union Station, it is entitled Man of Constant Sorrow originally performed by the Soggy provide Boys. My reasoning for choosing Krauss version is simple, she transcends genres. Recently dueting with Robert Plant the famed Led zeppelin front man, she epitomises the durability and versatility bluegrass has sustained in revealing itself to new audiences. It is also featured prominently in the Coen Brothers clas sic film O, Brother where Art Thou?, reinforcing the previous point and illustrating the gains achieved through differing aspects of the media.The final track is from the aforementioned Bela Fleck, performing with the self explanotory New Grass Revival. The song itself called steam clean Powered Aeroplane conveys a movement away from a homeland setting and can be constrewed as having migratory conontations, but more immediately, there is a movement towards the new. Containing the same basic principles, Scruggs-style picking and Flatts G-runs are evident. Vocals are also sung in different parts well-favoured a layered effect, yet held secondary to the lead banjo and a dominating base line seems to keep the overwhelming speed in check. But there is a distinct modern feel as the instuments are very slightly amplified. In more recent years Fleck establishes the Flecktones and keeping this style joins a group containing a drumguitar infusing African vanquish with blues licks. (See The Flecktones Next)