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How to Make
Bluegrass
Grow Everywhere
In the 70's and 80's it
seemed that
Bluegrass
was going to go away. What
a wonderful music it was, and it appeared that it was becoming out
of date. Maybe it was
just my area, but the fear was real.
There was no
Bluegrass
on the radio and none in the stores for sale.
Music stores were selling what was on the radio.
It was very hard to learn how to play it when it was too
hard to find. Hee-Haw
was on TV and Flatt and Scruggs was on the Beverly Hillbillies.
The Darlins were on Andy Griffith and I waited for every
episode to catch it. Somewhere
around 1995, I was flipping through the TV channels and found
Alison Krauss and Union Station playing.
Scrambling for a VCR tape, I was glued to the screen.
I quickly bought all of their music that I could find.
My
family and I move to another area in 1997 and found
Bluegrass
to be strong in the
area.
Bluegrass
was making a come back
all over and I could not be happier.
The movie “O Brother Where Art Thou” came out and
Bluegrass
hit an all time high
with new interest everywhere.
For myself, I got better at my playing and I started this
website to help others. I
have helped my area by creating places to play for the musicians
and have attended many concerts.
I am studying instrument building to help make better
quality instruments to be available to musicians.
So
what can we all do to make
Bluegrass
music grow worldwide?
The answer is so simple; support the artists that make
the music. I feel
confident in saying that every musician out there would play for
you for free if they could, but it takes money for them to find
you. If you have a
favorite band and you want to see them grow, buy their CDs and buy
a ticket to their shows. If they are making money, you will see
much more of them and their music.
When their popularity gets stronger from your help, others
will follow them and make more of that kind of
Bluegrass
,
then we will all have more to choose from.
People don’t play
Bluegrass
to get rich; it is much
too small for that. Most
of the time, just making the power bill payment is an
accomplishment.
So
lets all look for our favorite band and see when they are going to
be in our area. Buy a
CD or two from them and enjoy it.
Tip! The
bands make more if you buy from them directly and you might get to
meet them as well.
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Tip! Learning to play your instrument
and sing at the same time.
First learn to sing the song without too much
effort. Learn to play the song without too much effort. When
you combine them, do it in slow motion and look for points of
connection. Simply said, find a note where a word starts and use
that note as a target point; then as you play the song, align your
points. Let the speed come to you and it will get
easier.
Another Tip! Playing the banjo and
singing backup.
When singing in a band as a part other than lead,
your parts will be small. You can play banjo backup while you are
not singing and sing backup when you are not playing backup.
Otherwise, you can play lightly until you get the feel for it and then
play louder.
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Banjo
From time to
time we need notes where a roll just doesn't fill it all out. Notes
are too close together and many times on the same string. There is a
way that can start a complete way of playing that is different from
chromatic. Just simply pick the notes with the thumb and pointer
finger as if you were using a flat guitar pick. With this style, all
types of scales can be used. Let's look a small section in Cripple
Creek and maybe you will see what I am saying. It is the last 4
notes in the first part. Here
is a video clip.
Here is also a roll that
can be done with the thumb and pointer finger that you will use often. The
is the very beginning of Blackberry Blossom. Click
here to view the clip.
Good Luck with your
picking! Warren Yates
Take a look at the "Practice
Anywhere Banjo".
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Computer
Software
The new "Transcribe!" software
allows you to slow CDs down to a 1/2, even 1/4 speed, without
affecting the pitch. It will help you to understand what is
going on in the music. Download
a Free 30 Day Trial.
Click
Here and learn more.
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