[Harp-L] Bluegrass Chop

["eskeene@xxxxxxxx" <eskeene@xxxxxxxx>]

The most important thing is to understand the function of the chop in a Bluegrass band, so I would say that playing along with Bluegrass records might be as useful as playing with the metronome. The most important time to play a mandolin chop is while the mandolin is playing a lead in order to provide the missing backbeat, the rest of the time you might lay back and emphasize it only when it really adds to the music. Sometimes the brain rebels against doing the same thing over and over, and you'll find that most players (and the fiddle, banjo, and dobro also do so at some times) playing the chop toss in a few extra scratches every to often which not only adds to the music, but actually gives a bit of relief. While it's true that most kinds of music are a cooperative effort, I think Bluegrass music is especially structured around each player working towards creating a "band" sound. The "licks" that have endured have all survived because they help the music stay together by performing a function (it is said that Flatt invented his "G run" to catch up with the speed on fast songs). Most of my onstage experience was playing fiddle in Bluegrass and C&W bands, and the best bands I played in all had players who listened for what was missing in the music and tried to supply it (without cluttering up the sound) to support the other players and clue them into what was coming next. For example, if you're the player that's actually listening to the words and  you know that the last verse has been sung and that the song needs to go back to the chorus  after the last solo (and the chorus starts on the IV), you might want to stop chopping and play a phrase that has a lot of the 7th in it to help guide the music to the chorus.  People usually think of Bluegrass as 2/4 music, but most of the time it's actually a 4/4 melody and fills on top of a 2/4 underlaiment, so it's a little Kiplingesque-you have to keep your head and relax while all about you are playing fast.  -cheers, emily 
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