Re: [BluegrassHarp] Re: [Harp-L] Tulsa Read's Country & Bluegrass SPAH Seminar

[David Payne <dave@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Excellent post Cara. Most excellent. For some additional ideas on what you might be able to do on Foggy Mountain Breakdown, check out the Bill Monroe's original "Bluegrass Breakdown" he recorded when Flatt and Scruggs were members of Monroe's Bluegrass Boys back in the 1940s, by the 1960s Bill decided it was a banjo tune and had his banjo player do most of it, but the one from the 1940s is mostly mandolin. There's, I think only one chord difference between it and Foggy, it's an Em. 
Cara said Bluegrass is learned by ear, this is true, but it is easy to learn by ear. Monroe created Bluegrass by fusing Scottish music with blues and throwing in a little jazz (as I understand it, he got the idea of alternating solos from jazz). Like blues, bluegrass has predictable chord progressions, many of which are 8 bar, some are 12 bar. 
The best way to get a handle on Bluegrass music is to go back to the late 40s, when Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs were playing with Monroe. From that point until the mid 50s, bluegrass had the same appeal rock and roll did later, a driving beat, bluesy, etc. In some of these songs you may notice has all the elements of rock and roll, only it's acoustic, like "Rocky Road Blues" 
On leads, Monroe plays with a LOT of flatted blues notes on the mandolin. I mean a Lot. It's why he sounds so cool and funky.
A couple things I'll add to Cara's breakdown of instruments:
With the harp, you can do the job of any instrument in bluegrass. You can even do the fiddle's job, because you and the fiddle are the only ones capable of a sustained note. The fiddle usually draws out the root note at the beginning of a chord and fills at other times, or they compliment the melody. 
The mandolin on rhythm is essentially a snare drum It does the same job. My harp is usually a percussive sound, BUT, don't worry with the hitting the 2 and 4 (bluegrass is usually accented on the 2 and 4 beats) all the time. I usually do rhythm in two-measure groups, six beats on two beats off, accents on 2 and 4, except the second four. Bill didn't fully develop the "chop chord" concept, where he's hitting a chord on every 2 and 4 beat until the 1960s. A good example of a similar rhythm on the mandolin is Bill Monroe's original recording of "New Muleskinner Blues" which was actually recorded in the early 60s. 
An example of this sort of rhythm from me, I put as background music this page:
http://www.elkriverharmonicas.com/pixpostedleeoskar1847sizecomparison
Of you try to hit every 2 and 4 beat, you will get dizzy. 
Listen to a song, then listen to it again listening for what a specific instrument is doing. Listen once for the mandolin, once for the banjo, once for guitar (harder to pick out) once for the fiddle and another time for the bass. That will help you identify the specific elements that make bluegrass bluegrass.
Dave
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Dave Payne Sr. 
Elk River Harmonicas
www.elkriverharmonicas.com 
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