The " clawhammer", or two finger style playing, was popular before the Civil War. They began receiving attention from white Americans when minstrel shows began using the banjo as part of their acts. Fiddles are also used in country, classical and old time music.īanjos were brought to America through the African slave trade. Because of their small size and versatility they became very popular. The fiddle, made by Italians and first used in sixteenth century Europe, was one of the first instruments to be brought into America. This instrumentation originated in rural dance bands and is the basis on which the earliest bluegrass bands were formed. The fiddle, five-string banjo, guitar, mandolin, and upright bass ( string bass) are often joined by the resonator guitar (also referred to as a Dobro) and (occasionally) harmonica or Jew's harp. Breakdowns are often characterized by rapid tempos and unusual instrumental dexterity and sometimes by complex chord changes. This is in contrast to old-time music, in which all instruments play the melody together or one instrument carries the lead throughout while the others provide accompaniment. In bluegrass, as in some forms of jazz, one or more instruments each takes its turn playing the melody and improvising around it, while the others perform accompaniment this is especially typified in tunes called breakdowns.
Notes are anticipated, in contrast to laid back blues where notes are behind the beat, which creates the higher energy characteristic of bluegrass. It's blues and jazz, and it has a high lonesome sound." īluegrass features acoustic stringed instruments and emphasizes the off-beat. Monroe characterized the genre as: " Scottish bagpipes and ole-time fiddlin'. Bluegrass was further developed by musicians who played with Monroe, including 5-string banjo player Earl Scruggs and guitarist Lester Flatt.
Bluegrass has roots in traditional English, Scottish and Irish ballads and dance tunes, and in traditional African-American blues and jazz. Unlike mainstream country music, bluegrass is traditionally played on acoustic stringed instruments.
The genre derives its name from the band Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music that developed in the 1940s in the United States Appalachian region.
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