TOPIC: Why are we Playing Bluegrass?

I have never been a musical person before now. I always listened to all kinds of music, bluegrass included, but felt like playing it was something others did, not me. I took music lessons as a kid, but gave up for the usual reasons kids give up, because it seemed like it was too hard or something. Sometimes, it still seems like it's too hard, but then I just pick up the guitar again and keep going. I kind of started playing on a lark, just because my wife pointed out that a class was available through Gardens High. Then I just kept going. It has been a pleasant experience to learn what I have so far learned and I want to keep going because being a musical person is kind of cool.

Myself, like Sylvia, took Dave's Gardens class. In fact, Paul was in that class with me. Some of the students at the time had joined then, but i was alittle reluctant, i didn't think i had the skills to hang with other players. After all, i knew only a few chords, and had really only learned 1 tune. Bluegrass really wasn't my deal,especially playing in front of and with others. Then when i came to the class and saw the varied skills of all the musicians, i felt good with it. In fact, i look forward to Wednesday nights. These bluegrass tunes are alot of fun, and it's rockin music. (especially when played at the higher speeds Dave sometimes plays at) I've learned alot just from being there with all the other musicians, it's a valuable experience, and a good investment of time. I can't imagine doing anything else. I still want to take private lessons, i just gotta find out what time slot to stick it in!

My introduction to Bluegrass:
Sometime in the mid-90’s, I was listening to a radio talk show that announced the death of John Duffey – the mandolin player for the Seldom Scene. The radio show then followed by playing one of their songs and, from that moment, I was hooked on bluegrass. Over that year, I bought all their CDs – & there’s quite a number of them!. My next discovery was Alison Krauss –Union Station and so, on & on it went. What amazed me most were the instrumental breaks in the songs – and their picking abilities on any instrument. After that -you then pay more attention to anything ‘bluegrass’ – and so I ended up in Dave’s class. And what a great group it is!

It’s interesting how some react to bluegrass music – “Same as country music, right?!!!”. My kids - when they were teenagers – thought bluegrass was somewhere between ‘gross & corny’. One evening while we were jamming, one of my buddies sang/played ‘In the Pines’ – a bluegrass tune originally authored by Lead Belly – I believe. My youngest daughter exclaimed – “why Kurt Cobain sings that song – I didn’t know it was originally bluegrass”. A new respect for bluegrass was born that day – however she has her limits and still can’t stomach ‘Rocky Top’. So to all you bluegrass players with kids who suffer continuous ridicule – keep plugging – there’s hope!

Bluegrass started out by dumping me into a group, which was way beyond the simple finger picking by myself I was used to. Oh, and Tigerpaws dragged me kicking and screaming into the class, in case I forgot to mention that. While I haven't studied bluegrass very much, it does seem to be a perfect venue for getting people to play together that most other music forms don't offer, especially when you're mixing a wide variety of skill levels. My own outlook is that I use it to relax (except when in front of the group), and hope to someday actually take lessons so I can begin to improve.