Hi! Newbie here so be kind. I have my very first bass lesson tonight. I was asked to bring some of my favorite stuff that was in A or G to the lesson as the instuctor wanted to get me some A chord stuff to pluck to. I guess I'm wondering how often it's in A? Any easy way to tell beyond knowing just what an A sounds like?
I wanted to take some....
Bela Fleck (the bluegrass sessions)
Del McCoury (mixed stuff)
Yonder mountain String Band.
Alison Cruese (how do you spell that) and Union Station.

Open to anything though as I have a ton of bluegrass.

Hope this isn't to stupid of a post. Thanks!!

No problem AK, your teacher just wants to be able to show you how to play bass with tunes you already know. If you take some songs you're really familiar with it'll help you pick it up faster.

And its Alison Krauss and Union Station. :)

A is probably the most popular key for bluegrassers, then the key of G so your instructor is looking to stay basic.
You don't say if you play other instruments but from your comments I would guess that you do not. I would suggest taking some of the old standard, basic bluegrass tunes from Bill Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs and the like to begin with and progress into the the Bela Fleck, AKUS and Yonder Mountain as you become more familiar with your bass.
Once you have learned a few songs look for some open jams if you can find them, that is one of the best places to learn bluegrass. That is what I did, played in the background for a couple of years until I learned most of the songs and now I play every Friday and Saturday night. Good Luck and keep practicing!
Bill

Fiddle players like "A" -- look for fiddlin' tunes.

What does "A" sound like? Get a tuning fork -- it makes an "A". The second lowest string on your bass should be tuned to "A".

By focusing on "A" and "G", your teacher is wanting to get you going in some keys where you can mostly use open strings to play a basic bass part.

I would suggest taking some of the old standard, basic bluegrass tunes from Bill Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs and the like . . .
Bill

I agree with this statement. A lot of the newer music is good, but is often more complex than the traditional and just doesn't have the feel of the older stuff. At most jams and festivals you will play far more Salty Dog than Lonely Runs both Ways so I would start with the basics.

Some of Monroe's stuff can be pretty twisty but Flatt and Scruggs are hard to beat for a new player. If you use their stuff, keep in mind that they tuned a half-step high on many recordings.

It's very common in Bluegrass for the guitar players to use capos. That gives them the ability to play in "A" by using the same chords they did in G, just two frets up the neck. Unfortunately (or maybe, fortunately) YOU don't have a bass capo, so you'll need to be able to play the real A chords.

you can also pick up some of those complitation type CD's which usually will have a bunch of traditional songs on them. usually alot of G and A. also there is ricky skaggs! even though he plays fast abit. his songs have a real good distict bass to them which makes it easy to play along and find the key they are in! alot of his songs are in A! Mark Faine is as solid as it gets!! Open Road also has alot of their songs in A.. just find and listen to the music thats good to your ears. and keep on it, it just gets easier with time!! GL

Thanks all! I did just go get a couple compilations. In the end the instructor just took some off his computer. I brought to many options.
Also brought -Alaskamando by Joe Paige. Check out the website as it is unreal.

Ended up with these three to learn.

I'll fly away, by alison, and Gillian Welch.
Darling Cory. unknown
last train. unknow.

So I almost got those down, and will be getting some others in some other key that uses my left hand!

It is pretty fun! :hyper:

....
Ended up with these three to learn.
I'll fly away, by alison, and Gillian Welch.
Darling Cory. unknown
last train. unknow.
.... It is pretty fun! :hyper:

All Right AK :D .... you may be understating a bit when you say "it is pretty fun". Wait till you really get rollin' :p . Is the one you picked "Last Train From Poor Valley?" I really like that one. When you get around to it, try out some fiddle tunes like Salt Creek, Cherokee Shuffle, Red Haired Boy (we play 'em all in A) or Mississippi Sawyer (in D) or Blackberry Blossum (in G). I think I like playing tunes better than songs (with vocals). Have a Great Time!

P.S. If you haven't visited BlueGrass Bass Place yet ... you may want to check it out:
http://www.bluegrassbassplace.com/ . There are a lot of good folks, song chords, instructional aids, etc. over there specific to bluegrass music.

Pick up any of the Blake&Rice or anybody&Rice CDs...

they should have plenty of A tunes and probably don't have bass on them...so you could play over them...

Any Del McCroury should be fine as well...but he sings so high they may actually be in B or Bflat?

look for anything CD that has 'fiddle tunes'. it will likely have something in A and some in D...