Double Bass Mellow Bluegrass

[michaeln]

There is so much about bluegrass music I really enjoy. I love the sound of all the instruments, I love the simplicity of the tunes. I love the harmonies.

What I don't get is "The Need For Speed".

Much bluegrass music gets played at tempos my feeble brain simply cannot comprehend. Even trying to listen to "Get Up John" at 225bpm defeats my brain. I can't keep up with it even listening, let along playing it. Lots of that kind of music just impresses me for the incredible talent needed to play at that pace, but my brain simply cannot do it.

I would love to find some folks who also enjoy and want to play the more mellow stuff without having to get into the racing mode.

 

[AGCurry]

No doubt, some bluegrass is crazy fast. I attribute that to the speed at which the banjoist can do those three-finger rolls. Playing those fast tunes is exhilarating in the same way as walking a tightrope (don't look down, and keep moving!).

Check out an old Seldom Scene album called "Old Train." Ironically, Seldom Scene were an offshoot of the Country Gentlemen, a young band from D.C. which often played songs faster than they could do cleanly. "Old Train" has some very nice - and authentic - "gentle" bluegrass.

Also, most bluegrass from the "foundational" years of Bluegrass (1945-1951) is not insanely fast. And of course, there are plenty of waltzes!

 

[Don Hergert]

As a 50 year performing bluegrass banjoist, I have to frequently remind myself how much of a kick it was to play overwhelmingly fast and loud as a kid. It was just plain fun.

That was then. Nowadays, while I can still whip out a fast tune when I'm warmed up, I'm much more attracted to mellow tones done on the banjo at slow-to-moderate speeds. I'm also much more attracted to less hard-hitting straight bluegrass and to more early bluegrass, trad and hillbilly music, plus I'll happily stray into swing and old jazz, done with bluegrass instruments...

In other words, my tolerance for straight bluegrass the way it has always been done is waning.

But, bluegrass is inevitably changing as young musicians are taking their places on stages around the country. I think if we look for it, we'll find a lot more variety in bluegrass over the next few years.

I'd say I'm ready for that.

 

[Ed S]

I fully agree. Some of the really fast stuff impresses me as a fun exercise for the musicians, and an impressive feat to witness, not not really enjoyable music. It is the unusual group who can rocket past 160 and still maintain musicality.

 

[BobKay]

I think part of the "speed" issue is audience-driven. I've been playing bluegrass for almost as long as Don, and have observed that high-energy banjo tunes are audience favorites. Similar to the way OBS, with its high-energy fiddle, is an audience favorite. But as I grow older, a little goes a long way when it comes to hyper speed tunes. I'm fortunate to play with two people who know that an entertaining set includes more than banjo virtuosity.

With apologies for a slight de-rail, I think characterizing Seldom Scene as an "offshoot" does a modest disservice to lots of other bands. The fact that John Duffey and Tom Gray played for the Country Gentlemen and then the Seldom Scene is similar to what is very common in bluegrass bands - people moving on to other projects. It's pretty well-known that Duffey left because he had a fear of flying that impacted the original lineup in its quest to play overseas. Bluegrass band lineups having always been pretty incestuous.

Old Train is a great suggestion for listening: two of Herb Pedersen's best songs on that album.

 

[AGCurry]

... I think characterizing Seldom Scene as an "offshoot" does a modest disservice to lots of other bands. The fact that John Duffey and Tom Gray played for the Country Gentlemen and then the Seldom Scene is similar to what is very common in bluegrass bands - people moving on to other projects.

Point taken, but in a botanical sense (the Bluegrass tree?), "offshoot" works. Although the Foggy Mountain Boys were a completely different (and arguably better) band than Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys, when two "stars" leave one band to form or join another, couldn't we call that an offshoot?

 

[BobKay]

OK. Reasonable.

 

[Paul New]

Minority opinion here: I like a bluegrass band that drives like crazy on a tune, plays a relaxed mid-tempo groove on the next, a tear-jerking ballad on the next, etc...

I do NOT want to hear some sappy popped up easy listening smooth-grass. Fast tempos are tense, exciting, and that's the point.

 

[AGCurry]

Minority opinion here: I like a bluegrass band that drives like crazy on a tune, plays a relaxed mid-tempo groove on the next, a tear-jerking ballad on the next, etc...

I do NOT want to hear some sappy popped up easy listening smooth-grass. Fast tempos are tense, exciting, and that's the point.

I wouldn't call yours a minority opinion. I love me some lickety-split banjo tunes, and I agree that mixing things up is a critical craft of performance.

But I think that "sappy popped up" is not the same as "mellow" or "gentle."

"Wait a Minute" is arguably the iconic song on the aforementioned "Old Train" album. It depicts the wife or girlfriend of a traveling musician, pleading "I can't take the lonely nights without your love." Sappy? Maybe. Having been one of those traveling musicians who left my significant other at home, it's a "tear-jerking ballad" to me. And it's delivered with sincerity and a great performance.

Wait a Minute

 

[james condino]

Be careful: the bluegrass police will shut you down soon if they hear about "too fast" complaints.

Now that is is ok to play songs about how, "I got 20 long years for some dust in a baggie....", at the Grand Old Opry, anyone can figure out why they like to play so fast.

There is nothing fun about being at a fast paced jam session trying to enjoy the music and suddenly you're spending the next 30 minutes pumpin' chest compressions and blowin' air into some old fool laid out on the floor waiting for EMS to arrive because he blew out his heart with meth or cocaine thinking that would make him 30 years younger and play at 300bpm all night.....

 

[Paul New]

Well, yes, there’s that aspect to consider.

 

[GroovyBaby]

I just got back from Smoked Country Jam, my first bluegrass festival. Smoked Country Jam Bluegrass Festival Rather small (maybe 1000) but a good time. I noted that as we got into the evenings and moved from smaller local acts to bigger national acts, the music shifted from traditional to more progressive. There was some fast picking, but a lot of variety and musicianship. As for speed, I appreciate throwing down like that, but it should be the seasoning and not the main course IMO. Fireside Collective was the headliner and they were solid.

One of the nights had an interesting contrast. After watching two really good guitar players perform a solid set to an empty floor, they were followed by a much less musical act that did a bunch of pop tunes with a bluegrass feel. The floor was packed for the second band. Maybe people enjoyed the first act more from their seats (I did) but it was telling.

My preference is for the bluegrass material that crosses over to folk, old-school country, honky-tonk, along with traditional BG tunes. But then again, I’m not a bluegrass purist and aficionado by any stretch. I went with a guitarist I’m currently playing in a blues band with and we’ve talked about doing an acoustic thing on the side and the Americana genre isn’t too intimidating for someone who just bought their first DB (played BG for a couple decades now). I enjoy the role the bass plays but definitely like when there is some spice to the bass and not just 1-5 all night long. But yea, give me melody, beauty, and occasional speed if you want to strut your stuff but let’s keep in musical.