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Innovation: A Crucial Tradition Of Bluegrass Music Zachariah Cody McCracken Dr. Lee Bidgood Survey of Contemporary Bluegrass December 9, 2014 Bluegrass is a genre steeped in tradition and the musicians that play this music, for the most part, know and respect these traditions. Although there is a mutual respect for tradition within the bluegrass community, some musicians believe in preserving the original bluegrass sound, while other’s choose to expand upon it. This has created a somewhat segregated bluegrass community of which some are for tradition and others for innovation. However, when looking back to the birth of bluegrass music, it is easy to see that this music was created by innovation, therefore making innovation a strong and original tradition of bluegrass music. I believe also, many of the traditions that today’s bluegrass musicians strive to preserve, are more social rather than musical. Bill Monroe is an obvious legend in bluegrass history and is mentioned in any article on the subject, but for good reason. When Monroe formed his first band with his brothers, Birch and Charlie, the group played traditional Appalachian music similar to many other groups of the time. Although the Monroe Brothers gained success, Bill was not satisfied with the same old sound the group had obtained. This led to the end of the Monroe Brothers but the beginning of bluegrass music as we know it today. Monroe formed the Blue Grass Boys in the late 1930’s, this time expanding upon the old time traditions of Appalachian music. Instead of focusing the instrumentation on fiddle and banjo playing the melody together, Monroe organized his music to feature each instrument in the band playing the melody individually. The Blue Grass Boys vocal harmonies were recreated as well, giving the band a new and exciting sound. The band first played the Grand Ole Opry in 1939 and received the first standing ovation in Opry history, and were also the first “hillbilly” group to wear white shirts and ties on stage (www.digitalheritage.com), which broke the “hillbilly” stereotype mainstream media had created and proved innovation was a crucial tool in preserving this genre. Monroe was bold enough to step outside the norm and expand upon the traditional techniques and expectations of Appalachian mountain music. Therefore creating a whole new genre, and influencing other musicians to build off of traditional techniques and ideas in order to create their own style of playing. That being said, innovation is what created bluegrass music and is what will allow it to thrive for the remainder of time. The problem in today’s contemporary bluegrass scene, in my opinion, is many musicians believe bluegrass music should sound like it did in Monroe’s day and anything out of the ordinary is simply unacceptable. In their minds, they are defending tradition but what they don’t realize is the tradition that they are defending is innovation. Change is inevitable in any aspect of life and music is no acceptation. Many of today’s bluegrass musicians are holding themselves back musically in order to protect what people like Bill Monroe or Earl Scruggs created. Scruggs and Monroe were simply the first to establish the ground work of this music, so that future musicians could build and expand upon the ideas of earlier generations. During my research on this topic, I interviewed Nate Olson, who is an instructor in the ETSU Bluegrass, Old Time, Country, and Celtic Program. Nate is an excellent fiddle player who has built a style of fiddling based on a melting pot of influences and ideas. During the interview, I asked Nate his opinions on innovation, protecting tradition, etc., to see what his thoughts on the matter were. Nate’s musical experience first began in the west, where bluegrass musicians are not pressured by tradition or boundaries as many musicians are in the Appalachian area of the United States. When asking Nate about his personal background in traditional Appalachian music, his response was this; “Well I grew up in the West so the way that I learned bluegrass and Appalachian music was not in Appalachia, obviously. In fact, I don’t know if I have played any bluegrass or Appalachian music in the west. I played Appalachian tunes and bluegrass tunes but as far as a super authentic experience, I wouldn’t say that I necessarily had that out there.” (Nate Olson Interview) What is an authentic bluegrass/Appalachian experience anyway? Is it really about the music or the idea of actually being in the Appalachian region around Appalachian people playing some sort of Appalachian style of music? Nate’s answer made me think of these questions because he says; “ I played Appalachian tunes and bluegrass tunes but as far as a super authentic experience, I wouldn’t say that I necessarily had that out there.” (Nate Olson Interview) Other than the geography, what is truly different about an authentic bluegrass experience in Appalachia versus Colorado? People gather together, eat/drink, play music, and simply socialize. This to me, is an authentic bluegrass experience, no matter where you are in the world. The tradition of being together and simply playing music is what makes Appalachian music so powerful. The idea of belonging or being included excites people and they want to be a part of it, at least I did when I first started playing and I think Nate felt this way as well, especially once he moved to Johnson City, TN. This tradition of bluegrass music encourages other traditions, such as innovation, and therefore keeps the music alive from generation to generation. Robert Gardner’s article on portable communities supports the idea that people, especially musicians, want to be included. Contemporary bluegrass music is based off of portable communities and they are what draw outsiders into the bluegrass scene. Musicians from all over the world have been drawn to bluegrass, especially since the 1960’s when festivals were becoming popular and innovative musicians were gaining national attention, such as Sam Bush, Tony Rice, and Vassar Clemens. This influx of outside musicians is largely due to the portable communities bluegrass music creates. An example of a portable community would be Galax Fiddlers Convention, where upwards of 10,000 musicians of all backgrounds gather each year to play music but above all, be together. Another article I found useful when researching was chapter 6 in Robert Cantwell’s book, “Upstairs, Downstairs, Out In The Kitchen.” At the beginning of the chapter, Cantwell explains the negative effect radio and other media had on the image of bluegrass music, referring to the stereotypes and illusions they created. However, he goes on to say; “Yet, while remaining essentially Appalachian, the bluegrass style was elastic enough to attract musicians and musical influences far removed from Appalachia; the widening of those influences, combined with the evolution of a community of participants whose means of exchanging information have become ever more sophisticated, has engendered a kind of string-band renaissance in which bluegrass bands emerge with old-time bands, western swing revival bands, jug bands, skiffle bands, Irish cereal bands and bands that elude classification from the tidal pool of folk and country music, moved by impulses ranging from self-conscious and scrupulous archaism to space-age experimentalism: listen to what Sam Bush, on the electric fiddle, has done with “Lee Highway Blues.” Bluegrass itself, like jazz, now has “traditional” and “progressive” strains.” (Cantwell, ch. 6) This passage from Cantwell’s article explains the importance of both community and inclusion, as well as expanding upon and combining traditions, techniques, and ideas from different areas and cultures. Without communities combining together and sharing their different ideas, bluegrass music as we know it would be completely different. Nate Olson, during our interview, brought up a good point that Bela Fleck speaks about. Fleck says; “ If all we do is keep playing bluegrass as its already done then it’s going to die.” (Nate Olson Interview) I agree 100% with this statement. By preserving the right traditions in this music, it will thrive, however, by defending illusions such as “that ain’t the way Scruggs did it”, the music has no choice but to become stagnant. One of the main questions I wanted Nate to expand upon during our interview was where would bluegrass be today without innovation? His response made a lot of sense; “Well I think where it would be is it would be a museum project, it would be a preservation project you know? Which, like I said is fine but there are certain trade offs I guess. So, without innovation it would be a museum piece. That’s what I would say. You can argue that Classical music is kind of like that. Most symphony orchestras play…most of their repertoire is hundreds of years old and their preserving that tradition or whatever. I think that without innovation, bluegrass music would do the same thing. “ (Nate Olson Interview) Like Nate says, if the hardcore traditionalists got their way and bluegrass music never evolved past the influences of people like Scruggs and Monroe, it would be nothing but a piece of history. A piece of history that is simply reenacted over and over for historical purposes only, similar to a civil war reenactment. Nate mentions classical music in this response and explains how the traditions and techniques of classical music have been fully preserved over hundreds of years. Nothing substantial has changed in the classical genre and there is almost no difference between the way it was played 100 years ago and the way it is played today.

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