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. Due to this preservation and lack of innovation, classical music, although an important genre in musical history, has become a stagnant style of music that is played mostly for educational purposes.

Recently though, bluegrass musicians such as Chris Thile, Bela Fleck, and Brandon Green have revived classical music in a way by expanding upon techniques that haven’t been tampered with since they were created many decades ago. The results of these expansions are mind blowing and makes one wish they were tampered with long before now. These musicians took classical music pieces, by genius composers like Bach, reimagined them on their instrument of choice, and created innovative classical music without making anyone mad. I have not heard one negative comment about any of these three musicians classical albums they recorded within the bluegrass community. However, Bela Fleck and Chris Thile are frowned upon by hardcore traditionalists when it comes to their bluegrass music because it strays too far from home so to speak. A good example of an extremely innovative musician who understands and respects tradition would be Noam Pikelny, the banjo player for The Punch Brothers, who got his start in the band Leftover Salmon. In my opinion, Noam could be considered a traditional innovator, and proof of this lies in his latest album, Noam

Pikelny Plays Kenny Baker Plays Bill Monroe. Pikelny transcribed every song note for note just like Kenny Baker and Monroe played the tunes. Although the notes are the same, Noam is playing fiddle and mandolin parts on the banjo but in his own melodic style, which has never been fully completed by any other banjo player that I know of. I believe Pikelny’s mind set is similar to how Monroe’s was back in the 1930’s and early

1940’s, when, in his mind, the “traditional” Appalachian sound just wasn’t cutting it anymore.

I think Pikelny’s album is another prime example of how innovation is crucial in this music and it can be applied without losing the roots of which this genre was built on. Nate also spoke briefly about Pikelny’s band leader, Chris Thile; “Thile says I’m not concerned about preserving this genre in any way. He says he uses the genre, it’s important to him historically and part of his musical make-up, but he’s looking for the next thing.” (Nate Olson Interview) To me, this is the attitude all contemporary bluegrass musicians should have towards making music. Can a person truly call themselves a musician if their main goal is to sound just like Bill Monroe on the mandolin or Earl Scruggs on banjo? In my opinion, the answer to that question is no, because the music that person is playing is someone else’s creation. To me, a true musician sees no boundaries and has no fear of playing traditional tunes in their own way, like Pikelny did on Noam Pikelny Plays Kenny Baker Plays Bill Monroe. Also, a true musician composes their own music and creates a unique style stemming from countless influences they encounter throughout their musical journey. Nate supports this idea by stating the following; “For certain musicians, they want to be challenged and imitation isn’t enough. If your just looking for replication, artistically, that’s probably not going to be enough. So I do think innovation kind of keeps the blood

flowing let’s say, in the music.” (Nate Olson Interview)

When Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys first played the Opry and introduced the new and improved “hillbilly” sound, they immediately attracted new audiences. People who didn't like the old “hillbilly” sound quickly changed their minds once they heard the Blue Grass Boys. I think Monroe sensed that audiences were loosing interest in the same old sound they heard over and over, and he knew it was time to change things up in order to keep audiences interested, and attract new audiences that had little interest in “hillbilly” music to begin with.

Nate brought this topic up in the interview when I ask him how innovation does or does not benefit bluegrass music. His response was this; “Well I think one of the most important things is it keeps an audience, you know? People that are innovating are paying attention to what an audience responds to. So I think there is that and then I think that it keeps people interested.” (Nate Olson Interview) If you start at the beginning of bluegrass music and work your way up to present day,

Nate’s answer makes a lot of sense. Musicians who create new sounds in this genre are also creating new audiences like Monroe did with the Blue Grass Boys. Up until the

1960’s, the majority of bluegrass audiences were older, ranging from ages 30 and up. Today, bluegrass music attracts people of all ages due to the many different sounds that have been created by musicians like Sam Bush and Bela Fleck. An example would be

Sam Bush’s recreation of Lee Highway Blues on the electric fiddle, which Cantwell mentions in his article. The sound Bush created with amplification and effects on a fiddle had never been heard before and attracted younger audiences. Bush, like Monroe, saw the need for something different in bluegrass music and it eventually led to a whole new genre called newgrass.

So, without expansion upon Monroe’s bluegrass sound, younger generations could have dismissed bluegrass all together and establishments like the

ETSU bluegrass program may have never been created at all. However, Monroe’s sound WAS expanded upon by musicians like Sam Bush, who’s sound was expanded upon by younger musicians like Chris Thile, therefore creating a young following of both listeners and musicians. I believe this is why the program at ETSU, and other’s like it, have grown so much in the past decade and will continue to do so due to the tradition of innovation.

After researching and conducting my interview with Nate Olson, I came to my own conclusion that bluegrass musicians who discourage innovation and new ideas are only holding themselves back. However, as stated above, innovation is inevitable and the musicians that are working towards innovation far out number the musicians working against it. When asking Nate about his student’s views on innovation, he replied; “I haven’t found that people are necessarily resistant to that. I mean actually I've found a lot of students in our program that are quite keen to that. They want to be progressive players and do things that are different.” (Nate Olson

Interview)

In conclusion, it is quite obvious to me, that innovation is a very important tradition in bluegrass music, and is the one that needs to be preserved. Also, in my personal experience, the musicians who see bluegrass tradition as playing just like the pioneers did, such as Bill Monroe and Earl Scruggs, are simply brainwashed by self created illusions. This music, at the end of the day, is about creating musical communities that come together to share ideas and expand upon what previous musicians have already created. Without innovation and open minds, bluegrass music would simply become a part of musical history rather than the thriving genre it has become today. References:

Cantwell, Robert.Upstairs, Downstairs, Out In The Kitchen: The Tradition

Gardner, Robert. The Portable Community: Mobility And Modernization In Bluegrass Festival Life

Interview With Nate Olson: Conducted on 11/20/2014

Smith, Amanda. (2012). Bill Monroe. Retrieved from http:// www.digitalheritage.org