Page 2 of 9 FirstFirst 123456 ... LastLast
Results 26 to 50 of 209

Thread: To be or not to be (a bluegrass player)

  1. #26
    Registered User mbruno's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Location
    Seattle WA
    Posts
    821

    Default Re: To be or not to be (a bluegrass player)

    I feel very few musicians these days would classify themselves in a specific genre. Love it or hate it, streaming and etc has given us all to every genre... and from the best to the worst players, most people are borrowing heavily.

    Personally, I love bluegrass but if that's all I played, I'd go crazy. Jazz is awesome on Mandolin but hard to jam with people that don't know the tunes. Classical is great for some time or duos maybe etc.

    If classify myself as an anti-genreist

  2. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to mbruno For This Useful Post:


  3. #27
    Registered User mingus1013's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2020
    Location
    Ohio
    Posts
    15

    Default Re: To be or not to be (a bluegrass player)

    As a new guy here - No.

    Again, as mentioned before, I know some tunes but do not classify myself as a bluegrass player.

  4. #28
    Scroll Lock Austin Bob's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Austin, Tx - some call it heaven
    Posts
    1,183

    Default Re: To be or not to be (a bluegrass player)

    No.

    When I play in public, it is mainly in a church setting, although I've been the on-call mandolinist for a couple of bands before. One claimed to be "bluegrass style", but that really meant there was a banjo player. I'll be honest, in the end, it's not worth it to me to put up with a lot of the BS that goes along with being in a band. But I enjoy playing live, so that's why I choose to play in a choir. The pandemic has kept me away for a while however, I have underlying conditions that force me to be extra careful with my health.
    A quarter tone flat and a half a beat behind.

  5. #29
    Purveyor of Sunshine sgarrity's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    San Diego, CA
    Posts
    5,658

    Default Re: To be or not to be (a bluegrass player)

    Bluegrass, old time, Celtic, a little blues....

  6. #30
    Registered User foldedpath's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Pacific Northwest, USA
    Posts
    5,293

    Default Re: To be or not to be (a bluegrass player)

    No.

    I've played different genres on guitar like Rock, Blues, "American Fingerstyle" and some OldTime on mandolin, but for the last decade I've only played Irish and Scottish traditional instrumental tunes, along with closely related styles like Cape Breton, Shetland, and Breton music (don't call it "Celtic"... ugh).

    Quote Originally Posted by mbruno View Post
    I feel very few musicians these days would classify themselves in a specific genre. Love it or hate it, streaming and etc has given us all to every genre... and from the best to the worst players, most people are borrowing heavily.
    See above. In a style of music defined as "traditional" it's easy to fall down that rabbit hole and play nothing else. Maintaining some guard rails against cross-fertilization is what makes it recognizable. I imagine that's something a hardcore Bluegrass player would appreciate.

    Of course the styles I mentioned can further subdivides into regional styles. For example with the "Irish flute" that I've been learning to play, you've got Roscommon-Sligo style, Roscommon style, Leitrim style, Fermanagh style, East Galway style, or Clare style. The modern world and the Internet is acting to smooth out those differences, but it's interesting to delve into as long as they're still around.

    I'm not very interested in mixing any of that with Bluegrass or Jazz though. I'll leave that to the professional cross-genre jumpers.

  7. #31
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Southern California
    Posts
    101

    Default Re: To be or not to be (a bluegrass player)

    Nope.

  8. #32
    The Amateur Mandolinist Mark Gunter's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Location
    South of Cleburne, North of Hillsboro, Texas
    Posts
    5,089

    Default Re: To be or not to be (a bluegrass player)

    No
    WWW.THEAMATEURMANDOLINIST.COM
    ----------------------------------
    "Life is short. Play hard." - AlanN

    ----------------------------------
    HEY! The Cafe has Social Groups, check 'em out. I'm in these groups:
    Newbies Social Group | The Song-A-Week Social
    The Woodshed Study Group | Blues Mando
    - Advice For Mandolin Beginners
    - YouTube Stuff

  9. #33
    The Amateur Mandolinist Mark Gunter's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Location
    South of Cleburne, North of Hillsboro, Texas
    Posts
    5,089

    Default Re: To be or not to be (a bluegrass player)

    I’m amazed when technical questions are posed here that many who chime in give answers under the assumption that bluegrass is the context
    WWW.THEAMATEURMANDOLINIST.COM
    ----------------------------------
    "Life is short. Play hard." - AlanN

    ----------------------------------
    HEY! The Cafe has Social Groups, check 'em out. I'm in these groups:
    Newbies Social Group | The Song-A-Week Social
    The Woodshed Study Group | Blues Mando
    - Advice For Mandolin Beginners
    - YouTube Stuff

  10. #34
    Lurkist dhergert's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Location
    Blue Zone, California
    Posts
    1,867
    Blog Entries
    1

    Default Re: To be or not to be (a bluegrass player)

    Quote Originally Posted by EdHanrahan View Post
    Forgive me for chuckling to myself but ...


    .. sure sounds like a simple, straight NO to me; no statistical analysis involved.

    Which is also my response: NO, diluted by all the "ifs, ands, or buts" expressed by most folks above!
    True, it is kinda funny.

    If the OP had not included "(mainly) Bluegrass" in the question, it might have been easier for me to just say no.

    As it is, I can definitely say "Maybe".
    -- Don

    "Music: A minor auditory irritation occasionally characterized as pleasant."
    "It is a lot more fun to make music than it is to argue about it."


    2002 Gibson F-9
    2016 MK LFSTB
    1975 Suzuki taterbug (plus many other noisemakers)
    [About how I tune my mandolins]
    [Our recent arrival]

  11. #35
    Registered User Charles E.'s Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Saint Augustine Beach FL
    Posts
    6,633

    Default Re: To be or not to be (a bluegrass player)

    cosmic Bronycore Nitzhonot:
    Now you have my interest piqued, where do I find this music?

    Oh and no. Primarily Old Time Stringband music.
    Charley

    A bunch of stuff with four strings

  12. #36
    Registered User j. condino's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    Asheville, NC
    Posts
    2,758

    Default Re: To be or not to be (a bluegrass player)

    When the bluegrass guys call for a paid gig, I'm a bluegrass musician.

    When the jazz guys call for paid gig, I'm a jazz musician.

    When the Irish guys call for a paid gig, I'm an Irish musician.

    When the Django guys call for a paid gig, I'm a Django musician.

    The rest of the time, I'm just a guy who likes to build and play the mandolin without the need for labels....
    www.condino.com

    Crafted by hand in a workshop powered by the sun.

  13. The Following 4 Users Say Thank You to j. condino For This Useful Post:


  14. #37
    Registered User Marcus CA's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    No. California
    Posts
    1,259

    Default Re: To be or not to be (a bluegrass player)

    Quote Originally Posted by mbruno View Post
    I feel very few musicians these days would classify themselves in a specific genre. Love it or hate it, streaming and etc has given us all to every genre... and from the best to the worst players, most people are borrowing heavily.

    Personally, I love bluegrass but if that's all I played, I'd go crazy.
    Me, too!!! So, I'll have to answer the survey with "no." I would have answered yes, though, if the question was "Were you mainly a bluegrass player during your first year of playing mandolin?"

    I love to set my iPod on shuffle and just play along with whatever comes up --- freely skipping songs and tunes along the way. I might give Debussy and The Who a shot, but not Sigur Ros or the choro players. I rarely play along with the bluegrass masters because I can't come close to their speed most of the time. YouTube's speed setting is my friend for that.
    still trying to turn dreams into memories

  15. #38
    Registered User Charles E.'s Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Saint Augustine Beach FL
    Posts
    6,633

    Default Re: To be or not to be (a bluegrass player)

    Quote Originally Posted by j. condino View Post
    When the bluegrass guys call for a paid gig, I'm a bluegrass musician.

    When the jazz guys call for paid gig, I'm a jazz musician.

    When the Irish guys call for a paid gig, I'm an Irish musician.

    When the Django guys call for a paid gig, I'm a Django musician.

    The rest of the time, I'm just a guy who likes to build and play the mandolin without the need for labels....
    So James, if there was a "Cosmic Bronycore Nitzhonot" band in the Ashville area ( and that would be a likely place) could you sit in with them?
    Charley

    A bunch of stuff with four strings

  16. The following members say thank you to Charles E. for this post:


  17. #39
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Portland, OR
    Posts
    821

    Default Re: To be or not to be (a bluegrass player)

    Maybe players of bluegrass don’t like answering surveys.
    How many bluegrassers does it take to change a lightbulb?
    Just one, but the other four will complain that it's electric...

    (maybe it's the fact that it's a survey on the computer)

    - - - Updated - - -

    I'm a yes.

    Kirk

  18. The following members say thank you to tiltman for this post:


  19. #40
    Registered User John Soper's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    Durham, NC
    Posts
    1,356

    Default Re: To be or not to be (a bluegrass player)

    No, not mainly - although I have been accused of playing Bluegrass in the past!

  20. #41

    Default Re: To be or not to be (a bluegrass player)

    Yes.

  21. #42
    Registered User Jcdraayer's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2020
    Location
    Boulder CO
    Posts
    86

    Default Re: To be or not to be (a bluegrass player)

    No. I listen to a lot of bluegrass but I don’t particularly love playing it on the mandolin

  22. #43

    Default Re: To be or not to be (a bluegrass player)

    Quote Originally Posted by mbruno View Post
    I feel very few musicians these days would classify themselves in a specific genre. Love it or hate it, streaming and etc has given us all to every genre... and from the best to the worst players, most people are borrowing heavily.

    Personally, I love bluegrass but if that's all I played, I'd go crazy. Jazz is awesome on Mandolin but hard to jam with people that don't know the tunes. Classical is great for some time or duos maybe etc.

    If classify myself as an anti-genreist
    This is so post-pandemic.

  23. The following members say thank you to OldSausage for this post:


  24. #44
    Innocent Bystander JeffD's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Upstate New York
    Posts
    24,807
    Blog Entries
    56

    Default Re: To be or not to be (a bluegrass player)

    No.

    While I might play a bluegrass tune or jam on occasion, nobody would confuse me for a bluegrasser.
    A talent for trivializin' the momentous and complicatin' the obvious.

    The entire staff
    funny....

  25. #45
    Registered User Ranald's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2017
    Location
    Ottawa, Canada
    Posts
    1,733

    Default Re: To be or not to be (a bluegrass player)

    Quote Originally Posted by OldSausage View Post
    This is so post-pandemic.
    Post? Have you heard some news that I haven't?
    Robert Johnson's mother, describing blues musicians:
    "I never did have no trouble with him until he got big enough to be round with bigger boys and off from home. Then he used to follow all these harp blowers, mandoleen (sic) and guitar players."
    Lomax, Alan, The Land where The Blues Began, NY: Pantheon, 1993, p.14.

  26. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Ranald For This Useful Post:


  27. #46

    Default Re: To be or not to be (a bluegrass player)

    Short answer: No

    Longer answer: From 1992-2001 we were an Irish Pub band. Stayed within the genre. Rebel songs and drinking songs.

    From 2001-20012 we were a bluegrass band. Stayed within the genre (although our banjo player like to frail).

    2012-now..We still like Bluegrass, we still like Irish, we still like Old Time. We try to suit the venue we are playing (assuming it's open). We're kind of calling it Americelticana.
    Girouard Concert A5
    Girouard Custom A4
    Nordwall Cittern
    Barbi Mandola
    Crump OM-1s Octave
    www.singletonstreet.com

  28. #47
    Registered User Steve 2E's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2019
    Location
    PA
    Posts
    406

    Default Re: To be or not to be (a bluegrass player)

    No. Hardly strictly fiddle tunes.

  29. #48
    Registered User j. condino's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    Asheville, NC
    Posts
    2,758

    Default Re: To be or not to be (a bluegrass player)

    Quote Originally Posted by Charles E. View Post
    So James, if there was a "Cosmic Bronycore Nitzhonot" band in the Ashville area ( and that would be a likely place) could you sit in with them?
    I don't even know what that means, but it sounds like a whole lot more fun than playing Sally Goodin' for the 1135th time!
    www.condino.com

    Crafted by hand in a workshop powered by the sun.

  30. The following members say thank you to j. condino for this post:


  31. #49

    Default Re: To be or not to be (a bluegrass player)

    No.

  32. #50
    Registered User Charles E.'s Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Saint Augustine Beach FL
    Posts
    6,633

    Default Re: To be or not to be (a bluegrass player)

    Quote Originally Posted by j. condino View Post
    I don't even know what that means, but it sounds like a whole lot more fun than playing Sally Goodin' for the 1135th time!
    It was mentioned in the OP's 1st post as a style of music that would be "miscellaneous". I just love the name.
    Charley

    A bunch of stuff with four strings

Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •