Standard bluegrass tunes CD?

[jryp17]

I just got my mandolin ordered and should be picking it up next weekend. I'm wondering if there is a CD or anything that has a bunch of standards that are good to learn that I could be listening to I'm the mean time.

Thanks.

[TX2AK]

If you want to play bluegrass, it’s tough to beat the “Bluegrass Album Band” - I think there are 6 albums. Their work was described to me as “the scroll,” for bluegrass! Alan Munde put out a “Festival Favorites” that is great too.

[Lucas]

Will The Circle Be Unbroken by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band is a classic.

[Josh Levine]

The Bluegrass Album Band albums are great for that. Start at the beginning. Also JD Crowe and the New South “0044”. Kentucky Colonels - Appalachian Swing! is a great instrumental album.

[jryp17]

Bluegrass is definitely what I'm wanting to learn. It's the whole reason I'm picking up the Mando this late in life. Thanks for the recommendation.

[Tom Ronan]

Bill Monroe

[doc holiday]

2cd set "Bluegrass Mandolin Extravaganza" .....this and the 6 Bluegrass Album Band CDs will keep you busy until you're ready to dive into the five Bear Family Bill Monroe box sets.......

[addamr]

I second Doc Holiday's recommendation. That will certainly give you a good introduction.

Adam

[Josh Levine]

Frank Wakefield and Red Allan - Kitchen Tapes is so iconic too.

[Dan in NH]

If you're open to paper then snag Bluegrass Mandolin by Jack Tottle, $33 on Amazon.

Then grab Bluegrass Primer and Bluegrass Collection, both by Jack Tuttle (Molly's dad). You can get those as his web site.

Finally there's Parking Lot Picker's Songbook - Mandolin Edition. That one has ~200 old time, gospel, and bluegrass tunes. There's also Parking Lot Picker's Mandolin Solos.

But honestly, between Tuttle & Tottle you'll be picking for the rest of your natural life, and welcome at any bluegrass jam you can find.

[Jellwoo]

For listening, an Essential Monroe album. As for playing, for someone just starting out, Grisman’s Bluegrass Reunion has a a collection of mostly slower songs full of great mando licks (I think I remember Jarrod Walker saying he learned everything about bluegrass mandolin from that album).

[tmsweeney]

Kenny Baker Plays Bill Monroe - but not really a "beginner" oriented album.

[jryp17]

For listening, an Essential Monroe album. As for playing, for someone just starting out, Grisman’s Bluegrass Reunion has a a collection of mostly slower songs full of great mando licks (I think I remember Jarrod Walker saying he learned everything about bluegrass mandolin from that album).

I'm glad to see this one as I just got it and Garcia/Grisman Not for Kids Only.

I'm embarrassed to say I don't know Jarrod Walker yet but I'll look into him now.

[jryp17]

2cd set "Bluegrass Mandolin Extravaganza" .....this and the 6 Bluegrass Album Band CDs will keep you busy until you're ready to dive into the five Bear Family Bill Monroe box sets.......

Just listened to Bluegrass Mandolin Extravaganza. Thanks so much for the recommendation..it was a delight and I can dream of getting good enough to play along. Mandolin goals.

[Jellwoo]

I'm glad to see this one as I just got it and Garcia/Grisman Not for Kids Only.

I'm embarrassed to say I don't know Jarrod Walker yet but I'll look into him now.

He is Billy Strings Mando player.

Thing I like about bluegrass reunion album is it is mostly key friendly for beginners and has lots of slower paced songs that you can easily keep up with, and it is filled with Grisman playing all these super tasty licks that are inside the melody, so easier to pick apart for a newer player.

[Caberguy]

Not mando centric, but The Bluegrass Guitar Collection by Tony Rice has some really iconic fiddle tunes and features a who's who of mandolin players.

There are also a bunch of compilations of bluegrass standards... and while I don't generally love compilations, it's a good way to hear the standards along with some different styles and approaches.

[acinva]

One CD with a lot of standards that I thought was great to play along with (Ashby Frank on mandolin):

https://www.discogs.com/release/6664...-Hits-Volume-1


https://www.ebay.com/itm/11542970295...3ABFBM0JrVuf5i

Alan

[Paul Cowham]

In the late 90's, I became friends with a great bluegrass banjo player, who introduced me to a whole bunch of stuff, including dawg music. Perhaps more pertinent to this thread though, was a series of great instrumental cds called simply 'bluegrass 95' etc. Top players playing straight up bluegrass standards. I think Adam Steffey and Wayne Benson were the main mandolin protagonists, and Scott Vestal was responsible for putting the project together.

It may be worth checking this collection out. I think there were a few cd's released, one each year for a time in the 90's. I'm on a train now without headphones, so can't listen to this, but an example is: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nbiv9L...lka5QI&pp=8AUB

[steve in tampa]

One of my favories

[Dillon]

[Mark Gunter]

If you want Bluegrass introduction, you can’t go wrong with listening to:

Bill Monroe
Flatt & Scruggs
The Stanley Brothers

Learn as many of their tunes as you like, then check out the other suggestions. Or if you prefer the later selections already mentioned, still at least do a lot of listening to Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs, and The Stanley Brothers. You will gain familiarity with much of the early repertoire that all diehard Bluegrass players will be familiar with!

[tiltman]

Yup - the “Holy Trinity” - Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs, and the Stanley Brothers. Got to listen to that!
If you’re new to Bluegrass you might start with the Bluegrass Album Band recordings. Modern, well done recordings of much of the same repertoire, by very talented musicians.
Early Bluegrass can be an acquired taste…

Kirk

[j4music]

Hand Picked - 25 Years of Bluegrass on Rounder Records. Double album, all the artists. Rounder CD AN 22/23
Blue Ribbon Bluegrass. Another great collection of artists and tunes. Rounder CD AN 11

[TX2AK]

The recommendations here are all great recordings, really! For someone looking for a start, can you beat the Bluegrass Album Band, recommended at the start and multiple times throughout the thread? Interest level in 6 albums is more than enough to cut teeth. I don’t disagree with any of the other recommendations, they are all great for a deep dive into the genre; but for crying out loud, 6 albums of standards is a firehose already!!! The obvious aim (based on its name alone) of the Bluegrass Album Band, instead of naming the incredible talents of JD Crowe, Doyle Lawson, Tony Rice, Bobby Hicks, Jerry Douglas, Vassar Clements, and Todd Phillips and Mark Schwartz, is that it is the standard. That was the point of the project; which, I think defined the genre. For a newcomer to the music, is there a better source?