Last Post

Well, today is finals day and I must say that I am looking forward to Christmas break. I have thoroughly enjoyed this semester and this class in particular. While I was unable to put everything in my paper that I would have liked, I do believe that I have given some good information and hopefully the paper will help anyone that wants to know more about this subculture.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, I had my orchestra concert the other night and I must say that it went extremely well. The soloists did an amazing job and all the pieces were fantastic. I could not believe how fast the Farandole by Bizet got by the end. My fingers could barely keep up and at some points, I know that I faked it. When playing a passage of music as fast as that, and shifting positions at the same time, you have to just do your best and stay in tempo. I think that my favorite piece of the concert would have to be Concerto by Corelli. This semester, SICO (Southern Illinois Civic Orchestra) combined its concert with that of the Wind Ensemble. This provided a longer concert for the listeners and also allowed the musicians from SICO to sit and listen to a concert. Hopefully they will do this next semester as well.

Hunting and Piecing

Ok, so this weekend was pretty crazy. To start it off, My mother and I had to get some music ready for a friend's Christmas open house. Next, my brother and I went hunting on Saturday. I went hunting for the first time last year and I knew that I would want to go again this year. We left our house at five-thirty and got out to our hunting grounds at six o'clock. I probably do not need to say how extremely cold it was, but I will say that I wore several layers. We sat outside for about three hours before my hands really started to get cold. Thankfully, we had brought some air-activated hand warmers to put inside our gloves. After we got situated again, we sat there for another couple of hours. At this time, I had gotten extremely frustrated with our position, partly due to the cold wind blowing up onto the ridge and partly due to the fact that we had seen absolutely no sign of deer.
I whispered to Arik, my brother, that I was going to go to a creek that the deer often come to. As I walked I saw some deer tracks and found a trail and decided to head in that direction. The path was not particularly straight and at some points I had to locate the trail again. When I came to the end of the traceable part of the trail, I found a large fallen tree and decided to wait there for a while. After a couple more hours, I headed down to the creek, but there was no sign of them there either.
I quietly walked back to where we had first been that morning; taking precaution not to make much noise in case there were any deer around. I was almost to my brother, when he finally saw me and said that he had seen a couple of doe. We followed their tracks for a while, but decided to give up on the deer for the day. On the way back to the truck, we walked as quietly as we could, because we thought that there could still be a chance that we would see a deer on the way, but in the end, we had gotten no deer.
Over the weekend I have also been trying to fill in some spots in paper that need some work and I have also been trying to piece it together in a logical and flowing manner. This has actually proven to be more difficult than I had first anticipated. I am still a bit frustrated and am trying several different combinations to find the right one, but until then, I will have to just keep at it.

The Fifty-One Diner

Tonight, I am going to the 51 Diner over in Perryville, MO. I heard from a friend that they host a bluegrass jam every Tuesday night so I thought that this would be a good location to pick up some more information and possibly some interviews. I do not know how many people will be open for an interview, but based on my recent experiences with this subculture, I believe that I will get at least one interview. The jam starts at around six-thirty and hopefully my friends will be there. I am looking forward to tonight and will definitely post the results of my endeavors.
I still have not been able to get in contact with the bluegrass band that I was hoping to interview, but I am still going to try, even if it will have to be an over-the-phone interview.
On another subject, I still cannot decide how to order my essay. I have several subheadings and am working on a few more sections, but I still have no idea how to order them. Hopefully the suggestions posted on Blackboard today will help a little bit. A new subheading will include a short description of a bluegrass museum in Owensboro, KY.

Thanksgiving

I would have to say that this has been one of the most eventful thanksgivings that my family has ever had. For one thing, we had nineteen people in our house for the meal. Now that may not seem like a lot, but when you have to cook and clean for that many people, in a small kitchen, it begins to be quite the project. we started with the cleaning as soon as I got home from SWIC on Tuesday and on Wednesday, we started with the cooking. We made pies, casseroles, set up chairs and air mattresses and I even made my special cinnamon rolls.
The next morning went smoothly since we had done most of the cooking the day before and we only had fifteen people in the house at this point. After the tables were pushed together and the paper plates and plastic utensils were brought out, we pulled the cinnamon rolls and egg casseroles out of the oven. Believe it or not, things that come out of the oven tend to be extremely hot. I learned this the hard way as I was transfering the cinnamon rolls to a platter. Some of the gooey sugar and cinnamon dripped onto my thumb and I could not get my hand to the cold water fast enough.
After breakfast, it was time to the dishes; not too hard because we used paper plates. We then proceeded with the preparations for the Thanksgiving dinner. We ate around four or five and afterwards the dishes had to be done. I was definitely thankful for a dishwasher this weekend. The last of our guests are leaving tomorrow and I will finally have a chance to work on my homework.

Unexpected Encounter

I was walking toward the SWIC Library here at the Red Bud Campus and after setting down my violin case and backpack, I was approached by a lady wearing a polo shirt with the SWIC emblem on it. She had a smile on her face and asked me if that was a violin in the case. I answered her saying that it was and she said that she played as well. She asked how long I had been playing and I told her that I have played for the past 9 years or so, but that I had just recently started lessons with a professional teacher. I then told her that I also was involved in the Southern Illinois Civic Orchestra at SIUC. She said that she also had played in an orchestra but that she was now teaching bluegrass music at the Bluegrass Shack in New Athens, IL.
We talked for a few more minutes about technique and styles before we started to close our conversation. She said that we should get together and play sometime or meet at the Bluegrass Shack. We shook hands and gave our names, but I'm embarassed to say that I forgot what her name was.
When she had first walked up, I was sure that it would be a waste of my time to talk to her, but I now see that it was actually very helpful. I never would have guessed by her appearance or style of speach that she would play bluegrass music, let alone teach it. It really showed me that even though I know that the stereotypes are inaccurate, I still let myself put her into a category based on what I saw. I'll definitely be more on guard with myself at my next encounter and I look forward to my next visit to the Bluegrass Shack.

An Abundance of Artifacts

I have been trying to set up the interview with a band in my subculture, but so far it is not working out. Instead of putting an interview in this section of the paper, I will put in some more information on the other instruments or artifacts that my subculture employs. Thankfully, there are several to write about so there shouldn't be any problem with meeting the length requirement. While I am thoroughly enjoying this class, I will be relieved when it is finished. I know that I will have a greater appreciation for those who make writing their profession. I know that I probably could not apply myself to that sort of work, but a writer might say the same thing about practicing an instrument for a living.
On another topic, I have been teaching myself Hebrew. It is not as difficult as I thought it would be. My only problem is that I am reading the language as though I were just learning how to read, but in a way, I am. I really like the language and I love to say the words out loud. I hope to also learn some Jewish songs for my violin playing.

New Information

I still have not been able to set up an interview with people from my subculture. However, I was able to pick up a new source of information. At the 51 Diner in Perryville, MO, there is a bluegrass jam every Tuesday night. Some friends of mine told me that they go there and play their instruments and sing. I hope to get there next week as I have other obligations tomorrow.
Speaking of tomorrow, my rough draft of paper three was all ready to go and when I went to put it on my flash drive for tomorrow, I couldn't find it. So, I have been frantically trying to remember what I wrote and I'm determined to stay up until I can finish it again.
I think that, of all the papers so far, this paper is the most difficult. I am a little uncertain as to what I need to write about, but I will do my best. I will look forward to finishing this essay and class. I have thoroughly enjoyed it but I will be glad to not be so stressed about this class. I also will appreciate the input on my paper tomorrow. Any corrections will be welcome.

Slow Week

This week has been going very slowly with the academic side of things. While the classes are moving right along, I feel as though I am not keeping up. I do have several resources which I have been reading through but beyond that, not much has been happening. I did send a request for an interview with a bluegrass band in this area. I know the family that has the band so I should be able to get an interview fairly soon.
I have been putting together a glossary of words that some people may have questions about that I will be using in my paper. Some of them I have not used yet, but that I know will come up sooner or later. I am primarily focusing on getting all the required citations and finding out about some famous names in bluegrass history. I found the Internation Bluegrass Music Assosciation's website and this should provide me with some interesting and useful facts about the founding of this organization as well as bluegrass history in general.
I hope that I can get this interview before the deadline of the rough draft. I may just have to add it to my final draft of the paper. I will post more updates as I get them.

Citations and the Library

Well, I don' know about anyone else in this class, but I am so thankful for the practice with citing a resource. I know that I am not very good at this and I definitely needed the help. Hopefully my "Works Cited" page won't be a major downside to my paper. I hope to continue to gain resources as the semester goes on.
Speaking of that, I went to the library sometime this past week (I can't recall which day it was.) and picked up a bunch of books that will hopefully be helpful to my need for more resources as well as for my research. I think I must have spent at least an hour and a half browsing through their history section, then their cultural section and finally their musical section. There were a few songbooks but none of which were bluegrass. By the time I had finished pulling books off the shelves and putting some back, I had only eight books. I say only eight, but believe me, that was plenty. When I picked up the books, I had to hold them with my arms fully extended, not just because of the weight but also because of how tall the stack was. (They weren't the thinest books around, let me tell you.) I am so glad that I decided to drive to the library rather than walk from our house. It's less than a mile away but the way back is all uphill and I didn't exactly feel like carrying all those books back home.

Update on Essay

Well, I certainly have been busy this week. Wednesday to Carbondale, Thursday and Friday in Columbia, MO, Saturday with homework, Sunday in St. Louis and what is there to show? Very little. I have not had much time to do anything. I have however sent an e-mail/interview to my violin teacher about some of the top violins/fiddles. In the email, I asked her about what the top brands are, what the prices are, and why people tend to buy them used.
I do know of some brands such as Bellafina, Doreli, Florea, Strunal and Suzuki. Violins/fiddles tend to be priced according to how well they are made, when they were made, and the quality of sound. Often times, the cheaper the violin is, the less quality you may have. In most cases, you get what you pay for.
Although, there are times when you may see a fiddle for sale online and it seems like a good buy according to the price and description. At these times, it is best to see what the brand is, and where you are buying it from. I personally believe that it is best to buy a fiddle at a store where they allow you to try it out. The best way to decide on which fiddle to buy is usually by the sound. If you like the sound and weight of the fiddle, and the price is fairly decent, then you pretty much can't go wrong.

Temporary Setback

I went up to the Bluegrass Shack last night. I got there and presented my letter and asked if I could take pictures also. After receiving permission I then asked when the jam would start. Chris Talley, the manager, said that it wouldn't be this week, but next week. After driving for an hour to get there I was pretty upset, as you can imagine. However, I decided that this would be a good opportunity to look for a new violin, books, and gear. The employees were all very kind and helpful and the prices were reasonable. I asked about a violin pickup and an employee showed me a couple. See that neither were what I was looking for, I asked him about a specific brand. He said that he hadn't heard of it but that he would check it out and get one for the store so that I could try the different pickups on my violin and choose which one I liked best. He also said that if I were to find an item cheaper someplace else, that they would beat that price. All in all I had a good time.
There's more that happened but I'll just let you read about it in my next paper.

~Kira

Off to the Bluegrass Shack

Hey everyone,

For my research paper this week, I'm going to go to the Bluegrass Shack and sit in on one of thier jam sessions. I'm really looking forward to this as it will be close contact with bluegrass musicians. The view of the musicians wasn't all that great when I went to Fort Kaskaskia and I want to be able to see the different faces that the musicians make as they play.
My violin teacher is constantly telling me that I have a tendency to not blink or breath while I play. She sometimes has me write little reminders in my music. I wonder if other musicians have the same problem, do they make funny faces, do they breathe, look around, smile, etc. This really has me intrigued.
I'll also try to pick up on any signals they might use to communicate with one another. For example, when one has the melody, how do they signify who they would like to pass it off to? I want to also listen to who keeps the tempo (which is the speed). How do they let the other musicians know that they want to speed up or slow down?
I'm really very excited about this trip and hope that I'll find a literal treasure trove of information. I'll let you know what happens.

~Kira

Trip to Fort Kaskaskia

Hello everyone,

On Saturday, I went to the Fort Kaskaskia Bluegrass Festival. It was really interesting and I went armed with camera, pens and paper. I got to see what kinds of people were there, the instruments being played and the kinds of stands they had set up. My brother and I sat down and watched the people walking around and what kinds of clothes they were wearing. The music was fun and lively and so was the emcee. He said "yee-hah" about 10 times in every song. You could really tell that the atmosphere was relaxed.
I enjoyed listening to the music and watching people. Occasionally I noticed some people that were watching me. I tried to take it all in as well as I could and this being my first time field working, I was really excited. My brother and I also decided to walk around and see what kinds of food the vendors were selling. The barbecue smelled absolutely amazing and the freshly popped caramel corn looked really good.
I saw some of my friends that have started their own bluegrass band. I was hoping to get to interview them but they were to busy running around trying to get set up for when they were supposed to play.
All in all, I think the day was a success and I had a lot of fun there too. I got to see some interesting people and try some of the food. I hope that I will be able to get a little more in depth with my future experiences with this subculture because it is truly incredible.

Thanks for reading.
~Kira

Paper 1 Rough Draft

Kira Browning

Bradford P. Nadziejko

English 102-082

September 16, 2010

Fiddling Around

            For centuries, music has entertained people all around the world. The kings and queens had composers to write music as a full time occupation. Then there were the common people who despite less education were not prohibited from music. The tunes that they would play were just made up to describe a place or event. Even today we see the different “classes” of music and musicians. The classical are more commonly known as the trained and high-bred of the spectrum while the bluegrass are thought of as lower-class, without musical knowledge and culture. I do not believe that these stereotypes are accurate for everyone involved. Naturally there will always be those who have had significant amounts of training and those who have not. This however does not stop either “class” of musicians from loving music and sharing it with others.

I have loved music ever since I was a little girl. My mother would play on the piano every night and I would play along with her on the highest keys. I wanted to make the music as beautiful as she could. I begged her to teach me how to play and finally, when I was seven, she did. As soon as she taught me something new, I would sit down and practice for hours. My parents would sometimes have to ground me from playing for more than an hour or two.

From that time on, my love of music continued to grow. Every instrument that I have seen played, I have wanted to learn. My greatest aspiration was to play the trumpet, but I soon learned that my mouth wasn’t ideally shaped for playing that instrument. I then decided to learn as many instruments as I possibly could. I learned the flute, clarinet, saxophone, guitar, drums, voice, bass, and violin.

Recently, I’ve developed an interest in bluegrass music and musicians. I know that classical musicians can identify with each other on the different topics in the music; such as the passages that are difficult and ways to make them easier, or the way you feel when you get on stage as the concert is about to start. This made me wonder if bluegrass musicians share some of the same feelings of camaraderie that classical musicians do. I also was curious about where bluegrass music came from and how it has survived the years. What makes it so popular in this region? Why are you more likely to find it in rural areas than in the city? What dictates whether a person is a fiddler or violinist?

For a classical violinist, there are specific criteria for how to hold and play the violin. For a classically trained person, the violin will most likely be held on the shoulder and held in place by the jaw. The person’s fingers will be on key most of the time and when they look at a piece of music, they will be able to read the notes as easily as they might read a novel. Their elbow on the bow arm will be raised parallel to the floor and the forearm and hand will move fluidly to allow seemingly effortless bowing.

For a bluegrass fiddler, the fiddle is typically held more in front of the person than on their shoulder. The elbow on the bow arm is usually at the person’s side, but the wrist is very loose enabling smooth bowing. Most of the time, to be able to play a piece, they will have to hear it to know how it is supposed to go.

For me, coming from a classical background, I don’t completely understand what makes this genre of music so enjoyable to the participants. It’s like a person who has been in the military all their life suddenly witnessing civilian life. For them, the military is the right way and the only way; how can anyone enjoy being a civilian? For example, when I go to orchestra rehearsals, everyone there has a level of professionalism. The mindset is that we are there to play better as a group and to bring the music to a point where we can perform before an audience. Much of the enjoyment is from a feeling of accomplishment caused by the progress we have made.

At the Bluegrass Shack in New Athens, Illinois, there are weekly jam sessions, where anyone is welcome. The jam is for musicians to simply get together, play their favorite tunes and each bring something different to something they have in common. They are free to improvise or add or take away notes at their discretion. The sessions are just fun and there’s no need to conform to the traditional model of music.

Although there are distinctions between the styles, I believe that there are still shared values. For one thing, there is no age requirement for either. You could be a nine year old and be the concert master of the orchestra or you could be the best trick fiddler in the jam session. Another would be that, while in different ways, musicians from both backgrounds enjoy what they do and desire to share their passion with others. Despite the disparity between the two genres of music, there is still common ground and musicians from each genre could learn a lot from each other.

~Kira

Beginning the Fun

Hello everyone,


I'm discovering how much fun this project will be. For one thing, I get to listen to bluegrass music and talk to fellow musicians. Another plus is that this is a writing assignment. I love to write because I can incorporate into my writing the styles of other writers.
While this will be time-consuming and schedule-filling, I believe that it'll be a lot of fun as well. This Tuesday evening, I'll be going to a bluegrass jam up at the bluegrass shack and hopefully I'll get an opportunity to interview some of the people up there.
I’m looking forward to the bluegrass fest out at Fort Kaskaskia. It’s close by and now that I have my license, I’ll be able to get away without having to drag my family along. I’m also going to ask around and see if I can find any other sources of information about my subculture. Hopefully I’ll find a book about the history of bluegrass music in general and bluegrass in this region. I believe that it may have come from Celtic music, but I’ll have to either confirm or refute this assumption.
I’ll post more information as it comes. Thanks for reading.

~Kira

Permission Letter (revised)

8 September 2010




To Mr. Nadziejko and students,



I would like your permission to study and report on the bluegrass musicians in southern Illinois and southern Missouri. In my research I will focus primarily on the fiddle players and their instrument. I will, as background information, also write about the back-up musicians such as guitarists, bass players, mandolin, and even the auto-harp. I will present to you the people behind the music, in the form of interviews and literature. I would also like to write about the bluegrass fans that support the musicians.

I have a few friends within the bluegrass circle and this will allow me to get in close contact with the people who participate. I also know someone who runs a business called The Bluegrass Shack. Here they have a variety of instruments, books, and gear. They teach lessons, do repairs, and also have bluegrass jams where musicians from all around can come and play and have a good time. There will also be excellent opportunities to observe the subculture at local events such as the Popeye Picnic in Chester Illinois and a Bluegrass Fest at Fort Kaskaskia. There are also various videos of bluegrass music on youtube.com.

This subject is a broad one and there is no way that I will become bored with this subculture. There are many different styles of playing and levels of difficulty to the arrangements of the pieces. There are also rules for fiddle competitions such as you must have a waltz, a hoedown, and a tune of choice. In some competitions, there are pieces that are not allowed to be played. These are called “trick pieces” and include the “Orange Blossom Special” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9f_QySKfsgI and “Listen to the Mockingbird.”  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTWtQ6KAEoI The trick bowing in “Orange Blossom Special” is called “Hokum”, which is a particular bowing pattern. Many competitions will only allow standard tuning which is the four strings tuned to the notes: G, D, A, E.

I would also like to write about my experience as a back up musician. I know some people that needed a guitarist to accompany their daughter in the fiddle contest in the Missouri State Fair. The practices included getting to know the pieces and the style of the fiddler. For example, the fiddler might use rubato, which is changing the speed at which the song is played. To be able to do this properly, the fiddler must be able to give clues, such as nodding, foot tapping, or making eye contact with the accompanists. The accompanists must also be attentive to the soloist and be ready for those cues.

I believe that this is a very interesting and lively subculture to study. I once again ask for your permission to continue and I also ask for any suggestions on how to proceed. In the actual report, I will go into more detail as to different techiniques for playing the fiddle and I will also explain some of the musical terms so that everyone will understand what I'm talking about. I look forward to becoming more familiar with this group of people throughout the course of this semester.



Sincerely,

Kira Browning

Beginning My Research

Hello, everyone. I've been trying to decide which subculture in my area to choose as a subject for research. As a musician, I would naturally decide on a genre a music; choosing which one is proving more difficult than I had first suspected. I had originally decided on bluegrass music, but then wondered if I knew enough about it to hinder further study.


I then began to think of musicians as a whole; particularly the comradery between them, regardless of what style they prefer. When musicians begin a conversation, it is without fail that the conversation will work its way around to music. I myself get a feeling of exhilaration when I share my thoughts about the instruments that I play or how I feel about the last concert that I went to.

I wonder if other musicians feel the same way. Can there be the same excitement for rap and hard-rock as there is for classical or jazz music? I would use the Trans-Siberian Orchestra as an example that it is possible. They have electric instruments as well as an acoustic orchestra; yet they blend together in a beautiful harmony.

I have now decided what I will research. I want to further understand how two completely different genres of music can be intertwined. I also want to know what gives musicians, from all backgrounds and tastes, the ability to come together and share ideas and feelings about something they love, without being ashamed or embarrassed.