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