Kira Browning
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
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