History of Bluegrass Music

Composition II

29 April 2013

The Story Behind the Bluegrass

Over the years, music genres have grown and developed into many different styles. Some larger genres of music have even gotten so many different styles that they have developed into what is called a sub-genre of the music. Country music is one of the main genres that this has happened too. With so many different kinds of instruments, vocal abilities, and rhythmic styles, artists and bands are able to find different ways to create sounds that are similar to a certain type of genre without becoming repetitive. Some of the sub-genres of country music are bluegrass, folk, western, and even Texas country. With the use of many unique instruments and music styles, bluegrass has a distinct style to set it apart from other sub-genres, but still maintains the country appeal.

Originated in the rural countryside of Kentucky, bluegrass music started becoming popular around the 1940s. One of the main aspects of bluegrass music that sets it apart from other country sub-genres is the use of stringed instruments that have distinct sounds. For instance, bluegrass was one of the main reasons for how the fiddle became popular. Being a little more upbeat than typical country music, the fiddle gave bluegrass the tempo needed in order to set the tone for a fast paced rhythm, but also maintained the southern sound of a stringed instrument. Another musical instrument popularly used in bluegrass is the five-stringed banjo. Similar to the guitar, the banjo has a higher pitched tone that can also make a song seem a little bit more upbeat. A few more instruments used to set apart bluegrass music from other styles are the harmonica and the mandolin. The harmonica was especially used for long instrumental solos usually around the bridge of a song. The tone of the brass harmonica was very unique, but provided the perfect sound to liven up any square dance. Also, combining different levels of voice type with each...