Bluegrass?

stickyfiddle

Having just bought a really stupidly good D18-alike I'm keen to get me some learning on the go. I'm absolutely in love with these and Billy Strings is always a good bet as well. 

Anyone a regular listener? Anyone play it to any decent standard? 

rpr

Bluegrass = Bill Monroe 

rlw

Love it but couldn't play a note.....there's a fair bit played on Americana Boogie Radio on the internet, which is my main station these days.

Funkfingers

stickyfiddle said: 

Anyone a regular listener? Anyone play it to any decent standard? 

Not much and no, in that order.

Some of those Bluegrass and Western Swing musicians could embarrass the bejeezus out of most electric guitar shredders.

AK99

Always loved it but can't play for sh*t  

That Molly Tuttle vid is very good.

Earl Scruggs was always the goto banjo bluegrass man for me. Here's a clip of him and some of the other pros jamming on stage back in the day. Always makes me smile :

Lewy

I play OK bluegrass guitar and have been in bands that have done all the UK bluegrass festivals etc. Truth be told there are only about half a dozen guitar players in the UK who can do the Clarence White/Tony Rice burning bluegrass guitar thing to really high standard. The rest of us are essentially well-intentioned hacks who can get by….

The UK bluegrass scene is amazing though. It’s basically like
one big community, you see the same faces at all the festivals and it’s hugely supportive of emerging players. 

It’s good stuff!

guitars4you

Funkfingers said:

stickyfiddle said: 

Anyone a regular listener? Anyone play it to any decent standard? 

Not much and no, in that order.

Some of those Bluegrass and Western Swing musicians could embarrass the bejeezus out of most electric guitar shredders.

I can buy into many of these styles in small doses - I like the way they can intermingle gypsy jazz with bluegrass, cajan, swamp, up tempo/blues/swing/jazz etc  - Have some Pokey LaFarge on my play list that I like 

stickyfiddle

I'm keen but utterly useless because it's basically shred but with no gain or compression and 12 gauge strings. I also don't actually know any bluegrass songs well enough to be able to just pick one up part way through after I mess something up. 

Trouble is a lot of the beginning stuff is written for people who haven't already played the guitar for 20+ years

Lewy

stickyfiddle said:

I'm keen but utterly useless because it's basically shred but with no gain or compression and 12 gauge strings. I also don't actually know any bluegrass songs well enough to be able to just pick one up part way through after I mess something up. 

Trouble is a lot of the beginning stuff is written for people who haven't already played the guitar for 20+ years

13 gauge strings actually Even the kids use them. 

I can help you get started with some links to good tutorial stuff if you like.

Although without doubt the best thing you could do is buy yourself a 12 month subscription to Bryan Suttons school on Artistworks. 

stickyfiddle

@Lewy cheers - that'd be great if you have it to hand, but I'll definitely check out Bryan Sutton either way.

I'm not doing 13s though. Actually to be fair I have no idea what strings are on my new Bourgeois...

Lewy

stickyfiddle said:

@Lewy cheers - that'd be great if you have it to hand, but I'll definitely check out Bryan Sutton either way.

I'm not doing 13s though. Actually to be fair I have no idea what strings are on my new Bourgeois...

To be fair if you’re not playing in a BG band you don’t need the 13s - people use them because in a picking session or on stage playing into mic’s you need all the projection you can get to keep up with banjos and mandolins. Noisy bastards.

Should say though that because of the stylistic emphasis on open position chords, heavier strings aren’t the struggle you might think they’d be. You can play the entire classic bluegrass guitar repertoire and never need to play a barre chord.

stickyfiddle

Yeah, I love how everything I've seen so far suggests it's all in G or C with a capo  

Lewy

stickyfiddle said:

Yeah, I love how everything I've seen so far suggests it's all in G or C with a capo  

That’s why so many bluegrassers use stirrup-style capos that store above the nut and stay on the guitar the whole time. The idea of trying to do a bluegrass gig without a capo….that would be a miserable experience and above all, it wouldn’t sound right. 

stickyfiddle

Yeah, Im tempted by one of those just because they look cool  

digitalkettle

I don't actively follow but I've seen Molly Tuttle and David Grier on various Youtube things...also Carl Miner who demos for 'The North American Guitar' channel...and Bryan Sutton who I've seen on sessions along with Tom Bukovac.

I like it...I think I prefer solo guitar...no need for banjos (put them in the cupboard next to that box of harmonicas)

digitalkettle

digitalkettle said:

I don't actively follow but I've seen Molly Tuttle and David Grier on various Youtube things...also Carl Miner who demos for 'The North American Guitar' channel...and Bryan Sutton who I've seen on sessions along with Tom Bukovac.

I like it...I think I prefer solo guitar...no need for banjos (put them in the cupboard next to that box of harmonicas)

Come to think of it, I think I 'discovered' Molly and David via Troy Grady's CtC project.

stickyfiddle

Bumping as the algorithm just threw this at me. Not 100% sure if it's strictly bluegrass but it's wonderful