Blazor

[Anonymous]

I used to go to a club in Tel Aviv that had jams that anybody could join in. Just bring your equipment. You would have had a great time there playing your violin.

I bet! Thats the way this place is.



I went to one festival this summer, with 5000 people! Like 50 Jam sessions all over the campground. Im going back next year lolol.

All types of music? Classical to country?

Nope, no classical or country actually lol. All Old Time Bluegrass. Called the Appalachian String Band Music Festival. They have a stage for competitions each night too for 4 nights.

I've never listened to bluegrass music before.

[Anonymous]

What about recording a practice session at home....alone???

I can do that, I think lol. I aint that great, but I do my best, and coming along quickly lol. I only have my phone.

We can hear the violin, but it's drowned out by other instruments..



I would like to hear you play, so I'll know how a violin becomes a fiddle.

[Anonymous]

I listened to you and your band rocking out Blazor. ac_dance

[Anonymous]

Good job Blazor.

[Blazor]

I used to go to a club in Tel Aviv that had jams that anybody could join in. Just bring your equipment. You would have had a great time there playing your violin.

I bet! Thats the way this place is.



I went to one festival this summer, with 5000 people! Like 50 Jam sessions all over the campground. Im going back next year lolol.

All types of music? Classical to country?

Nope, no classical or country actually lol. All Old Time Bluegrass. Called the Appalachian String Band Music Festival. They have a stage for competitions each night too for 4 nights.

I've never listened to bluegrass music before.

I know I had said Old Time Bluegrass last night, but they are actually 2 different things. Old Time, and Bluegrass. I really meant Old Time. When I use to hear certain songs, I would think "thats Bluegrass". I didnt know there was a difference really. But I guess this would be the same as someone hearing EDM, or Dubstep, and considering it all to be Techno.



So, I would like to clarify the differences. This is a quote from the author of the fiddle book I got by Wayne Erbsen, who is a local to the area....



Bluegrass music evolved from an earlier type of country music we now call old-time music. As it's commonly played, old-time music is a mostly instrumental stringband style with a beat that's designed for square dancing. As such, the music is spirited and upbeat.



The main lead instrument in old-time music is the fiddle. The fiddler normally chooses the tunes, sets the rhythm, begins the tune, and signals to the other musicians when the tune will end. Another key ingredient in old-time music is the banjo, which is played in what is called "clawhammer style." This is a rhythmic style with the right hand striking or brushing down on the strings.



An old-time band would also feature a guitar player who keeps the rhythm and plays a few runs, but does not play the melody. Additional instruments in an old-time band often include a string bass, which keeps the rhythm, and occasionally a mandolin player, who plays chords and also helps keep the rhythm. In old-time style, the instruments generally all play together all the time, with no breaks or solos. The melodies used in old-time music tend toward the traditional tunes brought over from the British Isles by Scots-Irish immigrants in the mid to late 19th century. Newly composed tunes are rare in old-time music.



Although bluegrass evolved from old-time music, it is now quite different. In contrast to the happy, danceable sounds of an old-time stringband, bluegrass music is often sad music based on themes of hard times. One tongue-in-cheek writer called it "A celebration of pain." Bluegrass music is mainly a vocal style, where the instruments support the voices. The typical bluegrass singer sings at the top of his or her vocal range, and often there are two, three, or four part harmonies.



The songs themselves often dwell on themes of loneliness, heartbreak, and nostalgia. In contrast to old-time music, which is strongly fiddle-influenced, in bluegrass no single instrument dominates. Instead, the banjo, fiddle, mandolin, or guitar take turns playing breaks or solos, while the other instruments play back-up. In bluegrass style, the banjo is played with finger picks in a three-finger style as developed by Earl Scruggs, from Boiling Springs, North Carolina.



In some ways, bluegrass is akin to jazz or Dixieland, because the instruments taking solos or breaks freely improvise off the main melody, while the rest of the band lays down a solid rhythmic foundation. In addition to influences from jazz and Dixieland, bluegrass also draws heavily on the blues. This is expressed most often in notes played by the fiddle and sometimes the mandolin and the guitar. Some bluegrass singers also sing an occasional "blue note."



So to put this in a nutshell, old-time music is mainly an upbeat instrumental dance music while bluegrass is a vocal style where the instruments freely improvise. In old-time, the fiddle is boss, and in bluegrass, most often the singer takes the lead.

[Blazor]

What about recording a practice session at home....alone???

I can do that, I think lol. I aint that great, but I do my best, and coming along quickly lol. I only have my phone.

We can hear the violin, but it's drowned out by other instruments..



I would like to hear you play, so I'll know how a violin becomes a fiddle.

It also dont help that Im the farthest from the mic and the banjo pickers are right under it lol. Another fiddler is close to the mic too. There is always more banjo players than any other instrument at the Jam.



Ok Fash lol. I'll give it a try sometime. You and Kiebs got me talked into it lol.

[Blazor]

I listened to you and your band rocking out Blazor. ac_dance

Cool deal Seoul  



Thats the main one I lead. I've learned a handful of other songs too, but Im still practicing them, I wouldnt want to lead them, except maybe Old Joe Clark, I've got that one down for the most part, just a couple tricky parts.

[Blazor]

Good job Blazor.

Thanks Iron  ac_drinks



I'll post some more here soon.

[Anonymous]

Good job Blazor.

Thanks Iron  ac_drinks



I'll post some more here soon.

Yay.

 ac_smile

[Thiel]

I listened to you and your band rocking out Blazor. ac_dance

Cool deal Seoul  



Thats the main one I lead. I've learned a handful of other songs too, but Im still practicing them, I wouldnt want to lead them, except maybe Old Joe Clark, I've got that one down for the most part, just a couple tricky parts.

I enjoyed that audio. Bluegrass is an easy listening style.

[Anonymous]

Not my style of music Blaze, but thumbs up anyway.

[Blazor]

I listened to you and your band rocking out Blazor. ac_dance

Cool deal Seoul  



Thats the main one I lead. I've learned a handful of other songs too, but Im still practicing them, I wouldnt want to lead them, except maybe Old Joe Clark, I've got that one down for the most part, just a couple tricky parts.

I enjoyed that audio. Bluegrass is an easy listening style.

Thank ya Thiel  ac_drinks



There will be some more posted this week  ac_smile

[Blazor]

Not my style of music Blaze, but thumbs up anyway.

We know Shen, you're not a fan of a bunch of white people getting down  ac_dance



 



Thanks anyway lol.

[Anonymous]

White people getting down

[Blazor]

White people getting down