
Gems #1142 The Modern Beat for regular users, show for Oct 15-21, 2011. Others use any time.
Series: Gems of Bluegrass
From: Philip Nusbaum
Length: 00:07:14
Gems of Bluegrass are 5 - 8 minutes drop-in modules that look at bluegrass / old time history, aesthetics and culture. Each Gem consists of multiple song clips with commentary over music beds. For an insightful weekly 1-hour bluegrass show that includes Gems of Bluegrass, see the Bluegrass Review, available from PRX. Contact Phil Nusbaum at pnusbaum@bitstram.net to download the show from www.bluegrassreview.com.
Also in the Gems of Bluegrass series
Gems #1224 "Bill Monroe tributes. For regular users, piece for June 9-15, 2012. Others use anyti...
(00:07:44)
From: Philip Nusbaum
Today it is commonplace to acknowledge the extent of Bill Monroe’s contribution to bluegrass music: The instruments used, their function in a band, and the way singing is ...
Gems of Bluegrass #1223 Anthems
(00:08:03)
From: Philip Nusbaum
Bill Monroe’s band was called the Bluegrass Boys after his home state of Kentucky. It was considered part of country music, and bands that adopted Monroe’s style were ...
Gems of Bluegrass #1222 "Early Bluegrass and Loss"
(00:05:15)
From: Philip Nusbaum
We know that bluegrass music is blue. The most obvious examples are the seemingly limitless number of songs about lovers breaking up. But in bluegrass, especially the old ...
Gems of Bluegrass # 1221 "Bluegrass is Jazzy. But What Does that mean?" For regular users, May 19...
(00:07:23)
From: Philip Nusbaum
In the early twentieth Century jazz and country music both had bad reputations among members of the music establishment. For one thing, with a lack of proper sheet music, ...
Gems #1220 Is Bluegrass Folk
(00:06:21)
From: Philip Nusbaum
If you think that folk music means singer with guitar, then bluegrass is not really folk. But before you slam the door on the idea of bluegrass being folk, consider that to ...
Gems of Bluegrass #1219 Constructions, Deconstructions and Reinventions
(00:10:53)
From: Philip Nusbaum
A recent Gem of Bluegrass addressed the recontexting of bluegrass songs. Take a bluegrass song or bluegrass approach and combine it with ideas from outside bluegrass, and you ...
Gems of Bluegrass 1218 Hidden Challenges of Playing Bluegrass
(00:07:27)
From: Philip Nusbaum
When you play bluegrass or any type of old time music, you rely on your ear. Sure, some of the music written down, but if you rely solely on written music, you deprive ...
Gems of Bluegrass #1217 Bluegrass paradigm Change
(00:08:28)
From: Philip Nusbaum
One of the great things about bluegrass is that it is always changing, always evolving. The 60’s was an era with a lot of change, and it may be happening again.
Gems of Bluegrass #1216 Recontexting
(00:09:33)
From: Philip Nusbaum
We know that bluegrass evolves over time. But what causes the evolution? Usually we think it’s caused by the little changes made by players. But where do players get these ...
Gems #1215 Bluegrass and the House of the Rising Sun For regular users, piece for April 7-13, 2...
(00:08:34)
From: Philip Nusbaum
The House of the Rising Sun. It’s an old time song that’s been kept alive by a lot of singers. Why do singers like it? It might be that it sings of a life gone wrong in no ...
Piece Description
Gems of Bluegrass are 5 - 8 minutes drop-in modules that look at bluegrass / old time history, aesthetics and culture. Each Gem consists of multiple song clips with commentary over music beds. For an insightful weekly 1-hour bluegrass show that includes Gems of Bluegrass, see the Bluegrass Review, available from PRX. Contact Phil Nusbaum at pnusbaum@bitstram.net to download the show from www.bluegrassreview.com.
Timing and Cues
in: music
out: UA
time: 7:13
Intro and Outro
INTRO:To casual listeners, bluegrass is that fast stuff with the banjo and the fiddle riffing madly. Well, that’s certainly part of it! But not all of it. Bluegrass evolves. And sometimes the evolution is pretty subtle. But it can make a big difference
OUTRO:Play some more modern beat bluegrass. Carrie Hassler and Hard Rain would be a great choice.





