"The Evolution of Bluegrass Through the Mandolin"

[eightstrings]

Hello Mandolin community. I have just embarked on my senior year in high school and have been presented with the task of "Senior Graduation Project" The project requires an 8-10 page research paper and the creation of a "physical product"- all based on the topic of my choice. I'm taking full advantage of my freedom to choose my own topic by combining typically boring schoolwork with my passion- playing the mandolin.

The official topic of my research is "the evolution of bluegrass music through the mandolin" OR how bluegrass' constant progression as a genre can be traced through the generations of mandolin players and their own progressing styles/contributions to bluegrass.

It would be extremely helpful if I could receive some input from you, gracious Mandolin Community. Any outreach via access to resources for my research, general guidance from you experts out there, or really any help at all would be wonderful.

I think its important to point out that not only is this project a chance for me to incorporate doing what I love with school, but it also will be an oppurtunity to expose kids who probably would never otherwise have any chance to learn about/hear this music to bluegrass and mandolin. Educating the community about a vital element of American history as well as what I believe is the coolest msuical instrument in the world is pretty darn important http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

So, with this proposal presented, let the comments/advice/participation begin!

Thanks so much everyone!

Brett Moore

[jaydee]

American music is probably too wide-ranging a topic, even following Bluegrass through the mandolin is a huge topic, but more managable. For your purposes you can simply say what you consider to be Bluegrass, within reason. My advice is for you to pick three or four players and provide biographical information, along with a layman-accesssible description of each players approach to the instrument and how that fits into the big Bluegrass picture. You can finish up by comparing these different styles and players. Remember to keep it clear when you discuss playing characteristics. Don't be afraid to try to interview any players who are still alive, primary sources are the best sources.
My suggestions would be:
Bill Monroe (I don't think this one is optional, read his biography Can't You Hear Me Callin'? There are lots of Monroe scholars out there to help you)
Jesse McReynolds (still alive, you could request an interview, there is a book about his playing style written by Andy Statman)
Ricky Skaggs
Sam Bush
David Grisman

Good Luck,
Jeremy

[Andrew Lewis]

I don't have much "expert" knowledge to offer you, but I feel compelled to offer you my heartiest support and well-wishing. I am a high school English teacher, so I know the great reward your teacher will feel to see you put such passion and effort into such a project. I imagine you will succeed in a big way. So...

As a teacher, I say your topic proposal sounds like it will make the appropriate length of paper. How literal are they being with the "physical product"? You may be able to learn some of the styles from your research and demonstrate these with your mando or perhaps record them? That could be really cool. I would suggest you build an F-5 but that's a mighty tall order.
I imagine that your research will take you into divergent styles as noted above so don't be too strict with your definition of bluegrass. You will likely need to point out the arguments over the definition and discuss the strict purists in your paper. Then you can let the parts of your paper branch into different styles and notable players. Doing it chronologically will likely lead you this direction anyway. From Bill Monroe to Chris Thile, you can chart the changes in the music and then finish the last few paragraphs of the paper exploring today's players like Thile and how they are both bending the rules and acknowledging tradition. You could juxtapose the pure stuff like Monroe with the stuff that is argued about. For a thesis, you could use all of this to make the point that the mandolin is a unifying factor throughout the changes in styles and bending rules. For evidence, you could look at Mandolin sales numbers throughout the years since Monroe and through the recent resurgences in bluegrass and old time music. Number of mandos sold increased? Number of builders increased? The Cafe itself is evidence of the amount of current interest in it. How many BG albums sold throughout the years?
Just some thoughts...
Man, I think I want to write this paper now...I guess that's what you get from an English teacher! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

Good luck!

[F5G WIZ]

You have definitley come to the right place for your research. I have always found it quite interesting that as varied as playing styles are, and as much as mandolin music has evolved over the past 70 years, most prominant mandolin players, though distinct in thier own styles, can also play Monroe style when called upon to do so. Monroe style and songs are a staple for most mandolin players and it seems most all have a deep respect for the man and his music. Just my 2 cents worth.

[Andrew Lewis]

F5G makes some excellent points. Some more things to consider:
Jerry Garcia teaming up with David Grisman and how this may have brought some rock audiences (Grateful Dead fans and more) to appreciate BG.
O Brother Where Art Thou and its soundtrack helped bring a resurgence of old time and BG.
Alison Krauss's popularity.
Marty Stuart and Ricky Skaggs keeping the mando alive within the popular country music genre and continually allowing BG to seep into the popular music.

[F5G WIZ]

Yes I do believe that Skaggs had a hit on the country charts with "Uncle Pen" and as far as the O' Brother fenom' "Man of constant sorrow" made it on the play list at a lot of country stations and I believe won out at the ACMA's for best song. Wonder if Keith Whitley would have found his way home to BG by now had he not died.

[T.T. Brown]

This may be broadening your thesis too much, but F5G's point about different players' abilities to replicate the Monroe style while still developing their own unique voices is a good one - perhaps a different paper entirely. Still, if you had time I think it might be cool as an addendum to create a mandolin family tree of sorts that could illustrate how these players are able to remain true to the roots of bluegrass (to the point of being scholarly) while branching out and taking their own music in very different directions. One could illustrate how through collaboration and study, different players have influenced one another and championed others' styles (Bush and Compton acknowledging their debt to Monroe in instructional materials and workshops, Statman's book on McReynold's, etc.) Good luck with your paper. I would love to see you post a link to it when it's finished.