What if Bluegrass didn't exist?

[abram]

If we lived in an alternate parallel universe where the mandolin didn't exist, I think its highly likely that Bill Monroe would have never created bluegrass, or at least not popularized it. But I've always thought that it's interesting that bluegrass was based on Appalachian music, while there are tons of other tradional forms of music that could have recieved the bluegrass treatment, ie, given drive and jazzed up. What if Irish or Cajun or Klezmer or Hungarian music had devoloped into something like bluegrass?
(by the way, Hungarian tradional music is really crazy already)

[fatt-dad]

Well, that's just crazy talk - ha.

f-d

[JeffS]

What if Irish or Cajun or Klezmer or Hungarian music had devoloped into something like bluegrass?

Wouldn't that be considered Dawg or Sluz Duz?

[Nathan Sanders]

Sure, what if Earl Scruggs had grown up in Russia and came up with his 3-finger method on balalaika?

[Professor PT]

If Bluegrass didn't exist, I'll bet you could get a Loar a lot cheaper!

[John Flynn]

If bluegrass didn't exist, I think the genre of "17th Century Serbo-Croation Wedding Marches" would have gotten the notariety it really deserved. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

Seriously, I think other people were doing things in the same vein as Bill Monroe. If it had not been for Bill, the genre might not have gotten quite as popular, it might not have been called bluegrass and the mandolin might not have become as important an instrument in the genre. But I think a lot of people would still be playing music that was an evolution of old-time mountain music, flavored with blues, country and whatever else was going on at the time.

[mandopete]

I think the real questions is What if stir-fry did not exist?

[John Flynn]

What if stir-fry did not exist?
It would cause a "Chinese Breakdown." http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[Fretbear]

I think Earl Scruggs would have been a much more famous bandleader.....