Changing genres.. does anyone do it?

[mandodebbie]

Has anyone ever, say, given up Cajun-Zydaco mando for,say, Mediveal Classical ? Or Italian Renisance Classical for down and dirty Bluegrass? Or just Blues for Gospel?(Sorry if my spellling is not quite right!) http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[Pedal Steel Mike]

As a working guitarist, I've changed genres constantly, depending on what the gig was. During the 70s I went from playing mandolin in a bluegrass band to playing guitar in a disco band.

These days I'm concentrating on playing classical music, but for fun, I play occasionally in a blues-rock band. (BTW, the mandolin is a great blues rock instrument.)

[Pedal Steel Mike]

P.S. It's not a question of giving anything up, but rather adding something.
I see no conflict with playing Mozart one day and Muddy Waters the next. It's all good.

[Ted Eschliman]

Though my first love is jazz (obviously), I also get into Choro and Classical.
I think your right, though. True appreciation of music should be about addition, not subtraction.

[John Flynn]

I have changed a couple of times: rock and roll, church music and now old-time string band music.

Next, I want to get into 17th Century Serbo-Croation wedding marches. Man, that is a wild, wild scene! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[garyblanchard]

I've made a lifetime career of changing styles. Started off as a folksinger, moved into rock, folk-rock, did the singer-songwriter thing, got into muli-media performance with synthesizer and dancers, slides, poetry, puppets and anything else I could think of, new-age electronic music, then wrote some music for theatre pieces, wrote for string quartet and woodwind trio, and now play old-time/good-time music on guitar, mandolin, banjo, ukulele, autoharp, dulcimer, and trying to learn fiddle. For me it is never giving something up, it is about evolving. The Baltimore City Paper once referred to me as a "musical chameleon." I couldn't even sue them for libel. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[Brad Weiss]

P.S. It's not a question of giving anything up, but rather adding something.
I see no conflict with playing Mozart one day and Muddy Waters the next. It's all good.
For me the greatest thing about the mando is the whole world of music it opened up to me that I was completely unaware of. I may have heard of bluegrass music when I started, but I'm sure I couldn't have recognized a single tune. I started out playing fiddle tunes, like everybody starting out. fumbled around with bluegrass, figured out that I was really comfortable with jazz standards, but still work on Bach pieces, lots of choro, Django and Dawg tunes, love to learn new jigs, and throw in a few fiddle tunes now and again. Plus I'm still trying work up a good break for Bluegrass Stomp. #How can you NOT mix up your genres? Oh - I forgot about the klezmer tunes I learned! Love those augmented intervals!

[Bob A]

AFter a long period of ear-playing of whatever came to mind, I started to dry up, so I opted to re-learn to read and began playing a bunch of classical stuff, got some good bowlbacks and am pushing it along. It has improved my playing and given me access to a vast amount of good music.

It has affected the other stuff I used to play. I've taken to memorising some of my classical favorites, and it's weird playing (or trying to play) a piece the same way every time. I think I've lost a bit of the improvisational skills I had, due to exclusive focus on written music for the last year; on the other hand, my skill level has improved, and I suspect the other stuff will come back by and by.

[Jim Garber]

I played rock electric guitar in high school, then switched over to acoustic, blues and folk. I discovered the mandolin in college, then learned old time fiddle, banjo and mandolin. Played novelty vaudeville tunes on the ukulele and tenor banjo. Played jazz and swing on the mandolin. Swedish, Irish and old time on the fiddle. Joined a mandolin orchestra and relearned to read. Now i am seriously into classical and Italian music mostly on mandolin and some Klezmer and Jewish liturgical music on violin.

All of it finely meshes into some sort of musical style and I love the variety. Yes, addition, not subtraction: each genre experience enriches your overall style of playing. Now I appreicate playing old time music even more.

Jim

[bjc]

Sometimes I admire people who can totally dedicate themselves to one genre or sub-genre of music...but, I started as a rock guitarist and then went through the whole thrash metal/pop metal to blues to jazz to classical to alt/rock/punk to jam band to ska thing picking up a variety of different instruments along the way...keyboards, bass, drums, dobro, harmonica and of course mando and I feel like I would've missed the journey if I had just styaed with rock guitar...and the COOL thing is when I pull one of my "jazz tircks" (or metal of punk or folk or country) and put it in a song that is not that genre...Not that I am good at ANY of the above mentioned styles...tee hee

[Eugene]

I started strumming cowboy songs on guitar with my grandpa. I spent my teens and early 20s playing various hard-rock genres and blues. Then I took up classical guitar. I did a brief stint with an old-school swing trio in my early 30s. I also took up classical mandolin in my early 30s. Now, I play almost nothing but art music of any compositional era on guitars and historic guitars/lute as well as mandolins and historic mandolins. My son has taken up hard rock and I'm thinking of leaping back into it only to encourage him in jam sessions. When I play music with some degree of seriousness, it's still likely to be classical.

[flairbzzt]

My favorite 10 cd's in my car start with my dad's original Italian music to other Italian classics and some arias to Traversata w/ David Grisman to Chet Atkins + Doc Watson to the best of Telluride 1978/9, and I play songs from all of them regularly. That's why I tell my wife I need an F style, and an A style, and a bowlback. Next is a Greek bouzouki for the music of George Zambetis and the Duquesne University Tamburitzans. I performed with a band in the mid 80's doing classic country guitar and mando. I stll mix it up almost everytime I play.

[groveland]

1970: note-for-note, nuance-for-nuance Clapton, Hendrix. #1973: Life changed by Alan Holdsworth with Tempest, started doing the Holdsworth stretch. 1974: Discovered John McLaughlin and Mahavishnu Orchestra, Chick Corea and Return to Forever, embarked on heady original fusion bands. #Got really hungry.

Fast forward five years: Seen slamming out Bootsy Collins funk in biker bars north of Chicago.

Fast forward five years: Sighted on stage at the Sahara Tahoe, Nevada, in a peach tuxedo playing "Feelings" for the 200th time. #Nightmare of all nightmare genre changes. Red flag goes up, way up, emergency, time to get a real job. Go back to school, play Chicago bars in original fusion band while earning degree.

Fast forward 15 years: Join urban/r&b/rock/jazz/gospel music ministry. #Big, big genre change.

Recently sighted struggling with jazz mandolin and loving it. #The Biggest genre change to-date.

Craig

[fredfrank]

There are other genres besides Bluegrass?

[billkilpatrick]

genre-less, i'd say. just bought the steve james blues mandolin dvd simply because it's something i know (more or less) and can use to better understand the mandolin. i perform with some medieval/renaissance singers - very amateur - but in terms of accompaniment i treat the songs no differently than i would something by hank williams. no peach tuxedo (whew ...) but for those of you who would care to look, i can be seen in a medieval muumuu and tights - one for the scrap-books ... definitely.

[groveland]

i can be seen in a medieval muumuu and tights

That takes out the peach tux. You win.

Craig http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[straight-a]

I love the variety. I've played guitar in a rockabilly band & southern rock band, bass in a funk band, southern gospel quartet, jazz & bluegrass band, and banjo, mandolin, guitar in bluegrass groups. Oh, forgot to mention six years of tuba playing! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[Kbone]

I started in Southern Cal in a High School Rock and Roll band , but always loved Bluegrass from afar. I've always loved all kinds of music -Classical,Jazz,Blues,Zydeco, you name it. I think if I would of concentrated on one genre of music i'd be an ok musician instead of a hack. The music I want to concentrate on now is Monroe style bluegrass, and hopefully in the near future i can team up with somebody and play some music.

[mandopete]

There are other genres besides Bluegrass?
The only other one I can think of is polka!

[legendarytones]

Blegrass cause it cuts like a knife.

[jmcgann]

P.S. It's not a question of giving anything up, but rather adding something.
I see no conflict with playing Mozart one day and Muddy Waters the next. It's all good.
Pedal Steel Mike Speaks The Truth!!!

TEAR DOWN THE WALLS!

Actually, what i mean is, learn how to build the walls as beautifully as possible. Play Muddy Waters with as much soul and conviction as possible. Play Bill Monroe with as much soul and conviction as possible. Play J.S. Bach with as much soul and conviction as possible.

Maybe don't try to play like Bill Monroe on Charlie Parker tunes (unless it's Billie's Bounce or another blues). Maybe don't try to play like Charlie Parker on Bill Monroe tunes (unless it's Bluegrass Stomp or another blues).

Take my advice: don't take advice from others*. #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif

* including me.

[ira]

i love blues, folk and rock, but love spreading my mando wings into klezmer, bluegrass, newgrass, jamgrass, even trying a bit of jazz standard and latin-world music/ethnic folk. every bit of music i touch helps broaden my mind in every sense and only serves to make me a better musician when playing my music of choice.

[generankin]

Has anyone ever, say, given up Cajun-Zydaco mando for,say, Mediveal Classical ? Or Italian Renisance Classical for down and dirty Bluegrass? Or just Blues for Gospel?(Sorry if my spellling is not quite right!) http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif
Why give anything up? I started out playing backup guitar in bluegrass & oldtime bands, then played a little finger-style blues, then bass in a Chicago-style blues band (being revived, 30 years later), then electric guitar (blues, mostly), then mandolin for bluegrass & oldtime, just started teaching myself some Italian Renaissance dance tunes on mando. If ya like it, play it!

[Pen]

To borrow from a great line:

I play both kinds of music. Country AND Western.

[GBG]

Louis Armstrong said,"There ain't but two kinds of music-good and bad, and if it's good you don't worry about what kind it is".

[Pedal Steel Mike]

IMHO, playing one genre helps you play in others. Earlier I mentioned that during the 70s I went from playing mandolin in a bluegrass band to playing guitar in a disco band.

In both those genres, the mandolin and guitar function as part of the rhythm section and the chopping technique is similar.

For me, this was a direct benefit. Because I had refined my rhythm/chopping technique (which I really hadn't done prior to joining the bluegrass band) I was easily able to develop the right feel to play rhythm guitar in the disco band. I applied the technique from genre one to the other. I believe I would not have done as good a job in the disco band as I did, and possibly would not have passed the audition, if I had not played in the bluegrass band first.

[Daniel Nestlerode]

P.S. It's not a question of giving anything up, but rather adding something.
I see no conflict with playing Mozart one day and Muddy Waters the next. It's all good.
Peal Steel Mike is right on.
- Mandoloin Orchestras played (and some still do) Classical music, popular songs, hymns, etc without making distictions between them.
- Bluesmen like Robert Johnson and Blind Lemon Jefferson played the Blues but they also played church music, popular songs, and some early jazz, again, without making distinctions.
The impetus to closely define genres in music came as a result of the advent of recorded music. Once it was possible to record, playback, and store/save musical performaces it became necessary to define audiences who might be interested in purchasing these recordings. At first these genres were more defined by skin color and region. I am reminded of a scene in the movie Ragtime where a white character uncounters a black musician and is amazed that he is more than just a ragtime jazz piano player; that he can play Chopin beautifully and is an accomplished pianist.

As people from different parts of the country started to appreciate music from places they had never been, the divisions defaulted to distinct types of music from different traditions (Country, Blues, Classical, Popular, etc.). So now we conceive of music in categories and sub categories rather than just as music, the way they did 3 or more generations ago.

I'm not saying our conception of music as a categorized subject is a bad thing. Indeed. it has allowed us to combine styles and types and create new kinds of music that otherwise would not have been created. Examples of categorical hybridization could easily include Rock n Roll, Reggae, and Bluegrass(!). Later hybridizations include county-rock, Jazz fusion, Latin Jazz, and Dawg music among many others. Joe Craven is his own cross category polination, he combines Caribbean styles with English fiddle tunes, Soca with Jazz, etc. all in the same CD!

However, I think it's also important to be aware that categorization of music was created 1) primarily to market music to an audience and 2) after people had been making music for generations without thought of categorizing their endeavors.

Someone once said, "There are only 2 kinds of music: good and bad." I take this as a reminder not only that I should open my mind to unfamiliar types of music, but also that types/categories/styles/genres are a conceptual framework imposed on music. These after-the-fact breakdowns can be ignored with impunity and doing so will open doors in both my listening pleasure and instrumental skill.

My $.02 (sorry if it was a little didactic)
Daniel http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[billkilpatrick]

Louis Armstrong said,"There ain't but two kinds of music-good and bad, and if it's good you don't worry about what kind it is".

that's true. i find myself listening - i mean really listening to know how it's done - to the oddest things, regardless of genre. advertisements are a good way to revisit old songs and sample one's you've never heard of before. for example, there's a snippet of aretha franklin singing "i say a little prayer for you" in an ad over here (italy.) i've heard it before, obviously and most of you have probably heard it a million times but burt bacharacracaraca is not the sort of thing i would go out of my to listen to ... but that ... has got to be one of the best produced recordings ever - absolutely flawless.

maybe it's age ...

[angrymandolinist]

Coming from no real musical background or heritage (I envy those who do) I tend to drift from genre to genre when the tunes start to get stale; going from Celtic to Bluegrass to Medieval/Renaissance to Classical (and whatever else catches my interest) keeps things interesting for me. I think it's fun to play a variety of styles for friends and family, so they don't get bored after a fifth Carolan tune http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[mandodebbie]

Angrymandolinist, I too did not come from a musical family and envy those who do. My understanding of music in the broad sense of the word has now become less limited. When I mentioned to an old co-worker that I am learning mandolin, he thought "Bluegrass" ..and laughed. (Yes, I did join the local Bluegrass - and I have a lot to learn- but that was because there are no Jazz, Classical, or Laurence Welk type music jams in town...yet.) Anyway, I now feel actually encouraged to skip around the music books and play Bach one day and Hank Williams the next. Oddly enough,when my brother who still lives in Missouri came to visit last weekend, I was trying my bestest to play some oldtime stuff for the gang. But my dear family didn't really respond much until I started to pick out "I Believe In Angels" by ABBA! ("That sure is pretty, Debbie! Hmm! Yeah!" was the dialogue.) I would like to learn some traditional Ukranian music, but I guess I shouldn't try to learn too much all at once. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[Ken Sager]

I've played punk, classical, jazz, rock, folk, blues, bluegrass, gospel (yes gospel and bluegrass are distinct, even though some bluegrass bands don't know it), and fusion. All for money, and mostly on guitar and bass long before I picked up a mandolin. I inherited a rich musical history, and several instruments (none of them worth any money, but priceless family pieces). I guess the main thing I inherited was a musical fearlessness. I've always played music. I can't imagine life without music and musical friends.

It's all just one long song.

Love to all,
Ken

[arbarnhart]

Having a genre - does anybody do it?

I am still a novice and I regularly play bluegrass, blues, classical and jazz plus a few old time/gospel/campfire favorites. Can't make up my mind, but don't have to.

[James P]

Mothers, don't let your babies grow up to play Ableton Live. (http://www.ableton.com/) #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

Seriously.