One thing I would like to add is that the older folks listened to country and bluegrass music when there wasn`t any electronic gizmos to make a sound that a picker couldn`t get from a guitar. fiddle or mandolin...One place where my band plays regularly is filled to the brim with this type of people, they don`t want to hear amplified loud instruments, they want to hear it acoustically and songs that are done with feeling because they say that is what they grew up listening to and it is hard to find that type of music anywhere now days and that really makes me feel good at what I am doing, just bringing some joy to folks no matter what it takes, we do some of the newer songs but when each song is finished we can really tell what they love because of the applause they offer and after a show a lot of them come up to the stage area and shake hands and ask for a business card so they can contact me to see where we are playing the next show....I know this also happens at other places with other types of music but since this thread was entitled "Bluegrass for the Elderly" I just thought I would say what I have found from the older folks in some places where my band plays...
One day I met a fellow and we got to talking about music and he said he played a violin and I told him that I played mandolin and had a bluegrass band and asked him if he would like to sit in at one of our practice sessions and he said he didn`t really know any bluegrass songs but he would come and listen and see what it was all about, well he showed up, tuned his violin and using all of his skills that he had learned from playing classical violin he didn`t miss a beat when we played the "simple" traditional bluegrass songs and he said he loved it and even though bluegrass sounds simple there is some songs that are right complicated...I haven`t kept up with what he is doing now days but his parents spent a lot of money for his classical violin lessons so just maybe he is playing in some big name band now...No, he isn`t elderly but it goes to show that bluegrass can be liked by all music lovers if they just go out and listen to some of the bands...
Sorry to be so long....Willie
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