Bluegrass music is the old time country music, which has been influenced by Scottish-Irish, British, the blues, Negro spirituals and gospel music as well. It had its start on the rural south and came about in the 1940’s after World War two. It was “basically a fusion of “hillbilly”, ”folk” and various types of “country” that were popular with the farm families and blue collar workers” (Pendergrass pp. 4). In the beginning it was called by var

Bluegrass has always been played on acoustic instruments. The typical bluegrass band consists of these six instruments: banjo (five-string), guitar (flat-top), fiddle, mandolin, dobro and bass. In early bluegrass history they occasionally used spoons, bones, washboards and harmonicas as instruments. Along with close vocal harmonies, especially high-tenor harmony singing called the “high lonesome sound.” Unlike country, singing tends to be high pitched and harmony is never sung in unison. Depending on the type of harmony, it is always above or below the lead singer. Bluegrass music can also be described as “high energy.” The tempo tends to surge during solos, especially during banjo solos. Another bluegrass attribute that us different from other musical styles is the tradition of “passing a break.” This is when everyone with an instrument takes a turn. This is, “a clear stylistic departure from the Old-Time southeastern string band music from which bluegrass develope

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