Category: Articles

The Simplest Harmony Part in Bluegrass Music

By Wayne Erbsen

Singing harmony is one of life’s truest pleasures, right behind pie and sex. For the moment, I’m not going to give you a complete lesson on singing harmony. You can find that in my book, The Bluegrass Gospel Songbook. Instead, I’m going to give you a partial harmony lesson and show you the simplest harmony part in bluegrass music. Why am I so sure that I’ve found the one song that surpasses all others in its simplicity? For the simple reason that the harmony part I’m about to show you has only one note. Yes, that’s

… Read the rest
Posted on by — 2 Comments

The Dreaded Count-In

By Wayne Erbsen

Perhaps you’re a lurker at the bluegrass jam or pickin’ session. Sometimes you’ve heard the musicians count at the beginning of the songs with “one, two, three” or “one, two, three, four” and wondered how and why they’re doing that. You may have been in a position of having to start a song in a jam, and you’ve dreaded having to do the count-in. In either case, read on.

When it’s your turn to start a song in a jam, the surest way to get the other musicians to come in at the right place is to

… Read the rest
Posted on by

The Appalachian Dulcimer

By Wayne Erbsen

It’s amazing just how many people dream about playing a stringed instrument. When they finally do get around to trying out a guitar, banjo, fiddle, mandolin, or bass, they sometimes find it takes a little more work than they figured to make their dreams come true. If you are one of those people who has always wanted to make your own music, instead of buying it prepackaged in the store, let me tell you about an instrument that is both very easy to play and inexpensive to buy — the dulcimer.

Of all the stringed instruments

… Read the rest
Posted on by — 2 Comments

The Dreaded G Scale & the Magic Numbers

By Wayne Erbsen

I once heard it said, “There ain’t no notes in bluegrass music, you just pick it.”

While it may be comforting to suggest that music theory and bluegrass music don’t mix, in fact, knowing a little so-called music theory could be downright useful if you want to develop as a musician. Granted, many people are scared to death of musical scales. Trust me, this won’t hurt (all that much), and soon scales will be your new best friend.

First, since bluegrass is often played in the key of G, we’ll start by learning a G scale. Like

… Read the rest
Posted on by — 1 Comment

Clarence White and the Roots of Bluegrass Guitar in Southern California

By Wayne Erbsen

In the early sixties I lived within earshot of the Ash Grove, a legendary folk club on Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood. As I recall, Monday night was called “hoot night,” and the house band was “The Country Boys.” When I first heard the band in mid-1962, it consisted of Clarence White on guitar, Billy Ray Lathum on banjo, LeRoy Mack on Dobro, and playing bass was Roger Bush.

In the fall of 1962 the band got the opportunity to record their first album for Briar International. At that time the founder of the band, Roland White,

… Read the rest
Posted on by

A History of Bluegrass Guitar in Western North Carolina

By John Martin

When folklorists like Cecil Sharp came to the mountains of North Carolina they found an enduring musical culture of Scotch-Irish fiddle tunes and ballad singers as well as some of the only black banjo and fiddle players in the country.  In the 1940s, western North Carolinians helped produce a new form of music: bluegrass. Earl Scruggs popularized the regional three-finger banjo style that in many ways defined bluegrass, and the state also made many contributions to guitar playing. 

While the acoustic guitar began as a rhythm instrument, North Carolinians Don Reno, Earl Scruggs, Doc Watson, and George

… Read the rest
Posted on by — 2 Comments

The Hanging of Fiddlin’ Joe Coleman

By Wayne Erbsen

The story of the hanging of Fiddlin’ Joe Coleman is enough to send chills up and down your spine. In 1847, near the town of Slate Fork, in Adair County, Kentucky, a shoemaker and fiddler named Joe Coleman was living with his wife, and his wife’s mother and sister. According to some accounts, Joe had been acting erratically and not long after that, someone smothered his mother-in-law to death with a pillow. A few days later, Joe’s wife went into the woods to gather bark and never came back. Joe went searching for his wife in the

… Read the rest
Posted on by — 7 Comments

How to Tune a Guitar

Easy 2-Chord Songs for Guitar, cover

1. The Fret Method is a time-honored way to tune your guitar to itself, without using slick and newfangled electronic gizmos. With your guitar resting comfortably on your lap, follow these steps:

a. Take your left index finger and push down the 6th or E string at the fifth fret. There should be a dot or marker at the fifth fret. Be sure to play in the space between the two metal bars. Push down hard enough with the tip of your finger so it produces a clear note. Then, compare the pitch of that note (A) with the 5th

… Read the rest
Posted on by — 1 Comment

Basic Guitar Chords

By Wayne Erbsen

If you’re wanting to learn the basic guitar chords, you’ve come to the right place. Although there are thousands of chord positions, I’m only going to show you the basic chords you need to start with. In certain kinds of music, such as as bluegrass, Appalachian, folk, gospel, country and blues, these chords are pretty much all you’ll ever need.

Important Tip: When you’re making your chords, it’s ESSENTIAL that you go to the chord all at once, not one finger at a time. Landing on the chord all at once will guarantee that you’ll be able

… Read the rest
Posted on by — 3 Comments

How to Tune a Mandolin

By Wayne Erbsen

Mandolins are fun to play, but they’re a pain in the you-know-what to tune.

Why?

Because the double strings are like quarreling siblings who never seem to agree with each other.

Nonetheless, in this article, I will show you how to easily get your mandolin more or less in tune.

As you already know, your mandolin has four pairs of strings. Each pair is tuned to the same note.

Hold the mandolin on your lap in playing position. The 1st string is the one closest to the floor and is an E. Here are the names of

… Read the rest
Posted on by — 7 Comments