About

We are a small, family-owned, American publishing company, started with a simple idea – to teach and preserve Southern Appalachian music.

We offer:

Books: Music instruction books, songbooks, cookbooks, and books on folklore

Recordings: Bluegrass and old-time music

Log Cabin Classes: In-person and online music and cooking classes

History of Native Ground Books & Music

Wayne-at-cabin-window
Wayne Erbsen

It was 1973 and Wayne Erbsen had just moved from his home in California to Charlotte, North Carolina. His aim was to dig deep into the roots of Southern Appalachian music by learning from the masters. He chose Charlotte because this area had

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I’ll Fly Away on Banjo

By Wayne Erbsen

There are many ways to close out a bluegrass show, but I always favor ending an evening’s entertainment with a rousing version of I’ll Fly Away. This song is the perfect choice because everybody knows it and they love to sing along. Recently, I started digging into the origins of I’ll Fly Away, and here’s what I found.

I’ll Fly Away was among the earliest compositions of Albert Edward Brumley, who was born in Indian Territory near Spiro, Oklahoma on October 29, 1905. Growing up in a family of sharecroppers, Brumley knew from an early

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Should I Use a Pick with the Ukulele?

(This is a guest post by Ted Parrish, co-author of ‘Ukulele for the Complete Ignoramus‘)

To pick or not to pick, that is the question.

Folks ask me all the time what pick do they need to play the ukulele. And while the easy answer is “none”, there really is no easy answer.

nopick2Historically speaking there is no call for a pick or plectrum. The Hawaiians who invented the ukulele (by modifying Portuguese instruments that came to the islands with sailors) did not use a pick. In Hawaii you generally strum with the first finger or the thumb,

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Online Audio for Music Instruction Books

Thank you for buying one of our music instruction books! If you’ve arrived here, it is because you need a digital copy of your instructional CD.

Please click on one of the buttons following the name of book you purchased below to download or stream the instructional MP3s. If you have any trouble, please contact us at info@nativeground.com. Note: If you email us for assistance, make sure to include the full title of your book so we are able to help you!

Important Note: To better give you listening options, we have two buttons: the first is to

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Ukulele Tunes Tips & Jamming Videos

Thanks for purchasing Ukulele Tunes, Tips & Jamming! Below you’ll find videos of Ted and Catherine Parrish playing the strums, songs and scales in the book. For tab, instruction, and helpful tips please reference the book. The track number corresponds to the number in the gramophones in the pages of Ukulele Tunes, Tips & Jamming.

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