Video: Marietta Bluegrass Jam
James McKinney on banjo, May 2009, Marietta GA. Marietta Bluegrass Festival (in the parking lot). This is a large 10-minute file. Please be patient while it loads. It will be worth your time!
This was a great event, with perfect pickin’ weather. . . Please Login or Register to view the rest of this content.
Video: Jammin’ At The Red Light Cafe
June 2007, Atlanta GA. Join the fun! 553 Amsterdam Ave NE , (404) 874-7828. Although this jam took place a couple of years ago, it is still fun to watch! Searching through past videotapes brought this jam to light again . . . Please Login or Register to view the rest of this content.
The Music Within Us . . . and It’s Pickin’ Time!
“Why should I spend time here when there are so many other bluegrass sites on the Internet at my disposal?” “What’s in it for me?”
Good questions. People still buy books even though there’s a free library in every town. People still subscribe to hometown newspapers even though one can read news on the Internet at no cost.
One never knows where or how they’re going to find information of VALUE. I remember years ago reading every book I could get my hands on relating to a particular topic. I was searching for MORE. I had a hunger for MORE and I knew every nook and cranny would/could/should provide more of what I was seeking.
Passions are thirsty for more knowledge; more entertainment. In order to satisfy that passion, we do your homework. We do your research for you and bring it together in one place.
http://www.pickin-jammin-bluegrass.com/video/opening_scene.flv
It’s a safe bet that since the arrival of cognitive human beings on this earth,
music has, in some form had a significant effect on their lives. The first
sounds, other than speech, were probably produced by hitting something; wood,
stone or hide; and ancient peoples must have appreciated the sounds of the world around them; of water, weather and animals; and were the sounds of a rippling stream or a gushing waterfall music to their ears? And when they stood at the seashore did the crashing waves and the suck of the tides move them in some way? There is something deep within our psyche, which reacts and ‘remembers’ music.
It is more than probable that sounds relating to music and rhythm came long
before sounds relating to communication and speech.
Today, this theory can be tested by noting a baby’s reaction to a lullaby as compared to speech. If you’re lucky, humming can soothe the most fractious child and even send them to sleep!
Music, in the form of rhythm was used by many peoples as a way of sending messages to out of sight recipients; consider the jungle drums of Africa or the Alpine horn, the Aboriginal didgeridoo or the use of bells as a warning
of attack.
The days of learning our lessons by rote have, mostly, disappeared. This is
because it has, rightly, been recognized that we don’t necessarily absorb the
content of what we repeat over and over again. But, as an aid to memory, music
still has its uses. Songs we learned in childhood can be recalled far later in
life than mere words. Music is a well known and much used therapy in illnesses
that involve memory loss; Stroke, Alzheimers etc; and not only as a recall aid
but also as a re-learning tool. Speech therapists use music extensively when
trying to teach stroke victims how to speak again. The rhythm and melody of a
familiar tune will often ‘trigger’ a positive response, when no amount of visual
stimuli has an effect.
And then there is the cohesive quality of music; from the singing of a country’s National Anthem to a football crowds’ chant; from carol singers to brass bands.
Musical participation has been used in every walk of life. The chain gangs of
America’s Deep South would use music to get through the day and establish a rhythm to mundane physical labor. Sailors would pull a hawser or ’sheet’ in unison while singing a familiar ‘hornpipe’ or reel.
The wonderful gospel sounds that poured from the wooden churches of the Southern states black population were a potent community tool to promote and celebrate their culture; a lucky offshoot was the inspiration of much of our modern rhythm and blues. Nowadays factories all over the world use ‘piped’ music to soothe the workers; if you’re doing a humdrum task music can make the time go faster.
When we think about it music is not just a pleasant pastime that is either
passively listened to or actively produced. It has a much deeper, more
fundamental purpose. Our reactions to outside events can be completely altered
by music. It can make us happy, sad, frightened, elated, thoughtful . . . the
list of emotions it engenders are as long as their number. And words are not
necessary to create this ambience; for instance, how would silent movies have
worked without the music . . . those Keystone Cops without the frenetic piano plinkity-plonk; the doe-eyed heroines without the sobbing strings; the huge
sweeping epics without full orchestral back up? They just wouldn’t have worked.
Nowadays, with the proliferation of world music, we listen to and enjoy music in
many different languages, without necessarily understanding a word the singers
say; much as opera was once listened to as the fashionable ‘world’ music of its
day; just another example of the emotive power of music. Bluegrass music that started in the United States mountain regions is far-reaching and spreading to foreign corners of the world.
So, it’s fair to say that music has an innate basis in our evolutionary makeup.
We have probably used it since homo sapiens first walked the earth. Other
animals do use sounds in their day-to-day living (frogs croak, dogs howl, sheep
bleat etc.) But with the possible exception of birds, we are the only species to
enjoy making melody out of sound. We’ve utilized every viable tool, from the
human voice to electronic tones, to create ever more varied compositions.
Wouldn’t it be intriguing to discover how soon into our evolution the power and
beauty of the human voice was appreciated?
As the centuries have passed, musicians have been feted for their skill to move
us with song, melody and rhythm. Once, musicians were revered as priests -
interpreting the sounds of the gods. Nowadays we are more pragmatic; but we
still need that harmony in our lives.
Bluegrass toe-tapping rhythm, with its varied acoustic instruments, provides that need.
Article by: Jackie Gee
(edited for pickin-jammin-bluegrass)
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Video: Earl and Lizzie . . .
See and hear legendary Earl Scruggs with Lizzie Long on stage. (The below picture is a still photo). Click the video (black screen) to view. You must be a member!
This video is over 9 minutes long and contains 3 songs with Earl and Lizzie together: “The Tennessee Wagon”, I’ve Gotta Travel On”, and . . . Please Login or Register to view the rest of this content.