Demystifying Bluegrass Slang For Newbies

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[@dpfljr]

Y'allternative is a more recent offshoot of spacegrass

[@davidweitzel7729]

Then there’s the term Billy Strings used in a recent article. He says in his younger days he was a trad purist or as he called it, ‘grasshole’. He seems to have gotten over it when he became friends with the jamgrass crowd.

[@richpayton7162]

I attended my first Bluegrass festival in 1995 at Santa Maria, Ca. It was a wonderful experience. It was easy enough though to notice the Grassholes amongst the crowd. At times a sententious vibe hung like a pall over campsite jam sessions held upon the Holy Ground of the hardcore Trad cats. One tenet I learned of that weekend was "If Bill Monroe didn't write it, it wasn't really music." Lol! I knew better, well at least a little bit. Prior to this festivaI was able to catch two shows of Grisman/Grapelli "hot dog"' concerts. This was the tour where Mark O'Conner was the guitarist and was allowed to play just one song on the fiddle, "Tiger Rag", at the end of the shows. Interestingly but not surprisingly each musician in the ensemble had to be a journeyman mandolin player or a mega-multinstrumentalist. I wonder if that requirement also applied to Stefane Grapelli? Heck, he could likely play any stringed instrument. I saw him at a Cousteau benefit concert in Ventura, Ca. a year later, where he played the grand Piano like a boss.

[@lordofthemound3890]

By the 1920s, when traditional American music was first recorded, it was already called “old-time music.”

[@msspi764]

Because for the people recording it, including collectors like Alan Lomax, that was what they were seeking, a window into a past time. They didn't really understand how dynamic the form is. Actually even today a lot of Bluegrass pickers don't understand with old time how much tunes with the same name can be similar but different based on versions, locations, etc.

[@lordofthemound3890]

@@msspi764 Very true. That’s true “Folk” music, passed down from generation to generation and changing through the years, with no one true creator. In some ways, songs before recorded music and sheet music were living, evolving things; there were no “official” versions or right/wrong ways to play things. The main way of thinking today is that the recording of a performance is THE SONG. It’s not. The song itself is THE SONG and it is not a tangible thing. I had this realization in my twenties when I started getting into jazz. I had this idea that a studio-recorded cut was the definitive version of a song. It took me awhile to realize that that’s just what they happened to play on that day. And it was no more (or less) definitive than something they might have happened to have played in a club the previous night, or recorded several other times in other studios. I remember reading somewhere that Alan Lomax started to have considerable trouble finding this true passed-down Folk music starting in the ‘30s. Many times he would track down a musician touted as possessing knowledge of old songs, only to discover that their repertoire had been learned from records!

[@tonyricebutwithahangover856]

Another thing I noticed that maybe isn’t slang but is helpful, you always need to look around during a jam, because a lot of bluegrassers will give signals like a head nod or a movement like that to tell you to take a solo or that they’re about to end a song. I had to learn that the hard way when I started jamming with the Floyd County Boys

[@CharlietheGator]

The "Lester Flat G lick," which grassers get so much mileage out of, is very similar to a common Blues lick - sometimes referred to as the "Juke" lick, as Little Walter played it in the song "Juke."

[@thepetersd535]

It’s cool you mentioned Bristol, TN my great grandfather Charlie Peters was the mayor of Bristol and was the person who petitioned our state representatives to name Bristol “The birthplace of country music”

[@loco.joe.goldfinger]

Great stuff, man! I thought I was pretty well-versed in the Bluegrass lingo, but I actually learned a thing or two from this. So thank you :)

[@DSteinman]

Haha "left hand pizzicato" is how you spot the classical player at the jam

[@jermotter]

Love this, you should do more! Even those slang terms with negative connotations help new players like me learn and avoid the negative stereotypes. And don't be afriad to throw some shade on all the bluegrass instruments! I'm an aspiring banjo player and I love watching your videos to learn about the guitar's role in the music and how guitarists see the role of the banjo.

[@sombrerosrule]

Who do you watch like Marcel for the banjo world? I’m a guitarist, and would like to learn with that same mindset of perspective.

[@bungh0LeO]

I love all the videos you make, Marcel. Thank you again in assisting me in this journey of enjoying and learning Bluegrass and country.

[@demolitionwilliams7419]

Sooo helpful. Just as all your content is. Thanks so much!

[@sethtervasi6884]

Great Video! I learned a lot 👍🏻

[@hamdog8872]

Love your content man. Been watching alot of your stuff lately. -Anderson, Souf Kerolina

[@tonyrogers3479]

Thanks Marcel! I’ve been playing guitar for 50 years and live in North Carolina but just started playing Blue grass . I knew most of these terms but there are many I did not. Thanks this was a lot of fun

[@sivadyert]

Very helpful and well-made video! Thank you!

[@michaelconnors5732]

Dude you are a real G! You are a serious wealth of knowledge. Good lord.

[@petefeltman]

Right on!

[@toby_bloom]

Very good video. I learned a lot. Thanks!

[@juannlohan3943]

Great job as usual, Marcel! You might (if u haven't already) do a segment on "the numbers" ? Thanks for your insights!

[@TomLaios]

It is amazing how useful audio mnemonics, such as boom-chuck,and paradiddle,are for teaching rhythm without notation.My guitar teacher taught me complex Greek music rhythms in 9/8, 9/4, 7/8,and 5/8 with nothing more than the mnemonic "poom pah".

[@karlschulte9231]

Fine guitarist! Good mandolinist too! Enjoy it. Old guyctrying to learn. Did violin in grammar school then forced to trumpet. Tried several instruments i could travel aroind world for work: trumpet bad isea. Violin too fragile ((and very $$). Tin whistle worked fine then dulcimer and Jean Ritchy's book. Now retired and too creaky to travel and time to take up fiddle and mandolin oh and autoharp ( to learn chords). Your mandolin videos are great as well as one other ( your guest once?). Thank you for these lessons. Great service to would be players w/o funds or no teachers. The whole strum/ picking and chord area is new to me (chords hard on trumpet!). So soaking all the learning I can.

[@ThaGlittersAintGold]

2:39 into this video and I've learned a new lick! I've been practicing the Lester Flatt G run for about 30 minutes now. haha Thanks Marcel!

[@DocColetti]

Great video! I’ve found early licks vey similar to the Lester flat g run in gottshalks “the banjo”, which was his interpretation of African American banjo music from his home area, it’s possible it entered the musical lexicon and was first recorded by Riley. Or it could be me over analyzing 😅

[@chuckrrose]

I know most of this content, but I really appreciate the service to the community of newbies. We all were once.

[@paulritchie9404]

It’s also called double stop in the classical world. Double stop is considered the technique while diad is just considered the actual notes

[@jacobcarlson8799]

This is how I’ve always understood it too.

[@evad6220]

So Molly Tuttle is the "Queen" of California-Grass///Berklee -Grass

[@atakurt6055]

She sure is with that songwriter stuff

[@OldMcDnald]

😲

[@OldMcDnald]

Molly Tuttle is the best. Put yall to rest. I don't care if she went to Berklee or is from.CA or not. Blasphemy

[@chuckrrose]

Thanks!

[@elibryrob]

Down with Berkley-Grass! I’m a “Trad-Chad” and pretty dern proud of it, too, haha.

[@tbedgood]

I've been asking a question for decades and I finally found someone who may have the answer!!! You spoke of tags as being a little line at the end of a song or segment. In the rock world from the '70's etc., at the end of the song everyone is banging out chords,notes, drum riffs all at the same time until the leader signals everyone to stop. Do you know the name for that thing? BTW, love your vids ! Huge TR fan here.

[@LessonsWithMarcel]

You are lucky man, I actually do have words for this! The long improv over the last chord of the song is traditionally called a "cadenza", the term more or less fits here and I've heard many non-classical musicians use it to describe what you're talking about. The slang for the final chord that everyone punctuates together is a "stinger", I learned that from my high school band director but have heard many people use it since. I believe that term in that context comes from the marching band world because many marches end with a short chord played by the entire ensemble. Maybe all the rock n roll kids were just band nerds in disguise.

[@tbedgood]

@@LessonsWithMarcel Dang Bro! My life is complete! lol

[@fenderjag114]

@@LessonsWithMarcel I was in a rock band with a music grad student who described a really short emphasized chord at the end of a song as a "button".

[@davewoelkers6189]

I live 7 miles from the carter fold lol there’s a picker on every corner in the tri cities

[@BulldoggerJK]

Some of these I’ve never heard at a jam. Heard them online. Makes sense no one would say the offensive terms in person. Kind of the way the world is. Usually those terms are used by the people who can’t play the other style of music.

[@sequoiaroseofficial]

Love you Marcel btw

[@BRLaue]

At a Kaufman camp in’98, George was kind enough to drop by and show us all how he came up with cross picking. A true gentleman.

[@elijahdynys4125]

Hey Marcel, I'd never seen you play mandolin before, and I was wondering which other instruments you play?

[@JoshJorg44]

Im pretty new to guitar (1year) and new to bluegrass, but as I tried to figure out what kind of music I really wanted to play, I am stuck on Bluegrass. Billy Strings is awesome but I love it all

[@ChrisHenryVideos]

Good!

[@gam1471]

We also hear about 'vocal songs' and 'instrumental songs' - crazy......

[@davestambaugh7282]

With medium gage strings at twenty five pounds tension per string it can be painful to pull off notes on mandolin. Hammer on's and pull offs always seem louder on lower tension strings.

[@strangsnsuch4765]

I wouldn't exactly call myself a newbie, but I've just pushed this stuff off until now after my 3 years I've been playing.

[@jarrodsellers1814]

There is also another variation of cross picking, down up up, I know several ppl that use that roll, my father being one and everyone that he's taught over the years

[@joelee9752]

The mandolin pretty much plays the role of a snare drum.

[@TyeeHox]

NorCal grass is very traditional and Good! Only someone unfamiliar would ever use those terms

[@fenderjag114]

Speaking of that "crooked" Clinch Mountain Backstep, someone once gave me the impression that the term "backstep" defines the extra half-measure (or whatever it is) in the B part of that tune. This person was talking about someone who was trying to play the tune but kept missing the extra half-measure. The person said: "They don't get it. It's a backstep." However, I've never been able to find independent confirmation that a backstep is defined as a tune (or a dance) with an extra half measure added. Does anyone know for sure?

[@LessonsWithMarcel]

I do think the term backstep in the title of Clinch Mountain refers to the extra couple of beats but I do not believe that is standardized. In fact, I normally use the term backstepping to refer to sequenced scales or what some people call "folded scales". Basically scale patterns like the beginning of Blackberry Blossom. I find that definition and usage to be much more common than the relatively small number of tunes that include the word backstep in their names. Off the top of my head I can only think of one actually, Backstep Cindy, and I can't even recall if that oldtime tune was crooked or not.

[@fenderjag114]

@@LessonsWithMarcel “Folded scales”...I like that.

[@randysmith2307]

In these parts, I hear "All Skate" for everyone play. Nice work here my friend! G-RUN!

[@HNXMedia]

Kind of "off genre," but Jimmy Buffett uses the term "All Skate" in one of his recordings with a double-meaning. He is referencing the old roller rink "call out" as part of the song and additionally he wants the entire band to come back in and play. Brilliant!

[@hamdog8872]

MARCEL!

[@davestambaugh7282]

I believe that crooked tunes were used to keep the preachers off of your back because it makes the music harder to dance to.

[@BlackHoleForge]

Why did they call it a diad and triad? I understand the prefix tri means three, why do they not use the prefix bi to mean two? Bead. On second thought double stop sounds better.

[@BRLaue]

Orrin Starr had a list of 50 kick-offs.

[@chuckrrose]

Only suggestion is to differentiate Old-Time from “hillbilly” commercial music, e.g. Roy Acuff. Do you agree that the marker for Old-Time is group improvisation, like Early New Orleans Jazz, whereas bluegrass features solos, like jazz post King Oliver & Louis Armstrong? Respectfully submitted!

[@Scary-Detective]

6:40 B-B-B-B-Bonus Fact

[@senorjuan2479]

Honestly "California grass" is more hardcore trad than the Nashville mash style. Walking around CA festivals I hear a lot less BGAB/AKUS style stuff and a lot more Monroe/Stanley Brothers purists.

[@atakurt6055]

What is AKUS short for?

[@LessonsWithMarcel]

BGAB = Bluegrass Album Band, AKUS = Alison Krauss and Union Station

[@atakurt6055]

@@LessonsWithMarcel Thanks! I love BGAB but never heard of Alison Kraus. Should check em out

[@sequoiaroseofficial]

I moved to California from West Virginia and it’s crazy how the whole scene is dedicated to being “traditional” over here. I don’t get it haha it’s like they think we aren’t Appalachian so we have to be traditional af to prove that we are bluegrass lol. The scene is wild over here.

[@DD-eight]

Hit tht pittsacado

[@dpfljr]

g run in some circles has been overused

[@jamesbrown8303]

Did you mean Berklee as in the college in Boston, or Berkeley the town in CA? 😂

[@petefeltman]

Kinda interchangeable in this context

[@LessonsWithMarcel]

I guess that wasn't very clear! Berklee School of Music in Boston and California (the entire state) have a similar bluegrass reputation. If anything the Berklee kids have more chord changes, haha.

[@0AndyBunn0]

@@LessonsWithMarcel Berklee kids play that math grass son.

[@richpayton7162]

@@LessonsWithMarcel I think Flying Fish Records group Fiddle Fever was formed at Berklee, with Matt Glaser, and recorded the song "Akoshan Farewell" with I believe Russ Barenberg and maybe Meyer. Some great stuff there. Hey, how about a "Mashup" song video with a Trad group mashed up with the likes of Bela Fleck... the possibilities approach the infinite.

[@OldMcDnald]

Dang I had no idea bluegrass was toxic too. 😭😭😭😤😤😤

[@thegratefulbrad3072]

Muh pardner here calls new age bull shit NABS! When Billy Strings eyes roll back in his head and he jams out on one chord for a half hour with delay, reverb, echo and a violin bow.... That's NABS! :)

[@alan4sure]

I'd say delay, echo, and reverb are all basically the same effect, just the duration of time varies between the repeated note(s).

[@thegratefulbrad3072]

I sort of knew that already.... It's a joke! :) @@alan4sure

[@halfcalkt8367]

So crooked=asymmetrical?

[@justclarkband]

Can you explain with mash is a thing. What’s the etymology?

[@LessonsWithMarcel]

Not sure of the etymology. It could be a potato joke, from kick offs. Could be just a descriptive term, people say thing like "mash down" sometimes. Also, here's a 100 page academic paper on describing mash. In Seeking a Definition of Mash: Attitude in Musical Style dc.etsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5400&context=etd

[@sequoiaroseofficial]

Mash is, DRIVE! ❤

[@charlesspencer9626]

Boom chang

[@cindi7228]

Here’s another one: square jaw. Referring to super traditional stuff.

[@unsurprisingly]

wow 😮❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@sequoiaroseofficial]

lol this is all just country talk. Haha 😂

[@jeffweaver955]

Bro you forgot to define what bluegrass was. I am so nee to these terms i didnt onow what a banjo was 🥸

[@OldMcDnald]

So funny 😑

[@1RamTough]

Melody? Who needs melody when you have a fiddle lol.

[@procarpenter1788]

Funny way to spell “banjo”

[@1RamTough]

@@procarpenter1788 very true