Two fiddlers, many ways of learning music

Written by Michael Fox
Published: August 12, 2014 at 7:38 PM [UTC]

(Free of charge, a brief contexual footnote if you don’t mind; feel free to skip this paragraph if you get bored.) Contrary to popular opinion, “bluegrass” is a fairly recently developed genre of music. The traditional fiddle music of the U.S. Southeast and Appalachian Mountains was developed hundreds of years ago as Celtic music found a new home across the pond and mutated into something wildly different. I grew up in Tennessee with these songs being called “old-time music.” Old-time fiddling is built along a repertoire of tunes that are individualized and ornamented, but not too much, since every single person in the band more or less plays the same tune at the same time. Bluegrass, on the other hand, uses old-time instruments and tunes, but brings in influences from jazz and rock, allowing for players to take improvised solos and generally do more fancy stuff.

Two fiddlers in Bill Monroe’s band (The Bluegrass Boys) stick out to me, both for their unparalleled influence on the violin-playing world, and their very different biographies. Kenny Baker was born in rural Kentucky, at least the third generation musician in his family. He grew up around the old-time fiddle tradition, not learning the music in any class, but growing up learning by ear through being totally immersed in the songs of his culture. This must have given him a really strong ear, but also one that was insatiable and curious. Like many musicians, he listened to and was influenced by whatever music he could get his hands on. Kenny Baker profoundly change the sound of fiddle music, with his longer notes and smoother tones, techniques that were inspired by careful listening and imitation of the French jazz violinist Stéphane Grappelli. He was among Bill Monroe’s closest musical collaborators, both sharing a deep love of traditional old-time music, as well boundless creativity that wanted to see the tradition open up to new influences.

Richard Greene, on the other hand, was born in California, and received extensive classical training. He learned about roots music only after playing in a wide variety of styles, and Bill Monroe patiently coached him in understanding the nuances of the style. He invented the widely imitated “chop bowing,” where the strings are muted and the bow’s frog is thrown down to create a percussive sound. According to an interview in Fiddler Magazine, this technique came about as a way he could keep playing and follow Bill’s instructions to not play inappropriately. Chopping was a way he could keep listening, until he found ways to mold his impressive techniques to better fit the sound Monroe was going for.

Conventional theories of learning that assume every person can fit hierarchically into one measure of level of “intelligence.” 30 years ago, educational psychologist Howard Garnder blew all of that out of the water with his highly influential theory of multiple intelligences, which posits that there are in fact multiple areas of “intelligence,” different things at which different people will naturally excel. Each person has particular skills and areas towards which his or her brain naturally gravitates, and looking at these gives us a more full picture of intelligence, potential, and gifting then expecting everyone to fit into a single box of their “IQ number.”

Gardner lists “musical intelligence” among the potential areas of intellectual strength can be possessed; some others include mathematical, bodily, and interpersonal intelligences. However, my experience observing, teaching, and participating in music making in a wide variety of contexts has led me to believe there are in fact further many different ways of being “musically intelligent.” I have encountered many different types of students. Some are highly playful and creative, able to make up games with songs and enthusiastically experiment with making a song their own. They are often able to grasp songs very quickly, but may have trouble using words to explain how they did it. They have natural strength in the intuitive side of music. Other students, particularly those who come at things from a scientific background, are able to look and listen to their behavior quickly, knowing how to break down and practice challenging techniques, and following themselves very carefully. These students seem to grasp the analytical side of music well. A true master musician needs to have both an analytical and a creative side. So, my job as a teacher is to play to a student’s natural strengths, teaching them in such a way as to expand them, and then, as their confidence builds, pushing them to think about the other side. As student and teacher, we are locked in an intellectual dance together, as I help them discover their gifts, and gain the confidence to gain new ones.

As this list of ‘Bluegrass Boys’ demonstrates, many of the fiddlers in Bill Monroe’s band are widely recognized as some of the best fiddle players of the 20th century. This demonstrates one of Bill Monroe’s underappreciated gifts, one he shares with many successful bandleaders, that he was a great teacher. As bluegrass enthusiast Carlton Haney expressed , “If Bill didn’t make him, he ain’t any good.” Monroe considered “making” his musicians an important part of his job. He didn’t expect perfection from a picker on the first try, but would mold them and guide them the experience of playing his very complex music, until they felt equipped to bring in ideas of their own in an open and expansive environment. He took people from as widely different backgrounds and personality types as Richard Greene and Kenny Baker, and brought out the best in them.

So – if you have had to try music lessons, and it has been a struggle for you – my message to you is – don’t give up! It may be that a particular aspect of music making is a struggle, but I believe you have within yourself resources to attack the problem from another way. If you keep at it, you can stretch yourself to think in new ways, but you can also use what you’ve already got to go farther then you might expect.