“Nowhere has Monroe had a more individual influence than in Bluegrass mandolin playing”

The death of Bill Monroe has greatly saddened all of us who have been in any way affected by Bluegrass music. Had it not been for Bill’s achievements we would not now be listening to the music which he did so much to create and develop, nor would we be picking and singing as a means of relaxation and enjoyment. It has been the achievement of this one man to touch all our lives. Tony Russell’s obituary in The Times quoted Bill as having said: “To start with I thought I’d touch the country folk - the farm people - and that would be as far as it would ever go. But now Blue-grass means a lot to people all over the world. And I’m proud of it.”

Nowhere has Monroe had a more individual influence than in Bluegrass mandolin playing - he invented it! He injected rhythm and power to make the instrument kick the band along and also to punch out high-energy solos which you couldn’t help noticing. And he was doing this on recordings and on the Opry years before anyone had heard of Scruggs-style banjo. Indeed, just as beginning banjo players are told “Listen to Earl”, the message to mandolin students is “Listen to Bill!” Who said so? Well, Frank Wakefield, David Grisman, Sam Bush, Red Rector, Ronnie McCoury, Butch Waller, Lou Martin and many others known to us in the UK, as well as just about every other Bluegrass mandolin player you’ve ever heard of. What we learn from Monroe, apart from anything else, is how to make the mandolin sound important. Listen to Bill’s powerful syncopated rhythms, the way he races up and down the octaves, the punchy blues licks, the tremolo - at times a ferment of intensity, at times a harbinger of lightness and tranquillity, even of sweetness.

For those of us trying to learn the mandolin and understand Bill’s style the task is a formidable one, but immensely rewarding. Bill was constantly experimenting, as is evident particularly from recordings of his ‘live’ performances. There is no better introduction to his music than the CD/cassette currently available from Smithsonian Folkways, Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys, Live Recordings 1956-1969, SF 40063. As reviewers have unanimously agreed, these recordings, made in a variety of situations over a thirteen year period, have revealed dimensions to Bill Monroe’s music which are not evident from his studio recordings alone. A standout track (one of many!) is the performance of Bluegrass Breakdown of 1964, with some stunning banjo playing by Bill Keith and a mandolin break in which Monroe really burns it up. Bluegrass Breakdown is one of those tunes like Pike County Breakdown which Bill originally conceived as a mandolin tune but which was subsequently taken over by the banjo players. Nevertheless, perhaps in response to the competition from Bill Keith, Monroe plays some inventive variations in his break, which sounds even better than the original recording of 1947.

The arrangement presented here is based on the 1964 version. A key phrase, in bars 5-6, is the classic Bluegrass Breakdown F-lick; it is repeated with variations throughout the A-part. Notice how Bill introduces some interesting syncopation to this lick in bars 9-10, a variation that you or I would not have thought of! Bars 17-20 open the repeat of the A part with harmonics. On the recording these are not as clean as notated - Bill seems to be lightly touching the third and fourth strings at the 12th fret, and some of the notes come out as harmonics. All this stuff is at top speed, of course (d = 168 or even a bit faster). The B-part, starting at bar 33, kicks off with a blistering downhill scalar passage, a bit like the intro to Roanoke, before returning to the chordally based arpeggios typical of much of Monroe’s fast playing. Bill signs off with punchy syncopated double stops and chords in the last four bars before handing back to Bill Keith. As an extra I’ve included an alternative opening to the A-part which is not included on this recording, but which has been much used by mandolin players, Bill Monroe included, for this tune. It is similar to the opening mandolin lick on the 1947 recording.

John Baldry, Crawley.

Editor's note: John Baldry is a self-confessed “Mandolin and tablature nut!”. He is happy to discuss any queries or difficulties you may have with his Tab, or any comments on the article. ’Phone John on: 01293-523597.

By Chris Moreton

This has been a real favourite with guitar pickers ever since Doc Watson’s version came out in the 1960’s (Doc & Merle Watson, On Stage, Vanguard USD 9 & 10).
I will go over some of the tricky bits that you might require a little help with.

• B-part, 1st & 5th bars: Use the ring finger to do the slide then bar the 1st and 2nd strings with the index finger.
• B-part, 3rd bar: Use the index finger to do the slide and the little finger to reach the 8th fret on the 2nd string.
• Give special attention to gaps (rests, shown as x’s) and pick direction (d’s and u’s) in the B-part - it will help to make that wonderful built-in syncopation effective.

Chris Moreton profile

[Editors note: I think the syncopation in the ‘B’ part makes the timing very difficult if you don’t play with an accompanist!]

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A Note on Flat-Picking from Guitar (and some other) Tablature.

The symbols used are: d = pick down, u (or ^) = pick up, S = slide, H = hammer-on, P = pull-off, B = bend (the string), ( ) = an optional note, * = a harmonic, period (.) = a staccato (left-hand damped) note and >  = emphasis. [There’s another symbol for ‘pick down’ that I can’t get on the word processor - Ed.]

Where there are 8 notes to a bar they are produced by alternate down and up strokes of the pick (i.e. flat pick or plectrum), like d-u-d-u-d-u etc. As a rule the note (or gap, even) immediately after a bar line is a main beat and, therefore, a down stroke.

An ‘x’ indicates a one-note gap (one notes- worth of silence). For this you could do the appropriate pick stroke but without playing the note, to keep the rhythm going. This all helps to keep the pick direction the right way up, resulting in smooth timing and controlled attack, and the syncopation under control.

Chris Moreton, Usk, South Wales.

Updated 23rd Jan 1999