What is Bluegrass Music?

Bluegrass music is a musical form that incorporates elements of country, folk, jazz, and blues, and it is usually played on acoustic stringed instruments. Though it is influenced by Scottish and Irish folk music, it is a distinctly American form. The name "bluegrass" comes from the band name, the Blue Grass Boys, whose singer, Bill Monroe, is often considered the founder of this musical genre. 

Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys became popular in the 1940s. Their group featured instruments such as the banjo, the mandolin, and two fiddles. In 1954, Elvis Presley recorded a cover of their "Blue Moon of Kentucky." The group was a fixture of the music scene for many years, with 150 changing musicians over the decades.

Perhaps the most mainstream outlet for bluegrass music was the Coen Brother's film, O Brother Where Art Thou?, released in 2000. The film, which starred George Clooney, featured the actor and his prison friends as a band called the Soggy Bottom Boys. The movie's award-winning soundtrack featured bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley, along with other musicians like Gillian Welch.

In recent years, several modern country music artists have recorded bluegrass albums. These artists include Ricky Skaggs, Dolly Parton, and Allison Krauss, a female country singer who has won 20 Grammy Awards, more than any other female musician in history.

For bluegrass music fans, there are many summer festivals held annually throughout the United States, including Colorado's Telluride Bluegrass Festival, which draws mainstream country artists like Emmylou Harris and rock bands like Guster and Counting Crows; the Oklahoma International Bluegrass Festival, and the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival in Ancramdale, New York.

In recent years, particularly since the release of O Brother Where Art Thou?, bluegrass music has increased significantly in popularity and become a major presence in American musical culture. Today, bluegrass bands and concerts can be found in every state in America.

Know About MIDI Keyboard

A Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) keyboard is a musical instrument like a piano keyboard. The MIDI portion indicates that the instrument has a communication protocol built in that allows it to communicate with a computer or other MIDI-equipped instrument. 

The MIDI interface is now so easy to implement that almost all keyboards sold today are some type of MIDI keyboard. This ranges from a simple 100 US dollar (USD) MIDI keyboard sold at the local department store to a 30,000 USD grand piano with a built-in MIDI keyboard controller. Every type of MIDI keyboard can connect to any other type of musical instrument that sports a MIDI interface. The 30,000 USD instrument will sound much better than the 100 USD instrument, but both can be controlled by the computer or other instrument in the same way. 

It is also possible to purchase a MIDI keyboard with no sound capabilities at all. This device requires the musician to have some other MIDI device that is capable of understanding the MIDI messages and generating the correct sounds. This other instrument may be a computer or a dedicated sound box with a number of different instruments programmed into it. This approach allows one company to concentrate on making the keyboard and another to specialize in recreating instruments electronically. It also allows the musician to upgrade the instrument without losing the familiarity of the keyboard.

When purchasing a MIDI keyboard, there are several things to consider. The two most important are your budget and your level of comfort with the keyboard itself. If you have an unlimited budget, the choice is easier; simply buy the best MIDI keyboard that feels good to you. 

If your budget is more constrained, then concentrate on getting the keyboard with the best feel. You can always upgrade the sound quality at a later date. To upgrade the feel, you will need to get a new keyboard and learn to become comfortable with the feel all over again.

MIDI keyboards can have different amounts of keys. Classical musicians and purists will insist on all 88 keys being present. Keyboards with 76 keys are also popular. MIDI keyboards with fewer keys are used when space is at a premium or for amateurs with a very limited budget.

MIDI keyboards come with a range of different feels. Some attempt to recreate the feel and action of a classic piano, while others have more of an electronic feel. Some are velocity sensitive, so that the faster the key is pressed, the louder the note sounds. Some are touch sensitive, so that the note sounds different depending on how hard the key is pressed. An inexpensive MIDI keyboard has neither effect.

Finally, if you are considering a used MIDI keyboard, remember that MIDI keyboards are more like cars than wine with respect to age. A wine improves with age, but a car runs down. An old MIDI keyboard, like an old car, is more likely to fail and more difficult to repair.

What are the Seven Modes of Music?

We have the ancient Greeks to thank for the modern seven modes of music, although some of their original modes have been replaced over time. Greek musicians may have been the first to understand the intimate relationship of mathematics and music theory, leading to what we understand as the major and minor scales. A traditional scale may be divided into 8 notes, but the intervals between those notes are not always equal. The Greeks developed scales which began and ended on each note of the original major scale (Ionian) we still hear today. The Greeks named the different scales after cities which reflected the mood of the seven modes of music. Modern music theorists now call these modes Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian and Locrian.

Understanding the seven modes of music requires a basic understanding of intervals and musical notation. We can define a musical scale with 8 letters (A-G), so that a "C" scale becomes C D E F G A B C with no flattened or raised notes. But another way to look at this scale is through intervals. This is the musical theory behind the familiar Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do exercises in choir or early band practice. Each of those syllables represents an interval in a major (Ionian) scale. These intervals are not evenly spaced, thus giving each one a specific relationship to each other. "Do" sounds very finished and solid, for instance. "Ti", by comparison, sounds very unfinished and unresolved. It is called a leading tone, which means it wants to lead the melody back to the final note "Do". It's the relationship between these intervals which give the modes their musical interest.

In the Ionian mode, the intervals are divided into a very familiar pattern of whole and half steps. Most of us would instantly recognize the Ionian mode when played on a piano. The rest of the seven modes of music retain this familiar pattern, but start on different notes. Here's a quick breakdown on each mode and their relationship to the original Ionian intervals:

Ionian Mode (W-W-H-W-W-W-H) In this definition, W stands for 'Whole Step' and H stands for 'Half Step'. The Ionian mode defines the familiar major scale pattern we hear as do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do. The half step between Ti and Do gives the scale some tension and release. The majority of popular songs are written in the Ionian mode.

Dorian Mode (W-H-W-W-W-H-W) Dorian mode is most commonly heard in Celtic music and early American folk songs derived from Irish melodies. Songs written in Dorian mode sound a little melancholy because the final note (re) doesn't quite resolve itself. The song may be over, but the singer is still unsettled.

Phrygian Mode (H-W-W-W-H-W-W) Modern composers and guitarists commonly use Phrygian mode because it works well with the Ionian. Guitarists use modal music to create interesting solo lines which can be played against melodies in other modes. Composers often find the Phrygian mode to be as useful as the traditional minor (Aeolian) scale, but without the inherent sadness. 

Lydian Mode (W-W-W-H-W-W-H) Lydian mode is the complete opposite of the Ionian, so it feels as solid as a major scale but the intervals are surprising and unexpected. This is a popular mode among jazz musicians who enjoy using a mixture of major and minor chord progression in inventive ways.

Mixolydian Mode (W-W-H-W-W-H-W) Mixolydian is similar to Lydian in the sense of a major scale feel with minor intervals. Mixolydian mode is another popular scale for solo musicians looking for a counterpoint to the Ionian key of the song.

Aeolian Mode (W-H-W-W-H-W-W) Aeolian mode is still in vogue today, although we tend to refer to it as the minor key. The intervals of Aeolian mode create the same feel as many modern blues songs. Songs composed in Aeolian mode have a strong sense of sadness. The final note of an Aeolian scale feels resolved in a completely different sense than the Ionian. If the Dorian mode reflects melancholy, the Aeolian reflects despair.

Locrian Mode (H-W-W-H-W-W-W) Locrian mode is considered to be so unstable and unsatisfying that most composers consider it unworkable. There are few songs written in the Locrian mode, which has lead some music experts to label it a 'theoretical' mode. It exists because all seven notes of the Ionian scale could form modes in a mathematical sense, but the relationship between intervals in the Locrian mode is simply not that interesting musically.

To remember the seven modes of music, many musicians use the following memory aid: "I Do F(ph)ollow Lonely Men And Laugh."

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