Things You'll Need:
- Harmonicas, preferably all 12 keys. You'll most play C, G, and D harmonicas in second position.
- Recordings, especially early Bill Monroe.
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Step 1
Start practicing rhythm with recordings.
Do not approach bluegrass rhythm the same way you do blues, despite the fact bluegrass is heavily based in African-American blues Bill Monroe heard when he was a boy. To find out what key a song is in, play No. 2 draw during the I and IV chords, which make up the beginning bars in a verse. On a C harmonica (played 2nd position in the G key), this two-draw note is G, which is a note of both the I (G) chord and IV (C) chord. When you find a harmonica whose two draw sounds good in both chords, you have your key.
For people used to playing blues harmonica, Monroe's "Bluegrass Special," "Sitting on Top of the World," "Rocky Road Blues," "Heavy Traffic Ahead" as well as many others will be a good starting point. They are all standard blues progressions. -
Step 2
Adapt from blues.
In blues, the harmonica is often wailing along through the song with slow, mournful notes. If you make no modifications to your blues style, you might hear some grumbling from other bluegrass pickers.
Bluegrass solos can be as hot and wild as any rock n' roll solo, it's just done on acoustic instruments. You can apply most of your blues soloing experience to bluegrass. The major difference is rhythm.
Listen to as much bluegrass as you can, especially early Bill Monroe. Pick an instrument and listen to what it does during the song, then listen to what another instrument is doing in that same song. In a traditional bluegrass band, the fiddle is the only instrument that can sustain a note for numerous beats. The harmonica can also do this, so you may want to pay close attention to what the fiddles are doing.
Try to emulate what these other instruments are doing, especially with rhythm. You will draw on what several instruments contribute to create your own style.
I've based my bluegrass-rhythm style largely on Monroe's mandolin, whose primary contribution in rhythm is a strong accent on the two and four beats, known as the chop chord. Jerome Godboo of Brokenjoe, the best bluegrass player I've ever heard, apparently has drawn his inspiration from melodic-style banjo. -
Step 3
Learn how to identify guitar chords. You can back any song without having heard it before simply by watching the guitar player. When he switches from G to D, for instance, so do you. You can also watch the mandolin, but it is easier to identify chord formations on the guitar.
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Step 4
Learn your chords, just like you would on a guitar or any other instrument.
Bluegrass players tend to play and think in the key of G, which I've actually heard called the key of "Geee Haaaw!" If they play in A, the guitar players capo on the second fret. Mandolin players simply move their G chord formation up two steps.
Learn the chords for a C harmonica in second position G. When you play in A, think of it as moving a capo up two frets, you play the same way in each key.
In the key of G, the main chords will be G, C, D as well as G7. You'll also see Em a lot. The G chord is 2, 3, and 4 draw. The C chord is any three blow notes on the harmonica, but you will typically play it 2, 3, and 4 blow. -
Step 5
Other chords:
A regular-tuned diatonic harmonica can not play a true D chord, but you have viable options. You can play 4, 5, and 6 draw for a D minor. Since, in the key of G, the D is the five chord and has the most tension of the progression, the D minor will work and can add to that tension. I prefer to play a tongue-block octave of the 1 and 4 draw for the D chord. Put your mouth over holes 1 - 4, cover holes two and three with your tongue and draw.
The G7 is most often used to transition from the G chord to the C chord and doesn't last for more than a measure. You have two options here, you can bend the two draw down from a G to an F to hit the seventh note, or play the G7 octave with a tongue-block octave on the 2 and 5 draw notes.
You can't play a complete Em chord, which has the notes E, G, B, but you can play the 2 blow and 3 blow together for the E and G. Mandolin players play two-note "chords" all the time. It's called a double stop. If you want, you could also play the notes one at a time, two blow for the E, two draw or three blow for the G, then 3 draw for the B.
If you a chord comes up that throws you, and it will, playing the root note (the note the chord is named for) will work. -
Step 6
Applying your chords to the music.
My chord playing is similar to the mandolin. The accent is on the two and four beats. However, if you try to play only on the two and four beats, it will not only get boring, your lungs wonát be able to stand it.
I play patterns that are maybe six beats long with two beats rest or a similar variation. In the six-beat example, I play four beats with accent on the 2 and 4, then an accent on the two in the next measure with a two-beat rest. That's just an example, the pattern depends on the song and, more importantly, what the rhythm guitar is doing.
My patterns incorporate upstrokes and downstrokes, like a guitar. When you are playing a G chord, 2-4 draw, for instance, think of the draw chord as the downstroke of a guitar. Blow on the 2-4 holes for the C chord as a downstroke. When you play the C chord, this is reversed. -
Step 7
Solo your heart out.
The bluegrass solo is as wild and hot as you want it to be. Don't hold back nobody else is. Much of the beauty of bluegrass lies in the unrestrained solo. Typically, you rarely solo on the chorus progression. It's nearly always the verse and you get one verse. At the end of your verse, it's someone else' turn. Listen to the transition between solos on recordings, pickers usually play a "tag" at the end of their solo, a short, musical statement that ends the solo on the root note of the I chord. The "shave and a haircut, two bits" ditty is an example of a tag, only shave and a haircut is a universal signal to end the piece. -
Step 8
When to solo, when to not.
Bluegrass is a fast, hard hitting style of music, but orchestration is full of nuance.
Even in a jam situation,there is a leader -- it's usually the singer. When he gives you a nod, or it might even be just a glance, let it rip. If there are no nods in your jam, you just have to jump in.If you and someone else start a solo at the same time, back off. It's common courtesy. When the next solo comes around, everyone will know it is your turn. Bluegrass pickers keep track of these things. Everybody gets a solo. If everybody is rip-roaring on a tune, the solos might go on for 20 minutes. Iáve seen jams themselves last 20 hours. -
Step 9
Where to play.
Bluegrass musicians are everywhere. My town, for instance, has a half dozen public bluegrass jams every month --- that I know of. Look around. Find a bluegrass festival and bring your harps. While there may be players on the stage, the real music is in the campsites. Those jams last for days, all you have to do is show up. -
Step 10
Learn some fiddle tunes.
Fiddles tunes, you memorize or learn on the spot. Anywhere you find bluegrass pickers, you'll find some fiddle tunes. Glen Weiser has an excellent book of fiddle tunes for harmonica. -
Step 11
If you'd like to hear some bluegrass harmonica, check out the links below in the "resources" section.
