First gaining popularity within the United States in the early 1940s, bluegrass music is a style that’s easily recognizable. Marked by the “high lonesome sound” of a tenor lead, bluegrass is similar to jazz in the way that it offers its performers opportunities improvise and to take turns with the lead. The music is about every day life, more notably life living in the hills or on the farm.
While some may view the beginnings of bluegrass dating back to the early 1600s as immigrants from England, Scotland, and Ireland travelled to what is now the US, bluegrass as we know it today is often traced back to Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys. Named after their home state, Kentucky, Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys took the stage at the Grand Ole Opry in 1939 where he continued to perform until he passed in 1996. Taking inspiration from both white and black musical traditions, Monroe and his boys joined together to create the classic bluegrass sound. While the group saw its fair share of line up changes through out it’s 58-year history, most notable players include guitarist Lester Flatt, banjo player Earl Scruggs, upright bassist Cedric Rainwater, and fiddler Chubby Wise. Earl Scruggs and Lester Flatt later went on to create The Foggy Mountain Boys and introduced the Dobro to the music scene. Invented by the Dopyera Brothers, the Dobro was considered an obscure instrument at the time, however it grew in popularity when Brukeett H. Graves joined the group and adapted Scrugg’s unique three-finger picking style for the slide bar instrument. The Foggy Mountain Boys continued to push the sound of bluegrass and garnered attention with the release of “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” which was featured in the film Bonnie and Clyde. While bluegrass music is still alive and well today, it has seen a healthy dose of developments and changes in order to adapt and keep up with current music trends. Other musical elements such as jazz, rock, and pop were added leading to what some call “new grass” but the heart and traditions of the genre are still relevant today. Notable artists who have been inspired by bluegrass include Ricky Skaggs, Marty Stuart, and Alison Krauss. Never miss a thing and join our mailing list today.
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So, you’re thinking about recording? While the idea can be as terrifying as exciting, there is no reason why you should be scared. There are a few things to think about before walking into a professional recording session, but the most important thing is to remember to have fun and focus on the music. Here are five things to expect throughout your recording process.
Come Prepared Preparation is key when getting ready to record music. Write your song, practice, and rehearse. You don’t have to get it perfect all in one shot, but you need to know enough to perform it while recording. Define your Vision Have a discussion with your audio engineer. What are your goals, what do you hope to get from this project? Let him know the direction you want the project to go in and decide on a tone and feel for the music. Record This is where the fun begins. The first tracks will be recorded to set the composition and design of the piece. The initial tracks will serve as the baseline for your song and all other tracks will be layered against it. Expect to do a lot of takes and each instrument and vocal will need to be recorded separately to capture the best sound. It may feel like tedious work, but it will be worth it in the end. Mastering This is where the final touches will be made. All tracks will be put together, any additional instrumentals, and effects will also be applied to enhance the music. Make sure to work closely with your audio engineer to ensure that the track is developing the way you like it. Here at Ashcraft Studios, we require that you be present throughout the whole process so we can guarantee your happiness with the final product. Enjoy Your Song The rest is up to you. With your newly recorded and mastered song in hand the rest is up to you. You can keep it and share it with your friends, or promote it and share your vision with the world. The opportunities are endless and once you’ve got one recording under your belt you can be sure that you’ll want to do it again and that’s okay! Never miss a thing and join our mailing list today.
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For the past few weeks, we’ve talked about how music affects our minds and how different genres can impact the way we think and perceive the world. So now that we know the basics, the big question remains. Does it matter what kind of music we listen to? Let’s have a look.
First, let’s review what the pros and cons of listening to music are. Studies have revealed that listening to music offers a variety of benefits. Music has been proven to boost moods, increase focus, lower stress, and reduce pain. It has also been shown to increase academic performance, and speed up recovery in stroke patients. As far as cons, well there aren’t any really unless you count reduced productivity due to rocking out too hard. Now back to the matter of musical genres. As we established in our previous blogs, the effect music has on us tends to correlate with the style of music. We learned that classical music can help boost IQ and increase focus. Pop music can boost energy levels. Rap music can inspire and motivate while helping to combat depression. Country music makes us reminisce. Jazz music boosts productivity, and heavy metal offers a sense of community. So, which is the best style of music? The answer is simple. Whatever your favorite music is, that is the best music for you to listen to. While it’s true that you can reap many benefits from listening to various styles of music, the style that you like the most is going to have the greatest impact. So, go ahead and put on your favorite song, turn the volume up, and rock out to your heart’s content. Well, that wraps up our little series on music’s effect on the brain. Make sure you check in next week to see what we’ll talk about next! Don’t forget to subscribe so you won’t miss it! Never miss a thing and join our mailing list today.
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For the past few weeks, we’ve been talking about music on the brain. We’ve had discussions about how music is heard and how it affects us physically and emotionally and how different types of music have different effects on us. Last week we talked about classical, pop, and rap music can help us achieve goals such as stay more focused, get energized, or help us cope with our lives. This week we’re continuing the music genre discussion to take a look at how Country music, jazz music, and heavy metal can help us too.
Country Music As our resident artist, Stanford Lee once said, country music is “a longing for home and hardship, and some drinking and heartache. It’s a story I can tell…” Country music, in short, is about our lives and experiences steeped in heartfelt memories and tradition. Because of country music’s use of universal stories of humanity, the genre can unify and connect listeners creating a community of shared experiences Jazz Music Because of its complexity, Jazz Music has a way of forcing listeners into interpreting the music rather than following a specific melody or rhythm. The experimental and often improvised musical behavior and increase neural stimulation, engaging the mind, increasing motivation, and boosting productivity. Smooth jazz on the other hand has a different effect resulting in stress reduction, lowered blood pressure, and even in some cases reduce pain. Heavy Metal It’s loud, it sounds angry, it’s the perfect way to get your heart pumping. Studies have shown that the fast-paced tempos and guttural tones in heavy music have many benefits to the human mind. Despite it’s fuming overtones, Heavy Metal music has been found to help combat feelings of anger and depression by reducing the cortisol, the stress hormone, in the body. In addition to biological reactions, Heavy Metal fans have also been found to have an increased sense of community due to the scene’s strong network of fans. Studies have also shown that younger fans of Heavy Metal listeners have a higher chance of growing up to become happier and well-adjusted individuals, and listeners of the genre also report feeling less angry after listening leading researchers to believe that Heavy Metal may be an effective way to regulate emotions. By now we’ve talked about six musical genres and their effects on our brains and emotions. But the big question here is, does it matter what kind of music we listen to? Join us next week to get the big answer. Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter so you don’t miss it! Never miss a thing and join our mailing list today.
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