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Bluegrass.
A growing collection of bluegrass standards, old-time tunes, and fiddle favorites. Every song has its key, chord progression, and history. Public domain songs also have lyrics and free sheet music. All written by a picker for pickers.
All 54 songs.
Learn the tradition.
Articles about bluegrass history, instruments, and how to jam.
Bluegrass jam etiquette: the unwritten rules of the circle
Twelve unwritten rules of a bluegrass jam: when to join, how loud to play, how breaks move around the circle, and what to do when you do not know the song.
Bluegrass vs old-time music: how the jams differ
Bluegrass and old-time music share tunes and instruments. In a bluegrass jam players trade solo breaks and sing harmony. In an old-time jam everyone plays the tune together.
Easy bluegrass songs for your first jam
Ten easy bluegrass songs to learn before your first jam, with the common jam key and the chords by number for each one. Most use only the 1, 4, and 5 chords.
Fiddle tunes to learn first for a bluegrass jam
Twelve fiddle tunes to learn first for a bluegrass jam, grouped by key, with free sheet music for six of them and a plan for learning one tune a week.
Fiddle vs violin: what changes when you play bluegrass
A fiddle and a violin are the same instrument. The difference is the music and how it is played: by ear, with rhythm bowing, slides, drones, and tunes built for dancing.
How fiddle tunes are built: A parts and B parts
Most fiddle tunes have an A part and a B part, each played twice. Learn the AABB form, how to count it, and how to keep your place when a tune goes around the circle.