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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.
A-style vs F-style mandolin: which to buy for bluegrass
A-style and F-style mandolins differ in body shape and price, not much in sound. Learn what the scroll does, why sound holes matter more, and which to buy for bluegrass.
Banjo rolls to learn first for bluegrass
Four banjo rolls to learn first: the alternating thumb roll, the forward-reverse roll, the forward roll, and the Foggy Mountain roll, with strings and fingers for each.
Bluegrass gospel songs for a jam
Six gospel songs that bluegrass jams sing again and again, with the common key and chords for each, and how gospel singing works in the circle and at a Sunday morning 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 country music: what is the difference?
Bluegrass is an acoustic string band style that grew out of country music in the 1940s. Compare the instruments, the singing, the solos, and the history of the two.
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.