Gems of Bluegrass

Series produced by Philip Nusbaum

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short modules about bluegrass music

Each under 5-minutes, highly produced "Gems of Bluegrass" module discusses a key element of bluegrass music. Some Gems of Bluegrass relate to a particular bluegrass style or sub style, repertoire, commonplace bluegrass themes, playing techniques or study the work of a particular artist.

Each Gem of Bluegrass contains snips of music taken from CD, along with Phil Nusbaum's commentary. Phil is an experienced radio producer, bluegrass scholar and bluegrass performer.

Each Gem of Bluegrass also appears on the Bluegrass Review broadcast with the same number. (The Bluegrass Review is a one-hour bluegrass show available free of charge from PRX, or from Phil Nusbaum. For information on the show, see the Bluegrass Review listing on Phil Nusbaum's section of the PRX website or go to www.bluegrassreview.com.

Gems of Bluegrass fit well on established Bluegrass or folk shows, and can be used to forward promote the Bluegrass Review. Hide full description

Each under 5-minutes, highly produced "Gems of Bluegrass" module discusses a key element of bluegrass music. Some Gems of Bluegrass relate to a particular bluegrass style or sub style, repertoire, commonplace bluegrass themes, playing techniques or study the work of a particular artist. Each Gem of Bluegrass contains snips of music taken from CD, along with Phil Nusbaum's commentary. Phil is an experienced radio producer, bluegrass scholar and bluegrass performer. Each Gem of Bluegrass also appears on the Bluegrass Review broadcast with the same number. (The Bluegrass Review is a one-hour bluegrass show available free of charge from PRX, or from Phil Nusbaum. For information on the show, see the Bluegrass Review listing on Phil Nusbaum's section of the PRX website or go to... Show full description


363 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
Caption: Phil w/ 2012 Zeitfunk  , Credit: Karen Van Norman
Most definitions of bluegrass tell you that the bluegrass instruments are the guitar, banjo, fiddle, mandolin and bass. And it might tell you that ...

  • Added: Jan 26, 2015
  • Length: 06:21
Caption: Phil w/ 2012 Zeitfunk  , Credit: Karen Van Norman
What a beautiful thing it is when you see someone pull out a 5-dollar harmonica out of an overalls pocket and proceed to catch everyone’s attention...

  • Added: Jan 01, 2015
  • Length: 07:34
Caption: Phil w/ 2012 Zeitfunk  , Credit: Karen Van Norman
Bluegrass music has always been driven by a combination of full time pros and amateurs. Their reasons for playing and singing are not always the sa...

  • Added: Dec 27, 2014
  • Length: 07:08
Caption: Philip Nusbaum, Credit: Karen Van Norman
In folk music including bluegrass, musicians have always learned from other musicians. But where it used to be person to person locally, now its fr...

  • Added: Nov 27, 2014
  • Length: 07:07
Caption: Phil w/ 2012 Zeitfunk  , Credit: Karen Van Norman
Gems of Bluegrass are 5 - 8 minutes drop-in modules that look at bluegrass / old time history, aesthetics and culture, conceived broadly. Each Gem ...

  • Added: Nov 20, 2014
  • Length: 05:58
Caption: Phil w/ 2012 Zeitfunk, Credit: Karen Van Norman
It’s always been true that when cultures contact each other they influence each other. And with the variety of music styles old and new so easily a...

  • Added: Nov 10, 2014
  • Length: 07:22
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Bluegrass, especially the old bluegrass, has a lot of nature references. There are many songs about spring. But what about Autumn?

  • Added: Nov 01, 2014
  • Length: 05:13
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Some say that it isn’t bluegrass without the banjo. You could argue that one I suppose, but it is hard to argue that Scruggs-style banjo is the lea...

  • Added: Oct 23, 2014
  • Length: 08:16
Caption: Phil w/ 2012 Zeitfunk  , Credit: Karen Van Norman
For a long time, the fiddle was the only bluegrass instrument with a really deep catalog of tunes. But the other instruments have their places in t...

  • Added: Oct 09, 2014
  • Length: 06:47
Caption: Philip Nusbaum w/ 2012 Zeitfunk           , Credit: Karen Van Norman
Even though bluegrass music is undergoing change, one of the story lines in today’s Bluegrass music is the founder of bluegrass, Bill Monroe. Bill’...

  • Added: Sep 22, 2014
  • Length: 06:23
Caption: Phil w/ 2012 Zeitfunk  , Credit: Karen Van Norman
Many view the violin or fiddle as the king of the instruments played within the bluegrass tradition. If you hold that view. Why? It has to do with ...

  • Added: Sep 12, 2014
  • Length: 07:47
Caption: Phil w/ 2012 Zeitfunk  , Credit: Karen Van Norman
These days there are no rules regarding what a song should be written about. Why not motorcycles? We’ve got two, and they display contrasting visio...

  • Added: Sep 06, 2014
  • Length: 07:48
Caption: Phil w/ 2012 Zeitfunk  , Credit: Karen Van Norman
Bluegrass Music came into being in the 1940s, a combination of the evolving string band, Bill Monroe’s genius, and with a big assist from Earl Scru...

  • Added: Aug 24, 2014
  • Length: 05:16
Caption: Philip Nusbaum w/ 2012 Zeitfunk           , Credit: Karen Van Norman
Not too long ago, Adam Granger and the late Lyle Lofgren guested on the show, talking about bluegrass disaster songs. As you know, many bluegrass s...

  • Added: Aug 23, 2014
  • Length: 08:38
Caption: Phil w/ 2012 Zeitfunk  , Credit: Karen Van Norman
Nothing drove Europeans to the United States like the promise of personal independence. In England, there was a lot of cooperative farming. In the ...

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  • Added: Aug 12, 2014
  • Length: 08:16
  • Purchases: 1
Caption: Phil w/ 2012 Zeitfunk  , Credit: Karen Van Norman
Nostalgia and happiness. They are not all they are cracked up to be. Well, at least not in Bluegrass Songs. It’s because in bluegrass songs, nostal...

  • Added: Jun 17, 2014
  • Length: 04:55
Caption: Phil w/ 2012 Zeitfunk  , Credit: Karen Van Norman
Play bluegrass music from the 1940 and compare it to what’s being played today. You’ll hear some changes, but overall, you can tell that the two so...

  • Added: May 16, 2014
  • Length: 07:21
Caption: Philip Nusbaum w/ 2012 Zeitfunk           , Credit: Karen Van Norman
In the 1940s, Bill Monroe created the bluegrass format that others followed. By the early 1950s bluegrass groups made up a small but identifyable p...

  • Added: May 11, 2014
  • Length: 07:44
Caption: Philip Nusbaum, Credit: Karen Van Norman
When Bill Monroe started the bluegrass boys, he was looking for a new sound. But his ideas about what that sound would be were not well formed. Ove...

  • Added: May 05, 2014
  • Length: 06:02
Caption: Phil w/ 2012 Zeitfunk  , Credit: Karen Van Norman
When it comes to well-known songs, there are always multiple versions. You might even say that songs become vehicles for the individual styles of p...

  • Added: Apr 28, 2014
  • Length: 05:33