LOCALadk Magazine

30 Spring 2016 LOCALadk Magazine LOCALadk Intro to Bluegrass The silly song "Frog Went A Courtin" might seem out of place in a bluegrass jam. As the students play out the roles of Miss Mouse, Frog and Uncle Rat, they are aware of the melting pot origins of bluegrass, with songs like "Frog" having roots in Irish, Scottish, Welsh and English music dating back to the 1600s. An- other BGNG course requirement, 'An Introduction to Bluegrass Music' taught by musician and librarian Tim Hartnett, highlights those links and bluegrass's threads to African American gospel and blues. Students become familiar with the great names in twentieth century bluegrass, including Bill Monroe, a Kentucky native widely considered to be the "Father of Bluegrass" and from whose band, the Blue Grass Boys, the genre takes its name. Then it is on to Earl Scruggs, whose three-finger banjo-picking style became his namesake. His "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" with Lester Flatt is one of the great bluegrass instrumentals of all time. Third in the bluegrass triumvirate are the Stanley Broth- ers, whose mournful cover of "Man of Constant Sorrow" was popularized in the movie Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? Hartnett's students are fortunate: they are not required to mem- orize endless names and dates. He believes, "Bluegrass is best understood and appreciated by experiencing it live, by bringing it into the classroom." Leaning heavily on the experiential as- pect, he regularly invites the region's finest acoustic musicians into the classroom so that students can hear the music live, ask them questions, and even play their instruments. Visiting musi- cal guests have included Big Slyde, Beartracks, Dr. Steve Light, the Director of BGNG, Adirondack folk legend Roy Hurd, Frank Orsini, Skip Smithson, the Too Tall String Band and Beartracks' Tom Venne and Julie Venne Hogan joined by Eric Gibson and Mike Barber. In addition, Hartnett refers the students to the li- brary's extensive collection of over two hundred bluegrass CD's, donated by Eric Gibson, WAMU Bluegrass Country radio DJ and Gibson family friend Katy Daley and BGNG's donor. The Bluegrass Ensemble After initially being tapped as a bluegrass guitar instructor in the spring semester of 2015, Venne was asked to teach the Blue- grass Ensemble, a one credit course that is at the forefront of accomplishing the BGNG's most important goal: bringing blue- grass music to those who might never be exposed to it. Honing the students' technical skills at the jams, teaching them how to play leads and understanding and experimenting with the blue- grass vernacular by "bluegrassifying" songs like "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynyrd Skynyrd and "House of the Rising Sun" by The Animals was setting the stage, pun intended, for their live performances. When their academic schedules permitted, the students played for audiences at Peru Central School, the Samuel F. Vilas Home for seniors, and Wood, Wire and Voice coffeehouse - all with great success. "The crowds loved them," said Venne. "I told them, 'this is what it should feel like when you come off the

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