Banjo Transformations and Bluegrass Rhythm

Abstract

Drawing ideas from transformational theory and rhythm and meter theory, this study examines bluegrass banjo music in terms of rhythm and motions of the human hand. It begins by presenting a mathematical model of the five-string banjo characterizing the gestural permutations that give rise to the instrument's rhythmic complexity. Drawing upon these permutational relationships, this study analyzes excerpts from bluegrass banjo repertoire in terms of the connections among rhythmic patterns rendered as beat-class sets. Last, it examines the interaction between these sets and metric hierarchies typical of bluegrass music, relating this interaction to the idea of “drive” discussed by bluegrass performers and listeners. Ultimately, this study suggest how bluegrass music gets its distinctively propulsive rhythmic energy while also providing a perspective on transformational and beat-class approaches to noncanonical music.

The ecological dynamics of trumpet improvisation

“…Changing the tuning to irregular intervals (like an open D tuning) instead makes it desirable to perform diatonically within the key of D. A guitarist could play chromatically in an open D tuning if the task specifically prescribed it; however, it is important to note the difference between what is specifically prescribed and what actions the instrument invites. Historically these idiomatic features have, over time, shaped the developments in musical genres and playing styles (De Souza 2017 ; Rockwell 2009 ). In later sections I will look at idiosyncratic features of the trumpet such as the mouthpiece, partial series, and valves.…”

The Techne of YouTube Performance: Musical Structure, Extended Techniques, and Custom Instruments in Solo Pop Covers

“…Anna Gawboy (2009), for example, has demonstrated how the twohanded arrangement of bu ons on the concertina affects how its players voice their chords. Joti Rockwell (2009) has proposed a detailed transformational model for banjo technique, which uses various aspects of performance (both right-hand fingerings, and the distinctive rhythmic phenomena that arise through the instrument's three-fingered plucking technique) not only to analyze the physical movements of banjo playing, but also as a way to understand the instrument's unique features and their ramifications for bluegrass style (such as picking techniqes and the use of the shorter and higher-pitched "drone string"). Timothy Koozin (2011), Jonathan De Souza (2018, and Nicholas Shea (2022) all build on these foundations in their analysis of rock guitar style, chronicling how open strings and fretboard spaces intersect with the shape of the human hand.…”

Machines and music: instrumental contributions to bluegrass

“…However, even though either passage can fit within the range of either instrument, the differences in tuning, along with the three-finger picking method common to bluegrass banjo playing (as opposed to guitar flatpicking), leads to the passage being played differently. The three-finger banjo style creates a strong performance preference for using a new finger or thumb in the picking hand for each note, as well as a new string for each note, which are both outlined in Joti Rockwell's banjo study (2009). Measure 4 provides a good comparison: the guitar plays a predominantly linear pattern like the fiddle and mandolin, whereas the banjo supplements the line with chord tones to ensure that no two consecutive notes are played on the same string.…”

“…Scruggs style uses three fingers (thumb, index and middle) and generally involves playing the melody notes on lower strings, while other strings intersperse the melody with chord tones, utilising different patterns of string ordering (referred to as banjo rolls). Some of the more common rolls and performance preferences of Scruggs-style playing are outlined in Rockwell (2009). ‘Melodic style’ and ‘single-string style’ are the other two frequent styles 4 .…”