The Difference between Bluegrass and Old Time Music

First of all you have to understand that this is my understanding of what I heard (very unofficial description.) My wife and I are on a trip thru Tennessee and North Carolina. While traveling along we’ve had the opportunity to listen and talk with several musicians. I was talking with a lady banjo player the other day, and asked her what the difference was between bluegrass and old time music. She said that originally in the hills around there, it started out with just a fiddler playing. It was used for barn dances and such. The next instrument to come along was the lap dulcimer. The fiddler would play for most of the time and then the dulcimer would help play (I think) during choruses and such. Eventually guitars and banjos were added. The style of banjo pickin’ was clawhammer. She demonstrated. This was basically “Old Time Music”. Everyone would basically play together thru the whole song.

When Bill Monroe came along he took over in the band (can’t remember which band) for (can’t remember who) and introduced a new style of banjo pickin’ …three finger style. He also introduced the idea of “breaks” where there would be instrumentals during the song that different individuals would take.

So I hope I described this okay. I’m sure there is more to it, but for me it is two things:

1. Does the banjo player play clawhammer style or three finger style

2. …and does everyone play together thru the whole song or are there breaks

I sat in on a jam in Asheville, NC (no I didn’t play…just listened). This was an “Old Time Music” jam held regularly on a Wednesday night at a pub in downtown Asheville. There I got to see first hand what that type of music was like. These were very good players. They played and sang with lots of energy and enthusiasm. Everyone did play the whole song together without the breaks that I hear in the Bluegrass jams back home. Hopefully, I can attach a picture that I took there.