How Do I
Bluegrass Music
The Music Department has a wealth of resources for bluegrass musicians and enthusiasts. From instructional books and songbooks to audio and video material, all you need is your library card to take some items home with you. Next thing you know, you'll be happily at home reading, listening or picking the hours away!
Here are just a few examples of the materials we have:
Bluegrass Books - History & Criticism
| AUTHOR / TITLE | CALL NUMBER |
| The Bluegrass Reader | ML3520.B54 2004 |
| Fleischhauer, Carl Bluegrass Odyssey: A Documentary in Pictures and Words, 1966-1986 | q ML3520.F6 2001 |
| Ledgin, Stephanie P. Homegrown Music: Discovering Bluegrass |
ML3520.L43 2004 |
| Rosenberg, Neil V. Bluegrass: A History |
ML3520 .R67 1985 |
| Willis, Barry R. America's Music: Bluegrass (A History of Bluegrass Music in the Words of Its Pioneers) | q ML3520.W55 1992 |
Return to the topBluegrass Periodicals
The Music Department subscribes to the monthly publications Bluegrass Unlimited and Banjo Newsletter.
Bluegrass Songbooks
| AUTHOR / TITLE | CALL NUMBER |
| Bluegrass Complete (voice & piano, incl. guitar & banjo chords) | (r)q M1630.18 .B6247 1997x |
| Cyporyn, Dennis Bluegrass Songbook: Eighty-eight Original Folk and Old-time Mountain Tunes (banjo, guitar, voice) |
q M1630.18.C97 B6 |
| Jones, Edward Huws The American Fiddler : Old-time, Bluegrass, Cajun and Texas Style Fiddle Tunes of the USA (violin, piano) |
q M1629.A48 1998x |
| Monroe, Bill Monroe Instrumentals: 25 Bill Monroe Favorites (mandolin, fiddle) | q M130.M66 M6 2002x |
| Trischka, Tony The Tony Trischka Collection (banjo) |
q M121.T66 1999x |
| Wernick, Peter Bluegrass Songbook (banjo, guitar, voice) |
q M1630.18 .B625 |
Bluegrass Books - Instruction & Study
The Music Department has books on how to play the various traditional bluegrass instruments. Here are some examples:
| AUTHOR / TITLE | CALL NUMBER |
| Griffin, Neil Mel Bay's Deluxe Bluegrass Banjo Method |
q MT562 .G72x |
| Kochman, Marilyn, ed. Big Book of Bluegrass |
q ML3520 .B5 1984x |
| Statman, Andy Teach Yourself Bluegrass Mandolin |
q MT608 .S85 |
| Thompson, Eric Bluegrass Flatpicking and Crosspicking Guitar |
q MT582.T499 2003x |
| Thompson, Eric Fancy Fiddle Tunes for Flatpicking Guitar |
q MT582.T4995 2003x |
| White, Roland Roland White's Approach to Bluegrass Mandolin |
q MT602.W35 2001x |
| Wicklund, Brian American Fiddle Method |
q MT279.5.W57 1997x |
Bluegrass CDs
The father of bluegrass is Bill Monroe (1911-1996) and the Music Department has over twenty CDs with his music. Start with him and then move on to discs by his bandmates, Earl Scruggs and Lester Flatt. Another important act during the formative years of bluegrass is the Stanley Brothers (and brother Ralph Stanley is still playing music today).
Below are some multi-disc box sets to get you familiar with the early days of bluegrass:
| ARTIST / TITLE | CALL NUMBER |
| The Best of King and Starday Bluegrass | Cw Bes #22998 |
| Blazing Bluegrass | Cw Bla #26601 |
| Bluegrass Bonanza | Cw Blu #18512 |
| Bluegrass: Classic Sides Remastered | Cw Blu #23572 |
| Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs and the Stanley Brothers Selected Sides, 1947-1953: The Very Best of Bluegrass | Cw Fla #26592 |
| Bill Monroe & His Bluegrass Boys All the Classic Releases, 1937-1949 |
Cw Mon #23702 |
And finally, you can do a subject search in our catalog for Bluegrass music -- 2001-2010 to find dozens of CDs by artists still performing this music today.
Bluegrass Videos & DVDs
History & Performance
| TITLE | CALL NUMBER |
| Bill Monroe: Father of Bluegrass Music | (DVD) ML420.M5595 B54 1999x |
| Bill Monroe: The Legend Lives On | (DVD) M1630.18.B4617 2003x |
| Bluegrass Journey | (DVD) ML3520.B537 2003x |
| Grassroots to Bluegrass | (VIDEO) Mus G Gras vol. 1-10 |
| High Lonesome: The Story of Bluegrass Music | (VIDEO) Mus G Hig |
How-To Videos & DVDs
| TITLE | CALL NUMBER |
| The Banjo of Ralph Stanley | (DVD) MT568.B26 2005x |
| Bluegrass Fiddle Boot Camp | (DVD) MT262.B68 2002x |
| Bluegrass Jamming: A Guide for Newcomers and Closet Pickers | (VIDEO) Mus I Ban |
| Bluegrass Mandolin | (DVD) MT608.B58 2005x |
| Essential Techniques for Dobro | (DVD) MT599.D6 E87 2002x |
| Learning Bluegrass Fiddle | (DVD) MT279.5.L43 2004x |
| The Sam Bush Mandolin Method | (DVD) MT602.S15 2003x |
Remember, we have many more items in all of the above categories so please ask a librarian if you wish to find more.
Updated by TRW. March 2007.
