Getting Kids into Bluegrass, It's not hard to do...

This editorial ran in the Summer 2005 Issue of the Bluegrass Journal

Written by Dave Russell • All Rights Reserved by the Author, July 2005
Reprint Rights Available by Contacting the Author or The Bluegrass Journal Editor

A few years ago, I was at a bluegrass festival and saw something that really burned my onion. The mandolin player from a band that had just finished performing and was approached by three kids, not more than ten or eleven years old. They asked if he would show them his mandolin. I was shocked when he ignored them and simply walked away as if they didnÕt exist. Those three kids looked embarrassed and disappointed. Perhaps he had a load of trouble on his mind, or maybe he was just having a bad day, but I still donÕt think that is an excuse to treat people, especially children, in such a manner. Not long after that, at another festival, I watched in horror when a little boy asked a prominent banjo player if he could strum his banjo. This musician barked at the kid and said ÒNo! This banjo is worth too much money for me to let people paw at it!Ó What kinds of messages are we giving children when we respond to them in this manner?

These comments in no way apply to the many people who get their children involved in bluegrass music, and IÕm not trying to imply that this is an epidemic problem in the world of bluegrass music. There are many others, however, who drag their kids along to festivals and turn them loose while they visit and jam with friends. Some kids could care less about playing the music, but a number of youngsters IÕve talked to say their parents have never tried to get them involved in playing. WhatÕs up with that?

A few years ago, I met an elderly gentleman who was bragging on his little grandsonÕs banjo playing. He was beaming from ear to ear as this little guy sat there and picked a pretty good rendition of Shuckin the Corn. This grandfather said that he involved all of his grandchildren in the music by the time they were five years old. They used to watch him pick all the time at home, and simply learned it by example. I think that this is one of the answers to the concern that many people have about the lack of young people getting into bluegrass. This hit home to me while at a festival in 2001. A twelve year old boy asked me if I would show him how to do right hand rolls on the banjo. I sat down with him for about thirty minutes and showed him a few right hand roll patterns on my banjo. He was grinning like a Cheshire cat as he clumsily picked away. The following year, at the same festival, this boyÕs father walked up and said, ÒYou donÕt know what that meant to my boy when you showed him those rolls last year. We got him a banjo, and heÕs playing pretty wellÓ. Sure enough, I went to their camp site, and heard him picking some decent banjo for such a short time.

I know for a fact that there are many other musicians taking the time to encourage kids to get involved in the music, but I think we need to do even more to fill the gaps.

Kids learn by example and itÕs up to us to role-model the example to them. Though there are exceptions to every rule, children will do what we do, say what we say, believe what we believe, and often love what we love. I also know, from the experience of raising my four children, that when they get older they try to gain independence and often do the opposite of their parents. This is why itÕs important to get them interested and in love with the music in the early years.

Look at the examples of many of the great bluegrass musicians who involved their own children in the music. These would include the children of Earl Scruggs, Don Reno, Del McCoury, Bill Monroe, Jimmy Martin, Charlie Waller, Jesse McReynolds, Red Allen, Bobby Osborne, the Lewis Family, the Sullivans, David Parmaly, and Raymond McLain to name a few.

Great musicians, like Ricky Skaggs, Alison Krauss, and Rhonda Vincent, were privileged to grow up in homes where their parents were involved in music and encouraged them to pursue excellence in their music. Not everyone is going to become a professional bluegrass musician, but this is not the point. We can still pass on the bluegrass tradition to children, whether theyÕre our own or just kids we know. Getting them involved in the activities of the music are important to help them develop a love for it.

We need to bring them along to festivals and live shows, and introduce them to musicians who have learned the craft. If a child has learned to play an instrument, they need to be taken seriously by the adults who also play. This means including them in jam sessions, and picking parties wherever they may be happening. It means getting them lessons and encouraging them to stick with it. We need to give children a chance to try it out, and, sometimes, this is as simple as placing an instrument in their hands right away, even if they have never played before.

My good friend, Mitch Manns, did this exact thing with my oldest son Kurt (now 20) when he was eleven years old. I brought Kurt to almost every bluegrass show I played and he became interested in bluegrass guitar during this time. One day, while tuning up to practice, Mitch said to Kurt, ÒHave you ever played mandolin?Ó Kurt said, no. Mitch then handed him a mandolin and said, ÒWell, start playing.Ó He showed Kurt some chords and within a week or two, he was clean enough to chop some good timing on stage with us. This taught me a huge lesson. I had never thought to do this with my own son. Sure, I always encouraged him, and made sure he had decent instruments to play, but Mitch, I believe, had the best approach when it comes to inspiring kids to play. Kurt still talks about that experience to this day, and says it was a major reason why he fell in love with bluegrass music, and is a very serious guitar player today.

I think things are looking great for bluegrass music, and I think we will see a growing interest in children towards bluegrass music. Fortunately, organizations like the IBMA are continually pushing for bluegrass music in the schools of America, but they alone canÕt do it all. If each of us takes the time to inspire children to love this music, we can accomplish more than a thousand IBMAs or SPGMAs. Think of how many more young people would be involved in the music if more of us focused on getting them interested in what weÕre doing? The results would be unbelievable.