Bluegrass in Schools

http://www.ibma.org/events.programs/schools/index.asp

The Foundation for Bluegrass Music believes strongly in passing bluegrass music along to the next generation of fans and musicians.

One of our goals is to help educators (elementary – university level, including home schooling parents) to become more “bluegrass aware.” Bluegrass music, a relatively new style of music (the classic sound jelled in the mid-‘40s with Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys), is one of the very few musical genres to originate in the United States—so it has a roots music cultural value for American students in particular. Like jazz and blues, it’s also a valid style of music for teaching improvisational skills.

Perhaps more so than most other genres, bluegrass music connects students to a larger, multi-generational community of musicians and fans who love the music. Learning to play a bluegrass instrument is usually a life skill—something that folks continue to do for a number of years after they leave high school music programs....