Masters Theses

Date of Award

8-2023

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Music

Major

Music

Major Professor

Nathen E. Fleshner

Committee Members

Nathan E. Fleshner, Barbara A. Murphy, Robert J. Sivy

Abstract

In 2010, Fred Bartenstein’s detailed the voice stackings found in bluegrass in his article “Bluegrass Voicings.” [1]This paper will go beyond this discussion of the arrangement of voices to an examination of the harmonic voicing styles found in bluegrass music. Stamps-Braxter’s 1937 arrangement of “Farther Along”[2] and transcriptions of recordings by bluegrass legends Bill Monroe, Stanley Brothers, Reno & Smiley, the Osborne Brothers, Dolly Parton, and the Grascals will be used as a case study to look at multiple chord voicings. Based on the analyses of these transcriptions, a list of “voice leading conventions” for bluegrass compositions will be presented.

[1] Fred Bartenstein, “Bluegrass Vocals” Fred Bartenstein: Bartenstein & Bluegrass, 2010, http://fredbartenstein.com/bgvocals.html.

[2] “Farther along by Bill Monroe and His Blue Grass Boys,” Second Hand Songs - A Cover Songs Database, accessed March 4, 2023, https://secondhandsongs.com/performance/365513/versions.

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