BBE (Banjo Before Earl) was either played in the Jazz genre (tenor banjo - 4 string) or in the Popular genre (5 string). The type of music I play is in the latter format; it predates what people today know as "Bluegrass".
Because Old Time music is not Bluegrass, then what is it? Well, you might say that it is the Grandaddy of Bluegrass. The Bluegrass player will pick upwards on the strings. The Old Time player will pluck downward on the strings. These playing techniques are what make Bluegrass banjo "loud and tinny" and Old Time banjo soft and mellow.
A typical (and familiar to most) Bluegrass tune is Dueling Banjos. That is something that Old Time players don;t play. A typical Old Time tune would be Bonaparte Crossing the Rhine; it is something that Bluegrassers won't touch.
Maybe it would help to juxtapose artists of both genres:
OLD TIME:
- Taj Mahal
- Steve Martin
- Kyle Creed
BLUEGRASS:
- Ralph Stanley
- Earl Scruggs
- J.D. Crowe
