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Does anyone use CBG's for a music genre besides blues?

It seems that the only interest in CBG's is for playing blues slide. Does anyone use it for say country, or blue grass?

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Permalink Reply by jim on May 23, 2014 at 4:51am

yes

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Permalink Reply by Kirk on May 23, 2014 at 4:53am

Got any links to videos or anything?

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Permalink Reply by Richey Kay on May 23, 2014 at 5:19am

I think if you have a look through the vids you'll see plenty of different music styles Kirk. Rock, metal, bluegrass, country, indie, physchedelia, punk, neo-classical, and etc. Have a look at the vids on my page, I don't play slide and I ain't got the blooz :-)

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Permalink Reply by Matthew Borczon on May 23, 2014 at 5:36am

Here is a link to some folk and country music I make with only cbgs. All availablehttp://jerusalemmules.bandcamp.com/ for download for free or any price you see fit. Enjoy. I love blues but think there are too many here who di it better.....matt

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Permalink Reply by Ron "Oily" Sprague on May 23, 2014 at 5:51am

Kirk,

Check out the music and vids on my profile page. I play as many styles as I can work on 3, 4 and 6 string CBGs. I love the blues,but there are plenty of blacks, reds, and purples in my sonic palette.

http://www.cigarboxnation.com/profile/RonaldSprague

Enjoy!

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Permalink Reply by TN Twang on May 23, 2014 at 6:39am

I've been trying to play gospel and country with local bluegrass pickers while using unfretted 3-strings with slide. I usually tune F#ad or G#be so I can strum or pick major chords as needed. (Picking chord tones one at a time with a flat pick or 3 banjo-style finger picks seems to work best.)

I play some flat-pick lead, but that's usually more successful on older "pentatonic" tunes like "Amazing Grace" or "I'll Fly Away."

I mostly pick lead on the two highest strings (a & d or b & e). I like to tune the lowest string to the 3rd of the chord to get a fuller harmony, but I can play the same things with "power chord" tuning (DAd)--it just doesn't sound quite as complete.

You could also tune DGb (See Keni Lee Burgess videos.) and play lead as if they were the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th strings of either a banjo or a regular-tuned 6-string guitar. See my positive review of "Bluegrass Songbook" by Peter Wernick on the CBG Tabs group. He's got a lot of tunes tabbed for DGb. Be warned, some of Wernick's tabs are hard to play unless you've got frets.

Last weekend, I showed up at a "pickin" with a 1-string canjo fretted like a dulcimer. In general, it was better received than the CBG because the pickers know and respect the dulcimer. They bought into my "creation" as a poor man's substitute. I'm thinking about putting a piezo on one so I can boost the sound a little more.

I also keep trying to play J.S. Bach's "Air on the G String" for violin on the CBG, but so far it's been pretty bad.

Keep trying weird stuff, Who knows what'll work...