If you happen to be in the basement of Building 2 at Sinclair Community College on a Saturday morning, you might hear something you might not have expected—a 30-instrument Bluegrass ensemble.
The Sinclair Bluegrass ensemble is a class of musicians who get together on Saturday and jam on bluegrass tunes. Beforehand there is an instructional course for all of the participants involved.
Bluegrass is a subgenre of country music, which was inspired by the music of the Appalachian region. It often incorporates eclectic instrumentation including banjos, mandolin, the dobro (lap guitar) and the fiddle along with more traditional instruments like the guitar and bass.
In the Bluegrass ensemble, many of the participants are not actual students.
“The class is mostly older folks, who are just auditing. It’s not really so much a class as it is a jam session,” says John Cummings, a student who has been taking the class every Winter and Fall Quarter since 2000.
This does not mean that there aren’t younger students who take the class for credit, or that there aren’t students who play in the ensemble who aren’t even of college age. Evan Lanier, 14, has been playing bluegrass instruments since before he can remember and often participates in the class. He is described by the other students as a “prodigy” and often helps the other students, especially the newcomers to stay in sync with the rest of the group. Lanier has also won the Indiana State Banjo Championship in the past and plays in a band called The Bluegrass Express.
The class has four instructors that are dedicated to teaching individual students the instruments that are present in the ensemble.
A bass player who uses an upright bass is usually present and participants also take turns singing songs for the ensemble. Students have the option of learning from any of the four instructors who will work with the players before the ensemble comes together. Students also ask each other for advice and help as well as the instructors. The teachers involved are Willard “Red” Spurlock (banjo), Ralph Brags (fiddle), Noel Bolen (guitar), Joe Bowman (mandolin) and Bob Hamblin who instructs the ensemble.
Even though many of the ensemble’s players are 60 or older, Hamblin is confident that the art form will continue on throughout future generations.
“[Bluegrass is] more popular now than it’s ever been, there are 24- hour bluegrass stations on XM Radio these days,” Hamblin says. “And many of our players just keep coming back. It’s a lot of fun.”
Hamblin grew up with a family that played bluegrass, and is a self-taught musician who started playing at an early age. He can be seen playing shows around Ohio in his group The Dixie Riders.
“It’s an interesting class in that there’s a varying level of experience amongst the players,” says Steve Jones, a banjo player who is in his fifth year of playing with the group. “We all get together and we learn from each other, it’s just pure enjoyment for me. Most of the music is written down in tabs, and a lot of improvisation is added by the players themselves as they see fit.”
In the past, students interested in taking the course were able to register in Winter or Fall Quarter under the course number MUS 298. The class is often only offered from September to March because in the spring and summer, the orchestra’s teachers and participants are often busy playing at Mountain Days Festival or other bluegrass events.
And while the schedule for semesters has not been finalized, the class will still be offered under MUS 298 W6.
“No experience is required and we spend more time with the students taking it for course credit than the auditors who have been here a while,” Hamblin says. “We are always looking for new players.”
- Sat. Jul 20th, 2024