Richard Walker writes: | Learn the 1, 4 and 5 chords for the keys of D, G and A. | Practice them. ... and just guess along where to put what.
Also, Bluegrass musicians think that the chord on the flat 7th is a regular harmony, so you should know where those are, too. It's a symptom of the style's Appalachian roots, which are basically Scottish with a few centuries of independent evolution. If you're familiar with trad Scottish music (and I've heard rumors that Jack just might be ;-), Bluegrass won't be much of a stretch. | Play relatively softly (you really have no worries - an | autoharp in with banjos, guitars, fiddles, etc.?) | HAVE FUN. It's a hoot. | If they ask you want you want to play, say something like, | "Ummmmm, let me see, 'Will the Circle Be Unbroken.'" Yeah, just hang out, listen to the songs, and play along when you think you've got the pattern. Act modest. They probably won't ask an autoharpist to lead an instrumental unless you let it be known that you'd like to take a lead. It's a bit unusual to hear solo autoharp in Bluegrass circles (though it's not unknown). Life is harder for a novice Bluegrass guitarist, since that's considered a solo melody instrument (to make up for the way that the mandolinists take over the usual guitar job of playing chords ;-). To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
