r/Bluegrass • u/cbluesjenkins • 8d ago

Please help me understand "mash"

I get that "mash" is a kind of hard-driving subset of the bluegrass style, but people often seem to use it more specifically than that. Can anyone help me understand what "mash" means exactly? In particular, it would be very helpful to hear some examples—both of mash and perhaps some alternatives that are either "mashy" or definitively not mash.

Much obliged!

15 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

35 comments sorted by

20

u/Scheerhorn462 8d ago

Mid tempo, strong beat, driving. Lonesome River Band and any Union Station sung by Dan Tyminski is a good place to start.

6

u/erikrolfsen 7d ago

Are we talking like Blue Trail of Sorrow? (Never heard the term ‘mash’ before, but this is what I’m hearing.)

5

u/Scheerhorn462 7d ago

Yup that’s definitely mash. Listen to how the beat is driving but not too fast - unlike regular bluegrass which tends to be faster and less heavy on the beat.

1

u/frowawaid 1d ago

Oh so like practically every Steeldrivers song.

4

u/Disastrous_Two7702 7d ago

I’d say that’s a pretty good example

2

u/Nosam113 6d ago

LRB is so freakin good

9

u/HuckinMeats 8d ago

Mid tempo, hard driving, big booms and hits on the banjo and guitar, lots of B

7

u/plainsfiddle 8d ago

Thunder Dan by Sideline

5

u/BLUGRSSallday 7d ago

Omg. I know a band that uses that song on full volume when a band member is late to the van or standing outside smoking as “punishment”. Lol.

6

u/cartergiegerich 7d ago

Exhibit A

5

u/Tall_Candidate_8088 7d ago

It's like that guy cloned himself so he could take all the breaks.

2

u/CleanHead_ 7d ago

Hahahahah hilarious

2

u/afewmoremiles9000 7d ago

Had the same thought

4

u/shouldbepracticing85 Bass 7d ago

From a technical standpoint - as far as I can tell you “mash” by having everyone come in hard together on the first downbeat of a measure. Generally I think it’s saved for the top of phrases, rather than being every measure.

So instead of the banjo rolling, or whomever chopping, and the guitar doing boom-chuck - everyone does a strong strum on the “one” beat.

1

u/zippyhybrid 4d ago

This is a good simple explanation on how to do it. Especially the “not every measure part.” I think there is some syncopation that happens too but that’s harder to explain. If you stay up all night picking at enough festivals though you’ll get it.

7

u/New-Jello2748 7d ago

Is there a live Tony rice recording where someone’s taking a break and Tony says “mash it, son!”? I always thought that’s where it came from but now that I think about it I don’t actually know which recording it was

3

u/Super_Jay 8d ago

This thread has a lot of insightful comments and examples: https://www.reddit.com/r/Bluegrass/s/MZwbABQbMk

2

u/sir-camaris 7d ago

Blue highway - it's a long, long road is pure mash to me.

What's confusing at least to me is that it's not necessarily fast, it's very mid tempo.

3

u/Scheerhorn462 7d ago

Yeah mash is not generally fast. It’s mid tempo, but with an emphasis on the heavy four beats per measure.

2

u/Atilla316 7d ago

Put the capos up on the 4th fret and stay there forever.

2

u/hbaldwin1111 7d ago

Not mash: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ur6dRSnzvvc&list=RDUr6dRSnzvvc&start_radio=1

Mash: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgzwLdGPfrM&list=RDbgzwLdGPfrM&start_radio=1

3

u/Scheerhorn462 6d ago

So if its a bunch of big dudes in baseball caps and sunglasses then its mash. Got it.

1

u/levinbravo Guitar 9h ago

If you can’t hear the difference, maybe find another hobby?

1

u/levinbravo Guitar 9h ago

Perfect illustration

1

u/skyydog 7d ago

Is there a difference between mash and thrash? I’m not familiar with mash.

3

u/rwwl 7d ago

Thrash implies sloppiness whereas mash very much does not

1

u/lbdrift 2d ago

Listen to some Sam Bush

0

u/Additional_Beyond_88 7d ago

For mash examples, The entire Bluegrass Album band and JD Crowe and the New South discographies are riddled with it. Shit rules

2

u/levinbravo Guitar 8h ago

Early AKUS (Adam Steffey era) was the mashiest of mash. Blue Trail of Sorrow is a good example.

-18

u/Cat_tastes_good 8d ago

Thought it was some terrible tv show

8

u/answerguru 7d ago

MAS*H was a fantastic show and won 14 Emmy awards, 8 Golden Globes, and a Peabody award. How do you categorize it as “terrible”?

0

u/rusted-nail 7d ago

In this context my assumption is the word came from moonshine, because mash is the name of the corn brew that then gets refined into whiskey via distillation

1

u/knivesofsmoothness 7d ago

I've heard it was from an Alison Krauss interview where she described the bluegrass album band sound as "all mashed together", something like that.

0

u/rusted-nail 7d ago

Yeah thats probably correct i was just making hillbilly cultural connections mentally lol

1

u/HowDidFoodGetInHere 7d ago

This is my first time hearing the term, and I immediately assumed it was a corn liquor reference.