Bluegrass And Geometry

Let's talk geometry for a few minutes. Specifically, let's talk about triangles with all three sides equal in measure - the Equilateral Triangle. Do you remember when you were in the grade school band with triangles and wooden blocks? Were those not the good old days? This is what my Bluegrass life has been reduced to - the lowly triangle; but at least I get to recognize the worth, quality and importance of my childhood.

It's a sad story really, but I'm not looking for your sympathy. The first instrument I tried to learn was a 5-string banjo. Well, that proved to be a tad difficult for me, so I moved on to a stand-up bass. "How hard could it be?" I wondered. Well, let's just say the bass proved too difficult as well. So, yesterday afternoon, I went to the MusicStop store in Saint John and bought me a triangle! How hard can it be?

Everyone knows I have strict rules as to the instrumentation I will allow at my Bluegrass jam sessions, so let me clarify why I need a triangle in a Bluegrass song. A small group of people, of which I'm a part of, have been working on the Flatt & Scruggs version of the Petticoat Junction theme song. Remember that old TV show that ran from 1963 to 1970? Well anyway, there are a couple of sound effects in the song that are done by a trainagle; at least that's what I think is being used to create the sounds. One of the sounds is a train bell and the other is a dinner bell. Come and ride the little train that is rolling down the tracks to the junction - ding ding ding ding ding ding...

While it is true the triangle is a bit easier than playing an upright bass and a whole lot easier than playing a banjo, I wouldn't want you to get the wrong idea; there's more to it than you think. I mean, you have to hold the thing... and then hit it with the striker... with the proper timing, touch and tone. Through trial and error I discovered some of the intracasies of handling the triangle at various points along its sides and at its vertices. Wow, that's a big word. Any instrument that can be described with a word like that must have some degree of complexity associated with it, don't you think? Seriously though, the most difficult part of using it in Petticoat Junction is getting the timing just right with the proper tonal characteristics.

Just in case you're thinking you can bring a triangle to the Bluegrass Friends Weekly Jam Sessions and play along to all of the tunes being played, let me assure you, this will NOT be allowed. The use of the triangle in Petticoat Junction is a special effect. We're also planning on having a train whistle sound and a shaker to simulate a train chug. This is going to be really fun to play, or really corny, or both; you decide. I guess you could say from a literal point of view that we're going to have all the bells and whistles in this song. And guess what I get to play?

And you thought no one would ever put to use any of their grade school geometry skills later in life, didn't you? Come on now, tell the truth.