Portfolio > Oil Paintings/Charcoal Drawings_Old Time Songs & Stories

Here's Josh playing bass. The bass is a later, 20thc. addition to the Old Time ensemble of instruments. Historically, the banjo was the beat keeper and back up for the fiddle. Later, the guitar entered the scene and ended up being the beat keeper. In the 20thc., the bass replaced the guitar for this purpose. In a full ensemble with the bass, the banjo still plays harmonic back up for the fiddle because the fiddle is so much more able to play a flurry of notes in succession, thus making it the best instrument in the group to play the melody.