Did you know…

You may have heard the term in Bluegrass music, Ancient Tones, probably from a Bluegrass album of this name recorded by Ricky Skaggs with his band Kentucky Thunder – released January 26, 1999. What you may not know is that ancient tones is actually a technique used by old-time fiddle players to extend the tonal range of their instruments when playing unaccompanied. They would play a lower root note particularly loud and let it resonate while they rapidly played a series of melody notes. This created a rich harmonious arrangement of notes referred to as ancient tones. An outstanding example of music using Ancient Tones is Ricky Skaggs “Pig in a Pen“, from his Ancient Tones album, played here with the Boston Pops.

From a musical perspective this tonal approach may relate back over a thousand years to frequencies associated with the Ancient Solfeggio Scale thought to facilitate vibratory healing and higher states of awareness; many in the form of Gregorian Chants. So, if you listen to some questionable fiddle music that seems to hurt your ears – give the vibratory healing time to kick in. Chances are you haven’t reached your higher state of awareness yet.