Bluegrass was developed in the appalachian region of the United States. The music drew its characteristics from old-time and traditional European folk music.

The settlers of the appalachian region were primarily English and Scottish, and they brought the musical traditions from their homelands to their new home. This is why jigs and reels, especially with the fiddle, were what defined the developing style. Black musicians from the Old World also brought the banjo to the Appalachia; which greatly influenced the formation and style of the genre.

The developing stages of Bluegrass were influenced and often based on the “Child Ballads” that originated from England, Ireland and Scotland. Most of these ballads consisted of a particular narrative accompanied by dance and the fiddle, and were occasionally paired with other string instruments

Both the fiddle and the guitar are believed to have been incorpoarted in the earliest traces of bluegrass. The first european settlers of the appalachian are known to have brought both fiddles and guitars to the region. The fiddle was especially important, since most of the ballads included it. The Guitar was often included, but historians mostly agree that the instrument was often deemed less important than the fiddle.

The fiddle and guitar’s role in bluegrass has evolved over time, with the instruments taking on a vast diversity of roles in the modern era of bluegrass.

Since Bill Monroe helped to officially categorize the genre of bluegrass, most consider there to be three of four generations with distinct characteristics.