Bill Monroe invented bluegrass. He put the band together in the early 1940s, set the tempo and the high lonesome sound, and spent the next fifty years writing the songs that everyone else would learn. His own catalog is the foundation of the music. Some are originals he wrote alone. Others came out of his partnerships with sidemen like Lester Flatt and Peter Rowan. A few he covered and made his own. Either way, these are the songs that every bluegrass player eventually has to know.

Start with the ones you’ve heard at jams — Blue Moon of Kentucky, Uncle Pen, On and On — and work outward from there. Each song’s page on Picker’s Guide has chord charts, lyrics, recordings, and a bit of history on where the song came from. Use it to learn a tune, find a good version to listen to, or trace how Monroe built his sound.