Ocarolan Gimiani , Irish harpist in a folk idiom was inspired by an Italian Baroque master.

. Nowadays folk musicians consider Ocarolan a staple of the repertoire. here is e!idence of he lute was the portable instrument of choice in the time of the early "merican settlers. he music that the settlers brou#ht with them carried the spirit of lute $ if not in some cases the lute itself% to the new world. he lute deri!es from the oud of Northern "frica. It is not too far fetched to ima#ine an "frican connection to the cousins of the lute played by the &est "fricans dra##ed off by the sla!e traders. raditional fiddlin# in "merica has its reportorial and stylistic roots in the British Isles of the '(th century, where, insofar as the written record may be trusted, elements of the particular cultural milieu conspired to #enerate a new class of instrumental tunes out of the ancient stock of British folk melodies and the new lea!en of the Baroque !iolin. ) "lan *abbour from the notes to the +ibrary of ,on#ress "merican -iddle unes compilation.

MOST Europeans consider the "ppalachians to be mountains of the southeastern re#ion of the .nited /tates, but in truth they encompass ei#hteen states, reachin# from 0aine to Geor#ia, and include, amon# others, the Berkshires of ,onnecticut, the Green 0ountains of New 1ampshire, the ,atskills of New 2ork, the Blue 3id#e of 4ir#inia, and the /moky 0ountains of ennessee. /outhern "ppalachia includes three hundred counties co!erin# most of &est 4ir#inia and parts of "labama, Geor#ia, 5entucky, ennessee, 0aryland, North and /outh ,arolina, and 4ir#inia, an area called today the /outhern 1i#hlands or .pland /outh, or, in ,olonial times, the 6Back ,ountry6. "lthou#h a lar#e physio#raphic area, a body of beha!iors and cultural identities based upon speech and dialect, buildin# practices, folk music and dance, crafts, superstitions and reli#ion, and concepts like feudin# and moonshinin# link all '788 miles of these mountains. oday when ethnomusicolo#ists discuss 6"ppalachian music6 they #enerally di!ide the term into two periods9 the traditional music ) includin# ballads and dance tunes, mostly brou#ht o!er with an#lo)celtic immi#rants, and in e!idence from the early ei#hteenth century throu#h ':88 ) and the 6old)time6 music popular from around ':88 throu#h ':;8, a blend of that tradition with parlour and !aude!ille music, "frican)"merican styles, and 0instrel /how tunes. TO properly understand how traditional "ppalachian music #rew and dispersed it helps to ha!e some understandin# of how the "ppalachians were formed. hese mountains were shaped o!er 788 million years in three separate buildin# periods called oro#inies. <urin# the first period, the aconic, and the second, the "cadian, North "merica, Greenland, Ireland, and /cotland were all one land mass called +aurentia. "t this time the ,aledonia 0ountains rose up and wore down before the "tlantic Ocean started to

split the continent. his is why the mountains of the /cottish 1i#hlands and the "ppalachians seem so similar= they were the same ran#e> <urin# the third period, the "lle#henian, the +aurentian and &est "frican continents smashed to#ether, causin# the "ppalachians to cur!e like a half moon, mirrorin# the bul#e in "frica. wo hundred million years of erosion turned the "ppalachians from hi#h, "lp)like peaks into rounded hills, but rid#es of hard quart? sandstone sur!i!ed, formin# lon# !alleys of softer shale. his produced a lon# ran#e of accordion)like steep rid#es, full of folia#e entan#lements like mountain laurel, and therefore difficult to trans!erse, alon#side !alleys and 6hollers6 full of #enerally a#riculturally useless soil. he "ppalachians therefore tended to attract poorer people lookin# for cheaper or unwanted land. here were other reasons that postponed settlement of this re#ion than pure #eo#raphy9 '. It was populated by nati!e "mericans @ustifiably hostile to white settlement. A. here was hea!y ri!alry between the Bn#lish and -rench o!er the fur trade there. ;. Colitical intri#ues before unification of the states made land ri#hts uncertain. D. "ny #ood farm land that did eEist was anneEed by land companies. <urin# the se!enteenth century the lar#est and most influential #roup of "merican immi#rants sharin# an ethnic herita#e were those from Bn#land, /cotland, Ireland, and &ales. hey #enerally settled the Bastern /eaboard while the -rench worked their way up the 0ississippi 3i!er. In the early 'F88s immi#ration pushed westward but, barred by the continuous rid#es of the "ppalachians, people settled more on the Ciedmont between the coast and the mountains. he rid#es were four thousand feet hi#h and only crossable where ri!ers had cut trans!erse !alleys. here were usually multiple rid#es, and where an openin# would cut throu#h one, it was closed in others. herefore, most settlement started north in Cennsyl!ania and drifted south down the lon# !alleys, rather than west o!er the mountains. In 'F78 an openin# called the ,umberland Gap was disco!ered, leadin# to the fertile blue#rass country of 5entucky, but the mountains in that area were still not successfully settled until '(;7, when Cresident *ackson relocated the local nati!e population to Oklahoma under a spurious 6treaty6. IN the 1763 Treaty of Paris the -rench #a!e up their "merican land ri#hts to the Bn#lish, causin# the start of a lar#er eEpansion throu#h and into the "ppalachians from 'FF7 throu#h '(78. he population eEplosion in Ireland $from four million in 'F(8 to se!en million in '(A'%, coupled with a liftin# of tra!el restrictions from that country, increased immi#ration to the ./. 0ost of the /cots)Irish comin# to Cennsyl!ania came as indentured ser!ants. &hen their terms of ser!ice were o!er they found local land too eEpensi!e and so went south into the mountains. It is #enerally percei!ed that this 6lower6

class of immi#rant resulted in the 6poor white trash6 or 6hillbillies6 of Deliverance fame, althou#h the truth is that to sur!i!e in the /outhern 0ountains you needed to be resourceful, healthy, and knowled#eable. By 'F:8 any #ood land was taken or too eEpensi!e for most. /till, communities were settled rather late= at the time of the ,i!il &ar $'(G8s% most settlements did not a!era#e more than three #enerations back. "ll this tended to produce communities that were isolated #eo#raphically and unstable, at least compared with the hi#her de#ree of order, law, and precedent found on the Bastern /eaboard. -rontier life was ri#orous and a stru##le= people needed to rely upon each other, and anythin# social, includin# reli#ion, was hi#hly important, producin# a #enerally deeply reli#ious population. 0usical traditions from home were important links to the past and were cherished and passed down to the neEt #eneration. TRADITIONA Appala!hian "usi! is mostly based upon an#lo)celtic folk ballads and instrumental dance tunes. he former were almost always sun# unaccompanied, and usually by women, fulfillin# roles as keepers of the families6 cultural herita#es and risin# abo!e dreary monotonous work throu#h fantasies of escape and re!en#e. hese ballads were from the British tradition of the sin#le personal narrati!e, but the list was selecti!e= most of the one hundred or so !ariations of the three hundred classic ballads found in "merican tradition are to do with seEual stru##les from the female standpoint, as Barbary Allen, Lord Thomas and Fair Ellender, and Pretty Polly. One is less likely to find /cottish ballads of rape and dominance, or those with men as heroes. " lar#e percenta#e, perhaps almost half, of the "merican !ariations tend to be about pre#nant women murdered by their boyfriends. he ornamentation and !ocal impro!isation found in many ,eltic ballads seems to ha!e led to that particular tonal, nasal quality preferred by many traditional "ppalachian sin#ers. But, e!en as content was chan#ed to reflect "merican locations, conteEts, and occupations, many nineteenth century !ersions of the ,hild Ballads still refer to +ords and +adies, castles, and #hosts, and retain as their central theme lo!e affairs and interpersonal relations. he churches of "merica were also !ery influential and usually more puritan in nature. 0any fairly eEplicit lyrics were softened and cleaned up. British pa#anism was frowned upon, and this censorship resulted in ballads where repentance and doom supplanted sinful beha!ior. Broadside ballads, printed on cheap paper and sold on the street, were also popular up to the end of the nineteenth century. Cenned by professional composers, they often became part of the folk tradition. .nlike the British theme of lo!e affairs, the "merican broadsides tended to showcase male)dominated occupational eEperiences, such as lo##in#, ranchin#, and minin#, as well as sensational topics like disasters, murders, and tra#edies. wo other ballad types arose from the particular "merican eEperience, one from the "frican tradition, reflectin# an actual e!ent or action with real historical characters, and

where the flow of teEt was hi#hli#hted by an emotional mood of #rief or celebration, rather than a plot line. he second ballad type was from the popular music source of the parlour or sentimental ballad, mostly from the 4ictorian or Bdwardian eras, presented in the 0instrel /how or 0usic 1all, and e!entually passin# into a folk tradition throu#h sheer repetition. ONE of the #reatest influen!es on "ppalachian music, as well as many popular "merican music styles, was that of the "frican)"merican. he sla!es brou#ht a distinct tradition of #roup sin#in# of community son#s of work and worship, usually lined out by one person with a call and response action from a #roup. " @oyous celebration of life and free seEuality was coupled with impro!isation as lyrics were constantly updated and chan#ed to keep up the #roups6 interest. he percussion of the "frican music be#an to chan#e the rhythms of "ppalachian sin#in# and dancin#. he introduction of the ban@o to the /outhern 0ountains after the ,i!il &ar in the '(G8s further hastened this process. Ori#inally from "rabia, and brou#ht to western "frica by the spread of Islam, the ban@o then ended up in "merica. 0ostly deni#rated as a 6sla!e instrument6 until the popularity of the 0instrel /how, startin# in the '(D8s, the ban@o syncopation or 6bom)diddle)diddy6 produced a different clo#)dance and son# rhythm by the turn of the century. 0any of the "frican)"merican spirituals were disco!ered by mainstream "merica, particularly with the collection Slave Songs from the Southern United States published in '(GF and populari?ed by a small choir of black students from -isk .ni!ersity in Nash!ille. &ith emancipation, black music be#an to mo!e outside the /outh. By the ':A8s a whole body of parlour son#s known as 6race music6 became popular. 0any "ppalachian son#s sun# today that allude to 6children6 in the fields or 6mother6 ha!e been chan#ed from 6pickaninnies6 or 60ammys6. 3eli#ious music, includin# white ,ountry #ospel, was probably the most pre!alent music heard in "ppalachia. <urin# the ,olonial period the press was controlled by a cler#y which had no interest in the spread of secular music, therefore, not much of the latter sur!i!ed in written form. here were three types of reli#ious music9 ballads, hymns, and re!i!al spiritual son#s. he latter directly arose out of the call and response of the "frican son# tradition. hese were populari?ed amon# the white inhabitants after the re!i!al circuit started in 5entucky in '(88. heir simpler, repetitious teEt of !erse and refrain was easier to sin# and learn and produced an emotional fer!or in the con#re#ation. /hape)note and re!i!alist #ospel still flourished in the southern mountains after bein# eliminated in northern churches by the new 6scientific6 music led by +owell 0ason and homas 1astin#s. here were other ethnic pockets in the southern mountains ) mostly ,?ech, German, and Colish ) but their music, as well as other cultural aspects, was #enerally assimilated in an effort to become more 6"mericani?ed6. /till, many son#s and tunes ) for eEample, Fischer s !orn"i"e ) were of German ancestry and became an#lici?ed o!er time.

he instrumental tradition of the "ppalachians started as an#lo)celtic dance tunes and e!entually was reshaped by local needs, "frican rhythms, and chan#es in instrumentation. he fiddle was at first the main instrument, often alone, as a piano would ha!e been too eEpensi!e to purchase. Ori#inally the tonal and stylistic qualities of the fiddle mirrored those of the ballad. he 6reel6 is #enerally thou#ht to ha!e de!eloped in the /cottish hi#hlands in the mid)ei#hteenth century. In the 'FD8s, Neil Gow, a /cottish fiddler, is credited with de!elopin# the powerful and rhythmic short bow sawstroke technique that e!entually became the foundation of "ppalachian mountain fiddlin#. 0ore modern repertoires took shape in the late ei#hteenth and early nineteenth centuries, with the walt? showin# up at the be#innin# of the '(88s. /quare dances slowly de!eloped out of mostly a middle or upper class dance tradition, based upon the cotillion= black cakewalks were a burlesque of formal white dancin#= and the #irginia $eel was a !ariation of an upper class dance called Sir $oger de %overly. Irish immi#ration also added its own fla!or. he sound of the pipes and their drones added a double)stop approach where two strin#s are usually played to#ether. Copular music ) such as ra#time ) at the turn of the century started the rockin# of the bow, another distincti!e "ppalachian feature. Clayers be#an to use tunin#s different from the standard classical ) sometimes one for each tune ) to hei#hten the 6hi#h lonesome6 sound. 0any tunes acquired words, so the caller could take o!er and #i!e the fiddler a break by sin#in# the calls. <ances chan#ed9 "merican squares and promenades featured a chan#e of partners more often than their British counterparts, as it was often a couple6s only chance to meet in such isolated communities. It also kept down the fi#hts althou#h, by the ':;8s, liquor and fi#htin# had ended most southern mountain dances. T$NES !han#ed a lot, first with the introduction of the ban@o after '(G8, and then with the popularity of the #uitar, startin# in ':'8. Barly tunes tended to be more rhythmic as the fiddler was often playin# alone. &ith the luEury of percussi!e rhythm from other instruments, tunes became more elaborate and melodic. 1a!in# a chordal structure also e!ened out irre#ularities as the #uitar produced the e!en backup of a measured beat. he #uitar also #reatly redefined sin#in# traditions in the same way. It e!ened out rhythms and #a!e sin#ers a 6floorboard6 to mount their son#s. Bands that used eEclusi!ely to play tunes #radually added son#s, mostly from popular and commercial sources. "ll throu#h the ei#hteenth and nineteenth centuries this music was truly 6folk6. /in#in# was used for personal and #roup en@oyment and continuation of historical narrati!e. Instrumentation was used for dances and contests= food and drink and en@oyment were considered enou#h recompense. ,ontact was limited re#ionally as tra!el was difficult. But late nineteenth century industriali?ation produced mobility, and the ad!ent of recorded sound in the ':A8s brou#ht popular music to the mountains. 0ail order and mass production made instruments more accessible. 3adio stations started barn dances with li!e performances of local talent, and styles be#an to cross o!er. 0usic now known as 6old)time6 became prominent in the "ppalachians. 1enry -ord be#an to sponsor national contests for old)time music throu#h his auto dealerships= a new

interest in fiddlin# arose, especially as a decline in local dances started, probably owin# to the radio6s popularity. he ':A8s was a decade of strin# band popularity. " strin# band was usually one or more fiddlers, a ban@o, bass, and #uitar, with possibly a piano. In ':AA the first recordin# of a rural performer, Bck 3obertson, was made. 0any followed. o the absolute ama?ement of the urban record companies, recordin#s made by #roups from the mountains sold in hu#e numbers and an 6industry6 was born. Bands were able to quit their day)@obs and make a li!in# from music, althou#h their audiences preferred !ersions of popular son#s played in an old)time manner o!er the old traditional son#s heard at the kitchen table. he len#th of recordin# time also shortened son#s to a few !erses. In the earliest days of commercial recordin# each band had its own re#ional sound= later there was a #reat deal of eEperimentation with crosso!ers. ,harlie Coole6s popularity was based upon parlour pieces, race son#s, and !aude!ille material, with the #uitar and fin#er)picked ban@o followin# each other in carefully orchestrated pro#ressions. Gid anner and the /killet +ickers were more spontaneous, with multiple fiddlers, and more of the 6rou#h and ready6 sound heard in earlier strin# bands. /in#in# was usually a sin#le male !oice= duet harmonies became more pre!alent durin# the ':;8s. 0a 0aybelle of the ,arter -amily introduced a #uitar style where lead melodies were picked out by the thumb. he term 6old)time music6 be#an to show up in the early twentieth century. In ':8( a newspaper, the &redell 'orth %arolina Landmar( used the term to describe fiddlin# and dancin# at .nion Gro!e. Okeh and 4ocalion 3ecord catalo#s listed Old) ime unes as a cate#ory, and the /ears ,atalo# of ':A( used Old) ime in its ad!ertisin#. he Great <epression of the ':;8s put an end to the commercial !iability of old)time music. he ':;8s and 6D8s brou#ht in an indi!idual star system with people like 1ank &illiams, and the ad!ent of Brother Groups like the <elmores, /tanleys, and the +ou!ins, and the introduction of swin#, horns, electricity, and blue#rass. he old traditional music of the mountains #a!e way to the be#innin#s of modern commercial country)western music. %$T the traditional old)time "ppalachian music ne!er really died off= it @ust re!erted back to bein# a participatory 6folk6 music. -iddlers6 ,on!entions, house parties, and back) porch @ams kept the music ali!e. -ew old)time musicians can, or want to make a li!in# playin# a style now considered archaic by the #eneral public. 0any old son#s, ori#inally written for commercial reasons, are now considered traditional, their composers #radually for#otten. " !isit to the /outhern "ppalachians, particularly 4ir#inia, &est 4ir#inia, and North ,arolina, will still find sin#ers and musicians holdin# forth on ban@o and fiddle, still playin# Soldier s )oy and Ar(ansas Traveler with lo!e and #usto II ,hords as musical cada!ers you ha!e to kill the music to look at an isolated chord.