American Roots!

All things in life have some sort of origin. You start with one thing and then it will build into another. That is in fact the case when it comes to Appalachian Folk music. One of the main things that helped to form Appalachian Folk music were ballads, fiddle music, and hymns. The music traditions that this music derived from comes from England and Scotland. The first sighting of this music coming to be was in the 17th and 18th centuries when the Scottish and English came over to the Appalachian areas. They brought the ideas of ballads over, and that is one of the main things that this music came from.

Appalachian folk music was noted for being recorded until around 1920. Before the music was recorded, the traditional music was passed down orally. You passed it down through your family and generations. It was very traditional for folk music to take on themes of daily life and that this was the topic of the music. One thing that was very popular during the time of Appalachian folk music was coal mining. This was a very popular thing in this area, which then resulted in it having a heavy influence on the music and resulting in something that they all could relate to. One great thing about music is that it brings people together and it creates a sense of community, something that was really important during this time, because coal mining is a very dangerous job, yet something that was really important during this time.

Some of the primary instruments that are used in Appalachian folk music are the Banjo, American Fiddle, and then as the music started to evolve and grow, you would see the Guitar start to get added into the music. Going back to the idea that all things come from some sort of origin, these instruments also have some sort of origin. One of the primary ones is the banjo, you can see this having some sort of root from Africa and some of their traditional instruments there.

This song is by Fiddlin' John Carson; he was one of the artists that rose to the top during this period. You can hear the use of the fiddle in this music, which is where I assume his name came from. There is also one voice in this song, and it seems to stay at a pretty steady pitch. It doesn't get too high but it also doesn't get too low. The fiddle pretty much plays the same notes throughout the whole song, there isn't much change to the rhythm. It is unlike the blues in the fact that it doesn't repeat the line and then go into a line that rhymes.

This song is by another famous artist during this time named, G.B. Grayson. He also uses the fiddle in his music. There are a lot of similarities between his and Carson's music which makes sense for the fact that they are performing the same type of music. However, I do like his song better because it is faster and the beat is a lot more fun, and you are able to dance to it a lot better. One thing that I did notice from this music is that there are a lot longer periods of the songs with no words then in the song by Carson and I think it allows for another entertaining version of Appalachian Folk Music

The next one is called "Little Brown Jug" by Henry Whitter, who is also one of the big artists of this era. I think that this song has the catchiest beats so far. I really like the background music that accompanies the words. I could totally see myself dancing to this song and having a good time with my friends while this song plays. One thing that can be noted from this song is that there is more than just the fiddle going in this song. It has the fiddle, the guitar, and a banjo and I think there might even be a harmonica. This is slightly different from the other one's because the song by Grayson just uses the fiddle. I think that it adds a different element and that it makes the song more fun, because there are more things going one. Like the others the vocals are pretty steady and there isn't much changing between the notes. It doesn't get too high and on the flip side it doesn't get too low. 

This song is called "A Mole in the Ground" by Bascom Lamar Lunsford. I personally like this one the best simply for the name. I think that it is a really good name, and if I were to write music this reminds me how my music would be. This song plays into the fact that there was a heavy presence of coal mining during this time and this song plays a role in that. One thing that makes this song different then the other ones, is it doesn't have a fiddle and the only instrument that is in this song is a banjo. I really like the sound of the banjo in this song. I think that it really pulls the whole song together and it allows you to really get into the feels of the song. Like the other songs the vocals are steady throughout the whole song. 

Overall all the songs are very similar with slight changes among all of them. However you would get that with any genre that you would listen too. After the rise of this genre you will then see it mold into other genres that go on to be popular in their own ways, some of those genres are the following. Country which makes a lot of sense, because there are a lot of similarities between the two genres, they use similar instruments and the same idea when it comes to vocals. This is also the same case when it comes to Bluegrass. Those three genres all have very similarities. you could create a venn diagram and they would have a lot of overlapping elements. However, one genre that is influenced by Appalachian folk music is Rock n' Roll and learning about this really surprised me. 

Wikimedia Foundation. (2022, August 1). Appalachian music. Wikipedia. Retrieved October 29, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appalachian_music

Music and Gender

 Gender plays a big role in many things, one of those things is music. I have seen it throughout my life and through my musical experiences, and I can also see it through the music that I listen to. 

Growing up I was in choir and I was in musicals. Within those activities each person has their roles and it was often that your role was determined by your gender. There were multiple songs that my class would sing that would have different parts. For example there would be both an alto and soprano part to the song and that would be the job of the women's choir, but the song would also have a bass and tenor part of the song and that would come from the Men's choir. It wouldn't be the women's job to sing that part, because that isn't their role in the song.  One memory that really comes to mind is when I was in Elf jr. when I was in middle school. My character had a solo with the person who played my son in the musical. We each had our own roles in the song, because each part had different requirements and that was partly to do with our genders. I was his mother and he was my son. 

Also when you have different genders singing within the same genre you get a different vibe and a different message. For example, typically in country music when a male sings a song it’s stereotypically about beer, women, and their tractors, but that isn’t the case when a female sings a country song. Their songs typically have a deeper meaning and have a different message. As a disclaimer, I am not claiming this to be true about all country songs and artists. I am a big country fan. However, you can see a difference between gender and the messages that their songs deliver. Country isn’t the only genre that this is the case. There are some genres that are more heavily dominated in one gender over the other as well. There is just a different feeling in music when it is preformed by a different person and has a different sound to it. One of the things that cause music to have a different sound to it, is if it a male or female singing it.

Another aspect of music that I have witnessed the role of gender is the different genres. There are some genres that come to mind that have one gender more popular. There are also biases when it comes to gender in music. Some people have a preferred gender that they like to listen to, simply because they like the way that it sounds.