Appalachian Folk Music

 The Appalachian Mountains rest along the East Coast of the United States. There are 13 states in the Appalacian region; Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virgina. The music there derives from a variety of influences such as blues, African music, and the music of the British Isles and would end up influencing Bluegrass, country music, and rock n’ roll. Immigrants first arrived there in the 17th and 18th centuries and brought their music with them. Ballads, fiddle tunes, and church songs made up the music of the Appalachians. “Young Hunting”, “Lord Randall”, and “Barbara Allen” were popular ballads that the European immigrants brought over to the Appalachians. “Leather Britches” was a popular fiddle tune that was brought over via printed music. This is the music that laid the groundwork for Appalachian folk music. 

Appalachian musicians used instruments such as the guitar, mandolin, and banjo, but they also used items such as spoons and washboards to create their distant folk music. They also used the washtub bass, which originated with the African-Americans in Appalachia and was adopted by the white community there. Most of their instruments were chordophones. The washtub bass is a chordophone made from a metal wash tub, a stick, and one to five strings. Here is an example of someone playing the washtub bass. 

The first recordings of Appalachian music were made in 1923. This song was recorded by John Carson and this is the actual recording that was made in 1923, making it almost 100 years old. 

Other musicians recorded around this time were Al Hopkins, Jimmie Rodgers, and the Carter Family. The music was fairly popular but experienced a decline in the 1930s due to the Great Depression. 

In the 1950’s, there was a renewed interest in folk songs. The Grand Ole Opry kept Appalachian music alive through the 1930s but in 1952 the “Anthology of American Folk Music” was released and generated a new interest in folk songs. The anthology was a six-album compilation of folk, blues, and country music recorded from 1926 to 1933. It is available in full here: 

In the late 19th century, mining brought big changes to the Appalachian mountains. The people used their music as a form of protest, writing songs about their troubles. You might recognize the tune of “Solidarity Forever” even though you probably have not heard the original lyrics. This is one of the songs that came about during this time. “Coal Creek March” and “Which Side are You On” were also popular anthems amongst the union workers.

The Appalachian mountains were the birthplace of “mountain” or “hillbilly” music. Early country music consisted of a string band format that derived from Appalachian music. After the 1940s, the industry tried to separate country music from it’s Appalachian roots but artists like Dolly Parton and Dwight Yokam have been credited with bringing it back. 

From country and Appalachian music came bluegrass. Bluegrass developed in the 1940s in the Appalachian mountains, made of mostly string bands. The genre is named for Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys. It draws from many music sources around the country but it is still associated with Appalachian folk music today. 

Jug bands were another form of Appalachian folk music. They included a jug player and an array of homemade instruments. These instruments included spoons, bones, comb and paper, and washboards. It is a form of music that continues to this day, with even modern musicians making tributes to jug band music. In this song, the musicians used a washboard and a washboard bass. 

Honky Tonk is a form of music named for the establishments it grew out of. This music came from bars and was played on the piano in a style similar to Ragtime, but this music emphasized rhythm more than anything else. In this song, you can hear someone strumming and the music bears a resemblance to older examples that I’ve previously shared. 

We can’t talk about the music without talking about the dancing. Clogging originated in the Appalachian region and from it came flat foot dancing. Flat foot dancing is essentially the folk dance form of clogging. It is a blend of clogging, brought to America by European immigrants, and Buck dancing, which came from African Americans. Flat foot dancing is a lighter style and the dancers tend to keep their feet close to the floor. Here is a flat foot dancing contest held at the Happy Valley Fiddlers Convention. 

Appalachian folk music has a very distinct sound that I’d always associated with the south. I thought of it as country music, but a specific brand of country music that I couldn’t necessarily put a name to. My grandparents had a CD they used to play in the car and one of the songs I remember most was “The Big Rock Candy Mountain”. You can hear that it most definitely belongs in the Appalachian Folk genre. 

There’s something soothing about the folk genre when it’s sung by an old man with a southern accent strumming a guitar. This music can portray a wide range of emotions. It can be upbeat and fun, something you can dance to. It can be gentle and soothing, or even sad. 

It’s still celebrated and performed today, in modernized versions but also in it’s traditional incarnations. Every year in Asheville, which isn’t that far from here, the Mountain Dance and Folk festival is held during the first weekend in August. Dating back to 1928, it is the oldest continuously running folk festival in the United States. There’s many other festivals hosted throughout the year such as the Mount Airy Fiddlers Convention and the Appalachian String Band Music Festival. 

Earlier this month, National Geographic actually published an article about Appalachian music and its healing effects. In between helping patients, Joe Smiddy plays his banjo and sings to the people waiting. He’s not a music therapist, but it’s still a very important part of his work.

[Sources]

D. M. C.-. (20n.d., June 27). Appalachian traditional music. A Short History of Appalachian Traditional Music. Retrieved January 20, 2022, from https://www.mustrad.org.uk/articles/appalach.htm

National Geographic. (2022, January 13). How music is used to heal the sick in Appalachia. History. Retrieved January 20, 2022, from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/in-appalachia-music-helps-heal-body-mind-and-soul-

Propst, S. (2018, May 9). High mountains, flatfeet: The history of clogging in Appalachia. Medium. Retrieved January 20, 2022, from https://medium.com/spring-2018-introduction-to-appalachian-studies/high-mountains-flatfeet-the-history-of-clogging-in-appalachia-360c78ec4f5d

Smith, W. (2016, June 22). Discovering the roots of Appalachian Music. The North Carolina Arboretum. Retrieved January 20, 2022, from https://www.ncarboretum.org/2016/06/22/discovering-roots-appalachian-music/