User:Melisa Nur Temiz/Appalachian music

The "New World" ballad tradition, consisting of ballads written in North America, was as influential as the Old World tradition to the development of Appalachian music. New World ballads were typically written to reflect news events of the day, and were often published as

In addition to the previously mentioned instruments another instrument the spoons^[6] are an instrument that is used in Appalachian music. The spoons are played by smacking the two spoons together and making 'click' sounds and creating tempo. This was used in place of drums to produce the procussion which is similar during the time that drums were banned because of slavery. And another instument is called the washboard. ^[7] To play this instrument the players are using their hands or a thimble to make the music. The washtub bass is an another instrument that is popular in Appalachian music and it is also known as a gutbucket. This is an instrument usually made from a metal wash tub,a staff or stick and at least one string. They usually use four or more strings and may have tunning pegs to change the tune of the instrument. In the other countries they are called different types of names like "gas-tank bass","laundrophone" are the other names that are used. It came about from African-Americans who lived in Appalachia and then was adopted by white string bands.^[8]

Folk Revival

Another popular commercial recording label was Chicago-based Flying Fish label. In 1970 they had 3 albums from musicians from West Virginia. They work with Critton Hollow String Band. This was a group based in Morgan County, W.V. They did hard work to produce their music and even though they do not publish a new song they made covers of some songs like "Possum Up a Gum Stump", "Ragged But Right", "High On a Mountain" which were composed by Olla Belle Reed.^[9]

Appalachian Music Festivals

A lot of bluegrass musicians meet up and perform at festivals located throughout the Appalachian region. At these festivals, many different artists come together to perform for thousands of people. Usually, the festivals are held outside, surrounded by nature and the Appalachian mountains. People from all different places come together to listen to music, dance, be with each other, and have fun. Music festivals have become more popular recently and have been popping up more throughout the years.

Mountain Music Festival

Mountain Music Festival was created in 2014 after the founders wanted to combine being outdoors and also Appalachian music. So, they came up with a music festival that would take place in June for a whole weekend. The festival is located in the ACE Adventure Resort in New River Gorge, West Virginia. The festival includes adventures such as white water rafting, rock climbing, and even mountain biking. If someone decides to go to the festivals they stay in cabins scattered around a campground. There is Appalachian music playing all day with artists including The Wood Brothers, Arlo McKinley, and Moon Hooch. People can listen to music while they use the grounds waterpark.The tickets start at $129.^[10]

The Fraley Festival of Traditional Music

The Fraley Festival of Traditional Music started as just a family reunion in the 1970s. The Fraley family was a very musical family with their children playing the guitar and the fiddle and even singing. Though it started out as a family reunion, the Fraleys decided to start inviting their good friends and it just kept growing until people from all around the United States started coming. Once it started becoming more popular, more artists from around the United States started coming to the Carter Caves Resort Park in Eastern Kentucky. Some of the artists that perform at the festival include Andrew Bevan, The Morgans, and Rich Kirby.^[11] The festival is always held the first weekend of Labor Day. The festival attracts people from all over the United States who enjoy fiddlers, camping, and interacting with other people who share their love of music. The festival is very family oriented and children are always welcome. Because of Covid-19, the festival could not be held in person, but they decided to make a virtual concert every Friday and Saturday night so people could enjoy the music from the comfort of their own homes.^[12]

Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival of Music & Dance

The Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival of Music & Dance was established in 2003 in Pittsboro, North Carolina. The original GrassRoots Festival, however was established in 1990 in Ithaca, New York. It started in Ithaca as a benefit concert for an AIDS organization. The festival in Ithaca became very popular and became known worldwide. The growing popularity made the festival expand to Pittsboro, North Carolina in the spring and fall. However, they were not done there. They decided to add another GrassRoots Festival in 2012 in Historic Virginia Key Beach Park near Florida so that they could have the festival during the winter.^[13]

The festival mainly consists of local GrassRoots artists, but they also have artists from around the world come and perform as well. For four days artists at the festival perform for a large audience who enjoy the GrassRoots music.^[13] Some of the artists include Zach Deputy, Swamp Kids, and Donna the Buffalo.^[14] The Shakori GrassRoots Festival also offers camping, so the attendees can enjoy nature during their weekend of fun.^[15]

African-American Influence

African-Americans directly influenced several key figures in bluegrass music, one of the main influences on Appalachian music, in many ways. Bluegrass singing was heavily influenced by the blues , black field hollers, and African American Psalm singing. The vocal style of bluegrass such as the melodies, supporting harmonies, and phrase structure followed the design of traditional black gospel styles in addition to the blues. Bill Monroe himself even stated that these black styles were in bluegrass. West African musical practices provided the inspiration of improvised solos and a rhythmic stress on the upbeat.^[16] In addition to this, African-Americans displayed their community songs of work and hardships. These songs typically consisted of a call and response format. This format was adopted by colonial America and was commonly used in congregations for church singing. This traditional style of singing paved the way for revival spiritual songs, one of the main types of religious music played during the time.^[17]

Along with their contributions to singing, African-Americans also contributed heavily to the instrumentals of white bluegrass music. The first known white banjo player, Joel Walker Sweeney, learned his music from enslaved African-Americans. The banjo, a key instrument in bluegrass music, was introduced to the genre by African-Americans when they were taken and brought to, what is now, the United States. The banjo was thought of as an instrument of the slaves at first but over time it became widely adopted throughout the South. As the image of the African banjo improved in the South, whites in the mountains were inspired to learn the banjo from black mentors. Ferguson is one of the earliest mountain banjo players that learned from African-Americans in the mountains. He then passed down his knowledge of banjo playing to white minstrels. Dan Emmett, a renowned minstrel, learned about banjo playing from Ferguson. That sequence resulted in the instrument's physical structure to change and evolve. The banjo, which is the first distinctly African-American instrument, influenced mountain fiddle playing by influencing a key type of highly syncopated dance music that is unique to Appalachia.

European Influence

European sources were an additional key in the development of Appalachian music. European contributions to bluegrass music typically over-shined African-American contributions despite evidence that shows African-American musicians had just as much, if not more, influence on the development of bluegrass. The Europeans introduced the fiddle to Appalachian music. European settlers sailed to North America and instilled their folk traditions throughout the whole continent as they conquered more territory. Originally, the fiddle was primarily used to accompany dances in the American colonies.^[16] The European fiddle combined with the African banjo had a major influence on the development of Appalachian music. The ensemble that was created by combining the African banjo and the European fiddle existed directly before the mountain string band, which in succession led to the bluegrass ensemble.^[18] It was concluded that this ensemble was the catalyst for a shift in Appalachian music that resulted in a less complex melodies and more sophisticated rhythms.