I’m doing some research for a project and need to know some stuff about the type of music played in the Appalachian mountains traditionally–is it bluegrass, or is it something else? Does anyone know anything about this kind of music or the culture and society, or know where I could find web info or books about it?
I took an Irish Drama class a couple of years ago in college and remember reading somewhere that during and after the Potato Famine, millions of Irish emigrated to the US and many settled in the Appalachian mountains, forming the base for the culture and music that exists there now. I’d really appreciate any info or links anyone could point me to that could tell me more about any of this.
Thanks in advance,
Kiirsi
This is probably THE most written about region of American traditional folk music. Any American library should have information on it. The books by John and Alan Lomax are good.
Also, write to the Library of Congress. They will send you a catalogue of records of authentic field recordings. These usually come with wonderfully informative booklets.
Bluegrass and Appalachian Trad are not exactly the same thing. Rather Bluegrass is a style based on the idiosyncratic interpretation of the traditional form by the Bluegrass Boys (particularly the mandolin and vocal styles of the late Bill Monroe, and the banjo style of Earl Scruggs --Flatt and Scruggs went on to form a competing band, the Foggy Mountain Boys).
Cees,
Almost all of the Irish and Scottish immigration to the Appalachians occured in the 1700’s, long before the potato famines of the 1840’s. Most, if not all, of these folks were Presbyterians trying to escape religious persecution. Like most religious minorities they picked a hard to get to, sparsely populated area. The Highland Clearances in Scotland in the 1700’s also contributed to this influx of people. The potato famine-era immigrants stayed mostly on the eastern coast of N. America. The only ones who made it to Appalachia worked the mines in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. All of the previous responses to your query only scratches the surface of what could become a lifelong search. There is also a school in Berea, Kentucky (whose name escapes me now) but a web search for it would provide a wealth of information on the music and instrument making in the area. Good luck.
Wow, guys, lots of great info, unfortunately all too late! I posted the original message back in the beginning of February, as I needed the info for research for a short story I was writing to enter in a contest. The deadline was April 1. (Unfortunately, though I made it into the group of finalists, I didn’t win.)
I’m surprised someone found this old thread and got it going again. Lots of interesting new stuff. By the way, I did use “poetic license” and put a whistle in my story in that setting…made for a good whistle story…so now the judges, at least, know more about whistles than they may have before!
I had an ancestor name of Coffey (my mother’s maiden name) who immigrated to Virginia, as a servant, in the early colonial period. The family moved to North Carolina for a few generations, ultimately settling in what is now Oklahoma. They were Protestants.
My ancesters are mostly mountain folk stretching back into the early 1700’s. They spread all through the appalachians from New Hampshire’s (the Allen’s of the Green Mountain Fame) to the Smokey’s of Tennesee and the Carolina’s. We had a fair number of … ‘excentric’ folk, including an uncle who worked as a high risk teamster in the 1800’s hauling Nitro through the mountains for the mining companies.
Most of my life’s been spent on the coasts and inland plains, yet I still feel most at home in the mountains and woods. The music, weather it be folk, bluegrass, old time, irish, or country connects me to that sense of home. Perhaps a word or to about the hopes of the music …
Retiring
The music touches the heart
of home I carry;
forests, ridges, and hollow’s of the places
where my soul finds rest.
Fifth cousin a dozen times removed,
or new friend met this even’,
feel like kin.
Connected, sitting on the porch
smelling pine tar, hickory smoke and cherry wood,
elder berry pie cools on the table,
watching the sunset pull the shadows up
from the valley floor before
it takes its last wink from the far ridge,
having flashed golden oaks and rusted maple
across the rises of granite greys and mossy sandstone greens.
A little nip in october air
pearced by fiddle or flute
walking on strumed strings,
bringing memories shared
of work done, hearts won
and lost,
beauty endured.
Night air brings mist,
tommorrows mountain dew,
as hearth draws players inside,
for fireside tune and tales.
A perfect end of days.
\
Enjoy Your Music,
Lee Marsh
[ This Message was edited by: LeeMarsh on 2002-07-31 11:23 ]
