Appalachian Music at All Souls
Our area of East Tennessee is on the western border of the Appalachian region. My grandfather told us stories of the difficulties of rural Appalachian life such as not having an outhouse or electricity, hunting for food, curing hogs in the fall, and making molasses. In addition to this rich tradition I was raised in a church that featured many Appalachian hymns. Not surprisingly, my ears perked up this past Sunday, 5/2/10, as many of these regional hymns were sung in worship. I could hear Granddaddy's tenor voice twangin' in the heavens. My spirit was lifted.
The story of Appalachian music is interesting, as the mountains provided a fertile area in which a new musical genre came into being. The various cultural influences can be seen in the diversity of musical instruments used. The fiddle is from Ireland/England, dulcimers are from German descent, the Banjo is an African instrument, the guitar is a late-comer to the region from Spain, last but not least is that English Ballads were passed down by generation relatively unchanged. Of course the mountain people often made their own instruments. Some of these were very creative such as nailing metal bottle caps to boards for a percussive instruments. A lesser known mountain instrument is a type of pan flute.
All of these cultures brought their respective instruments and cultural music. In my estimation the two greatest influences was the Irish fiddle tunes and African rhythms. This is evidenced in the fact that most accompaniment to singing was simply the banjo and fiddle. When the Great Depression hit the rural south many southerners moved across the nation. From humble beginnings mountain music penetrated the vast American landscape and from it was born Country Music and Blue Grass, primarily.
I personally enjoy Appalachian hymns. For me these hymns get to the core of the human heart's longing for God and heaven in a way that others genres cannot. When I was in the coursework to obtain my music degree my teachers always encouraged me to go back to the source, an "ad fontes" of music. So, I encourage you to find some field recordings of this pre Blue Grass and Country style of music and listen to the longing heart of the mountain folk.
The story of Appalachian music is interesting, as the mountains provided a fertile area in which a new musical genre came into being. The various cultural influences can be seen in the diversity of musical instruments used. The fiddle is from Ireland/England, dulcimers are from German descent, the Banjo is an African instrument, the guitar is a late-comer to the region from Spain, last but not least is that English Ballads were passed down by generation relatively unchanged. Of course the mountain people often made their own instruments. Some of these were very creative such as nailing metal bottle caps to boards for a percussive instruments. A lesser known mountain instrument is a type of pan flute.
All of these cultures brought their respective instruments and cultural music. In my estimation the two greatest influences was the Irish fiddle tunes and African rhythms. This is evidenced in the fact that most accompaniment to singing was simply the banjo and fiddle. When the Great Depression hit the rural south many southerners moved across the nation. From humble beginnings mountain music penetrated the vast American landscape and from it was born Country Music and Blue Grass, primarily.
I personally enjoy Appalachian hymns. For me these hymns get to the core of the human heart's longing for God and heaven in a way that others genres cannot. When I was in the coursework to obtain my music degree my teachers always encouraged me to go back to the source, an "ad fontes" of music. So, I encourage you to find some field recordings of this pre Blue Grass and Country style of music and listen to the longing heart of the mountain folk.
posted by D.Moore at 4:32 PM
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