Appalachian Bluegrass

The Sound

• Fast-paced three-finger banjo picking style
• Bluegrass vocal style called "high lonesome"
• Simple string chord progressions C-F-G or Am/G
• Simple time signatures 3/4 or 4/4
• Simple melodies based on Irish, Scottish, and English tropes of the 1600s to 1700s

Geography of Appalachian Bluegrass

• Eastern United States
• In the Appalachian Mountains
• Rural regions of Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina, West Virginia
• Influenced by those leaving their small family farms for coal mining towns for wage-paying jobs
• Some tunes named after locations like "Cumberland Gap"

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Instrumentation

• Banjo
• American fiddle
• Fretted dulcimer
• Acoustic guitar
• Mandolin
• Autoharp
• Stand-up bass

Autoharp

Cultural History

• Immigrants from England, Wales, Northern (Protestant) Ireland, and lowland Scotland
• Derived from various European and African influences
• Ballads, hymns, and dance music usually accompanied by fiddle
• Usually spread through print music, rather than spread aurally

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Cultural History Cont'd

• "New World" music was influenced by coal mining, labor issues,
• Banjo and soul harmony singing introduced to the region by African-Americans in 18th c.
• Experienced a folk revival during the Great Depression
• Commercial success in 1920s popularized "hillbilly" music
• Experienced a folk revival during the Great Depression

Important Musicians

• Clarence Ashley
• Bascom Lamar Lunsford
• Fiddlin' John Carson
• The Carter Family
• G.B. Grayson
• Dock Boggs
• Bill Monroe and the Bluegrass Boys

Appalachian Bluegrass has had a lasting influence on the legacy on folk, country, and rock music through the ages