NationStates Jolt Archive

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_roots_music
Do you like any? If so what styles?

I like bluegrass, apalachian folk "old timey" music plus blues.

Why pick one. I like some of all of those. Although Tex-Mex really isn't quite as old a style as those others.

Also, Appalachian and Bluegrass is kind of an unnatural distinction, as is Bluegrass and country.

Why pick one. I like some of all of those. Although Tex-Mex really isn't quite as old a style as those others.
Also, Appalachian and Bluegrass is kind of an unnatural distinction, as is Bluegrass and country.

No need to pick just one - the poll is set for multiple responses.

Tejano dates back to around the turn of the century, and is contemporanious with blues and jazz.

And dividing up country that way was partly due to the limitations of the poll - you'll see Honky Tonk, Jug Band, Nashville, Western Swing, etc. didn't make it on there either.

Tejano dates back to around the turn of the century, and is contemporanious with blues and jazz.

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Well, I guess it's a matter of definition. Tejano as I define it is a fairly recent invention, evolving out of Conjunto and Norteno somewhere in the middle of the 20th century.

I love Cajun/Creole but delta blues takes the contest. Nothing grittier and rootsier than an old-tinny recording of leadbelly scraping out the original rendition of cotton fields. MMM-mmm-mmm good stuff!
-Chris

Pretty much all of them - except I don't really go on Gospel much.

Also, Appalachian and Bluegrass is kind of an unnatural distinction, as is Bluegrass and country.

Nah: bluegrass is a distinct invention which arose only in the 1940s - in fact to prove this point the genre was named after Bill Monroe's band 'The Bluegrass Boys' and not vice-versa.

Yeah, I'd tend to think of Appalachian as more general, with bluegrass specifically banjo/fiddle-driven. I think it's a worthwhile distinction.

Yeah, I'd tend to think of Appalachian as more general, with bluegrass specifically banjo/fiddle-driven. I think it's a worthwhile distinction.

Aside from the fact that within bluegrass music the general habit is not to actually play all the notes of the central melody on any of the instruments, instead, following from Earl Scruggs, to syncopate and ornament around it. In essence Bluegrass is the collision of early C20th black jazz with the white European folk tradition - for example a typical bluegrass piece played on the banjo in the key of G is likely to contain the following notes - G A Bb B C C# D E F# G, whereas the Appalachian tradition is likely just going to play without the accidental notes for the most part (G A B C D E F# G).

I love that banjo/violin combination.

Aside from the fact that within bluegrass music the general habit is not to actually play all the notes of the central melody on any of the instruments, instead, following from Earl Scruggs, to syncopate and ornament around it. In essence Bluegrass is the collision of early C20th black jazz with the white European folk tradition - for example a typical bluegrass piece played on the banjo in the key of G is likely to contain the following notes - G A Bb B C C# D E F# G, whereas the Appalachian tradition is likely just going to play without the accidental notes for the most part (G A B C D E F# G).

Yes, although I think the existing Appalachian music scene had an important too as well as solely imported musical genres. Specifically, the three-finger roll evolved in Carolina, and has never featured in European banjo music (to the same extent).

I love that banjo/violin combination.

Strangely enough, the more banjo I play (badly) and the more 5-string based music I listen to, the more I'm attracted towards the folksier clawhammer/melodic clawhammer style rather than oft-time somewhat overly sweet playing that predominates in Bluegrass. Given the choice I'd rather be down and dirty with your Dock Boggs or your Pete Seeger rather than tripping along merrily with your Don Reno or your Bill Keith.

Yes, although I think the existing Appalachian music scene had an important too as well as solely imported musical genres. Specifically, the three-finger roll evolved in Carolina, and has never featured in European banjo music (to the same extent).

Well the 5-string banjo never really made it as big in Europe as in the USA, excepting the classical banjoists of the 1890s, but they were basically applying the techniques of classical guitar to the instrument. Even in the 1920s when the banjo had the kind of prominence that the guitar currently has over here, it was mainly 4-string plectrum or tango banjos that were in the majority.

As far as the three-finger roll evolving in Carolina goes, yes, true, but in 'inventing'/perfecting it Scruggs had created a whole different kind of music when matched with his tendency to throw in the accidentals at any opportunity and to avoid sticking to the melody. Instead he started the tradition of 5-string players in effect playing repeated jazz solos instead of just sticking to the top line.

This is in no way meant to deprecate Appalachian music, just to point out that it is a very different thing to the ironically more urban sound of bluegrass.

(Hijack: Grampus, you're pretty musical. You could help with the NS Musical!)

True - I'd never really thought about it in that way before. Certainly, the technical innovation probably did come from the musical development.