The United States and Canada

 Different regions and cultures have vastly different music.  Influences from Native American, European, Hispanic, and African cultures.  Native American  Cajun  Appalachian  Blue Grass  Gospel  Hawaiian  Other terms you might hear to describe types of American folk music would be, old time, jug band, country, and fiddle.

 Tribal groups from different areas have varying traditions.  Musical Areas  Southwest  Eastern Woodlands  Plains  Great Basin  Northwest Coast  Sub-Arctic

 Navajo - BlackfireBlackfire  Navajo Squaw Dance Navajo Squaw Dance  Hoop Dance Hoop Dance  Harmonized Peyote Song Harmonized Peyote Song  Lakota – LullabyLullaby  Yaqui – Deer DanceDeer Dance  Iroquois Iroquois  Iroquois – FluteFlute  Iroquois – Stick DanceStick Dance  Inuit SingingSinging  Smithsonian Folkways Smithsonian Folkways

 Louisianna  Instruments  Accordion  Fiddle  Triangle  Guitar  Language – Creole  Major keys  The waltz and two-step are common dances.  Balfa Brothers Balfa Brothers  L'anse aux pailles L'anse aux pailles  D.L. Menard & the Louisiana Aces D.L. Menard & the Louisiana Aces  Zydeco Zydeco

 Eastern United States mountain range. Maine to Georgia.  Anglo-Celtic – First Settlers

 Influences from various cultures – immigrants.  British  African  German, Polish, Czech  Instruments  Fiddle  Appalachian (Fretted) Dulcimer (modified zither)  Concertina (Accordion)  Mandolin  Guitar  Banjo

 Songs borrowed from Anglo immigrants.  Lyrics are often changed.  References to revenge or the supernatural were changed to repentance and place in heaven.  This was due to a strong religious culture and the fear of superstition and explicit content. (i.e. Salem Witch Trials)  Pretty Polly/The Gosport Trajedy. Pretty Polly/The Gosport Trajedy.  Christian Hymns

 Also known as flat footing, buck dancing, hoedown, stepping, etc.  Borrowed from European cultures.  Style of dance where the sound from shoes is a percussive part of the music.  Flat footing example.example  And another.another  Ok, one more.one more

BLUEGRASSOLD TIME  Newer genre than Old Time  Soloists take turns playing the melody (much like jazz).  Often played in a concert setting.  Quick tempos.  Precursor to Bluegrass  Many instruments play melody at the same time, or one person plays melody while others accompany.  Main function is for dancing.  Variety of tempos.  Instrumentation is mostly similar.  Instruments in common –  Fiddle  Guitar  Banjo  Mandolin

 Earl Scruggs – Ground SpeedGround Speed  Foggy Mountain Top Foggy Mountain Top  Chet Atkins – Bill CheathamBill Cheatham  Cumberland Gap Cumberland Gap  Square Dancing – Wabash Cannonball Square Dancing  Bill Monroe – Bluegrass BreakdownBluegrass Breakdown  Down in the Valley Down in the Valley  Devil’s Dream Devil’s Dream  English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians English Folk Songs from the Southern Appalachians  Wabash Cannonball Wabash Cannonball  Old Joe Clark Old Joe Clark  Angeline the Baker Angeline the Baker  Red River Valley Red River Valley

 Just like American fiddle tradition, Canada received their tradition from European cultures, with the addition of a heavy French influence.  Ook Pik Waltz Ook Pik Waltz  Jean Carignan – Hangman’s Reel Hangman’s Reel  Medly of fiddle tunes. Medly

American country television program which features artists of all varieties of country music. Office Website Youtube

 African American Christian Culture  Origins from:  spirituals  work songs  slave songs  white Pentecostal hymns  evangelistic congregational songs  Influences from:  blues, jazz, rock, soul, classical, and country

 Lyrics  Sacred  Simple and clear  Expressing God’s love and forgiveness  Commonly heard instruments.  Piano, Organ, Guitar, Bass, Drum Set, Tambourine, Violin, Brass – Depends on specific sub-genre.  Rhythm  Frequent clapping  Repetition  Often features a soloist.  Call and response between soloist and choir/congregation.

 Swing Low Sweet Chariot Swing Low Sweet Chariot  Oh Happy Day Oh Happy Day  Go Down Moses Go Down Moses

 Melody  Falsetto vocals – most often by men.  Long duration of notes  Music is functional. Used to express praise, communicate genealogy and mythology, and accompany games, festivals and other secular events.  Mele – Chant (song), Hula – Dance  Innovations on the guitar – Slack Key and Steel  Guitar was brought over by outside settlers, most likely Mexican workers.  Immigrant influence – Pacific, Asian, Hispanic, and European cultures influencing and bringing new styles.

SLACK KEYSTEEL  Most slack-key tunings can be achieved by starting with a guitar in standard tuning (EADGBE) and detuning or "slacking" one or more of the strings until the six strings form a single chord, frequently G major.  Adapted to accompany the rhythms of Hawaiian dancing and the harmonic structures of Hawaiian music.  Usually positioned horizontally; strings are plucked with one hand, while the other hand changes the pitch of one or more strings with the use of a bar or slide called a steel.

 Small version of a guitar.  Said to be adapted from the Portuguese machete.  4 nylon or gut strings.  Softer in dynamic than a guitar – why?

 Singing is the main focus of Hawaiian music.  In Western falsetto singing, the singer tries to make the transition between registers as smooth as possible. In Hawaiian-style falsetto, the singer emphasizes the break between registers. Sometimes the singer exaggerates the break through repetition, as a yodel.