Henry Martin, Which Side Are You On, Wreck of the C&O, Few Days, Oh! Susanna, Camptown Races, Hard Times Come Again No More, Van Diemen's Land, Red River Valley, Paddy West, The Constitution and the Guerriere, I Don't Want Your Millions Mister, Napoleon Crossing the Rhine, Battle of the Somme, The Last Flight of Amelia Earhart...to name a few.
OLD TIME MUSIC...You're top ten.
Here's the Old Time tunes I mix in with my usual Scots ballads and such at our weekly Open Mic.
- The Cuckoo
- Old Joe Clark
- Wafaring Stranger
- Hang Me, Oh Hang Me (Been All Around This World)
- Matty Groves
- Trials, Troubles, Tribulations
- Crawdad Hole
- Amazing Grace
- Barbara Allen
- Go Tell Aunt Rhodie
Got to be some shared chromosomes there, Strumelia! Figured that in 7 years there would be enough player turnover that the topic should be revisited - it is important. The post originator, Bill D., emailed me on a different dulcimer topic this morning and I ran across this old thread, so thanks, Bill!
I am a strong believer in understanding the historical context of any of our music - if we do not look at where it came from and why it grew to popularity at that point in history, then we are just playing symbols on a piece of paper without any emotional involvement that gives us the key to unlock how a piece of music should be played. The only way to 'get' old-time music is to wrap our heads around it and tie it up with our ears in a bow!
Wow Gwen, were we separated at birth or something? I could echo your post word for word. Thanks for the great information so well laid out. Pretty good update to a seven year old thread!
--
Site Owner
Those irritated by grain of sand best avoid beach.
-Strumelia proverb c.1990
In my experience, “old time music” is a very distinct type of American homegrown tradition that includes use of certain instruments – typically clawhammer or folk banjo and fiddle. It is called “old-time stringband music” by my friends that play in old time bands. Instrumentally, old-time is rhythmic, danceable music that is easily identified after spending time with it. Vocally, old-time is often sung with humorous words (think Uncle Dave Macon on earliest Grand Ol’ Opry). Other traditional music genres sometimes cross-blend into these established “old-time” tunes, but are not defined as “old-time music” – early country, bluegrass and contra-dance music. In my research, the old English cross-over ballads, country(contra) tunes, Child ballads, Morris dance tunes, old Irish and Scottish tunes were an early step in the progress of musical styles, but “old-time” music came much later in history. They are old, yes, but not “old-time”.
To understand the distinct genre of “old-time music”, one must develop an ear for what it is – requiring listening and absorbing yourself into that distinct music culture. I like this documentary of Clifftop, one of the most popular old-time festivals . Sometimes “early country” can be construed as “old-time”. I recently did a workshop on this for dulcimer – the music born from Atlanta’s famous fiddle conventions from post-Civil War times into the 1920-1930’s, as plantation workers and freedmen moved to the textile mills in the city, around which time early field recordings were done. With the advent of radio and the vast number of early 'hillbilly' musicians, Atlanta was destined to become America’s music capitol (Nashville won out!). This was the heyday of early country musicians like Gid Tanner and the Skilletlickers (Tanner homeplace is six miles from me), Fiddlin’ John Carson and his daughter, Moonshine Kate, Georgia Crackers and many others. (Dulcimer tab from this genre and two sound files for “I’m Growing Old and Feeble” (Little Old Log Cabin in the Lane) is on the free tab page at www.gwencaeli.com .)
Instead of thinking of my favorite old-time songs, I think of my favorite legendary old-time musicians and study their music to develop my old-time ear - like Melvin Wine, Lester McCumbers, Clyde Davenport, Tommy Jarrell and all the musicians from the Round Peak area in North Carolina, Emmett Lundy, Fiddlin’ Arthur Smith, Estill Bingham, Pug Allen, Charlie Poole, etc.
My favorite "second generation" old time musicians that keep the tradition alive are Mike Seeger, Bruce Molsky, Rafe Stefanini, Brad Leftwich, Ira Bernstein, David Holt, Bruce Greene (Don Pedi’s dulcimer recordings are mainly old-time Kentucky tunes learned from Bruce) and Jere and Greg Canote (listen to their old-time music at http://stringband.mossyroof.com/ ).
Some of my favorite old-time tunes:
- Step Back Cindy
- Sally Ann
- Drunken Hiccups
- Angelina Baker
- Fly Around My Blue-Eyed Gal
- Camp Meeting on the Fourth of July
- Old Yellow Dog Come Trotting Through the Meeting House (on my “Hoe the Corn!” Appalachian/OldTime CD)
- Sail Away Ladies
- Oh, My Little Darlin’
- Reuben’s Train
- Knoxville Girl
- Pretty Polly (also on “Hoe the Corn!” CD) . . .and about 200 others!
Bill
B. Ross Ashley said:
--
Site Owner
Those irritated by grain of sand best avoid beach.
-Strumelia proverb c.1990
I have a different view on it. After all, a good chunk of Bluegrass music is from old-time songs, tunes, and ballads but played in a more modern bluegrass style. I don't think of it as 'old-time' music then- it's then bluegrass music, derived from old-time music sources. If someone played Shady Grove in Latin salsa style, it wouldn't be old-time music. And it wouldn't be bluegrass then either.Thus, I think of old-time music as being both the material (due to its age and other very distinctive characteristics) and the style in which it is played. It certainly can be a shadowy defining line between things sometimes though. Sometimes things are hybrids of two styles or two sources, etc.Carson, I'm going to say that "Old Time Music" is definitely more that just a core of basic tunes and songs. It is by this time developed into a genre of music with it's own sound coming from a basic cultural core but spiced with a variety of other cultures musical ingredients.
You can play the core of music without the sound that is now associated with "Old Time Music"
--
Site Owner
Those irritated by grain of sand best avoid beach.
-Strumelia proverb c.1990
The question I'd toss back is whether Old Time music is a core collection of songs from a period as opposed to a style of rendering tunes of any period? I play Old Time (as well as several variations) and tend to think it's more a performing aesthetic than a particular list of tunes.
Just my thought though. A friend and I do a pretty good If You Seek Amy in Old Time style that gets more than a few raised eyebrows. I'm betting that many of what we call bluegrass tunes can be traced back to pre-bluegrass and into Old Time -- and possibly further back into vernacular folk styles.
Let's keep in mind that early American music was influenced by various other ethnicities and cultures besides English, Irish, and Scottish. In old-time music one can hear the definite influence of African rhythm in particular, and there were also influences of the French, Native Americans, Scandinavian, Spanish, German, etc etc.... But the African influence is clearly there, with rhythm (especially as contributed with clawhammer/gourd banjo and tambourine/bones), also as early blues scales (applied to both the instrumental music and singing).I do know that as an 'american old-time' musician, I have a terrible time trying to play along in Irish sessions. Even if the tune is one I already play in old-time style...the rhythm is so different, I mostly fail! The rhythm difference really trips me up- to me it's almost like trying to write on a paper while looking at it in the mirror. =8-o
--
Site Owner
Those irritated by grain of sand best avoid beach.
-Strumelia proverb c.1990
--
Site Owner
Those irritated by grain of sand best avoid beach.
-Strumelia proverb c.1990
I can't answer my own question. I always hear about Old Time Music. 1920's era music? Bill Monroe with his mother before he "founded" bluegrass. I've read so many things, I'm just not sure myself.
It's hard to "peg" an old time tune. That's why I put this out there.
Jump in anybody.
updated by @bill-davenport: 02/18/19 08:05:43AM