Learning Old-Time Apalachian Music

[rlgph]

I moved to North Carolina not too long ago from Louisiana. I'd like to take part in some of the old-time jams that are so common around here, but i don't know the music. (Many of the tunes are somewhat familiar, but i certainly can't put names to them, nor do i know chord progressions.) Can anyone recommend a few basic CDs of old-time mountain music that i could learn to play (and perhaps sing) along with? Preferrably without too much extraneous instrumentation. Thanks.

[sayheyjeff]

you should find lots of opportunities to get exposed in North Carolina. in the mean time, try exploring the Sugar in the Guord Old Time Forum.

jeff

http://forum.sugarinthegourd.com/

http://sugarinthegourd.com/

[sayheyjeff]

you should find lots of opportunities to get exposed in North Carolina. in the mean time, try exploring the Sugar in the Guord Old Time Forum.

jeff

http://forum.sugarinthegourd.com/

http://sugarinthegourd.com/

[devellis]

Old time players are often very welcoming. Ask around and see if you can find a group. The traditional format is for folks to sit in a circle and play a tune over and over as many as 10 or more times. This allows a beginner to listen and begin by playing whatever part of the tune they can (either melody or accompaniment) when they feel ready. If you can find a group like this, by the second time you go -- if not the first -- you'll be playing along with one or two tunes. It's very much a group activity, with everyone playing in the same style, no solos, no showboating, no improvising. It's a great way to learn. Good groups will have a variety of tunes ranging from simple and familiar to more complex and unusual. So, if you continue to go, you'll continue learning and working your way up the hierarchy of tunes.

If old-time is your thing, you'll learn a lot and have a lot of fun if you can find a group like this. They may be based at a local bar, coffee shop, or just someone's house. I used to go to one at a friend's house here in Chapel Hill and I understand that there are coffee houses that have absorbed that group. I'm more of an Irish traditional guy, so old-time wasn't really my first choice but the format is great for learning and the people were very welcoming and gracious as long as you followed the session etiquette.

[rlgph]

I'm sorry i've been so tardy in thanking you for your comments. I moved to the mountains north of Asheville just after i submitted the query, and am having some difficulty in getting an internet connection. Anyway, thanks for the suggestions.

[Misty44]

Check into the music of Mike Seeger, CDs, instructional materials?, YouTube...he's about as old-timing mountain music as they get, sometimes plays on vintage era instruments from the 20s and 30s. Don't know what you'll find, might be worth a try.

[Dotneck]

I've started listening to this type of music again as well....and I just found this record company based in Raleigh called "Old Hat Records". They put out CDs of original appalachan musics...and I recently got one called "In the Pines". Folk songs and fiddle tunes recorded in the 20s and 30s in western NC.

Take a listen....they've got other interesting CDs as well.....

In the Pines

[jeepnstein]

These guys put on a great show. You'll have to listen to it over the internet.

D28 + 5

Locally, I almost always run across a couple of old coots playing for fun at the flea market. One old guy is a smoking hot banjo player on par with anything I've ever heard this side of Bela Fleck. It's also not uncommon for little "Opry Houses" and local festivals to have open jams.

Some folks take their traditional music deadly serious, to the point of being no fun. Others are more lively and open to outside influences. Go listen to what they're playing, ask for suggestions of what to learn. It can vary widely from region to region.

You can't go wrong by listening to, and emulating, Ralph Stanley, J.D. Crowe and the New South, Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver, and Ricky Skaggs. One of my regional favorites is Wayne Taylor, out of Maryland.

[raulb]

The Portland Collection of Contra Dance music is a rather eclectic collection of all kinds of folk music such as English, Irish, Scots, French-Canadian, and Appalachian. They have books and CDs. My guess is that they may have some of the songs from your jams. See here.


There are also things like the Fiddler's Fakebook. which has more songs than the accompanying Fakebooks (guitar, mandolin, etc).

[shawlie]

I'll agree with the Mike Seeger recomendation - he's made some nice dvd's. The set of cds "The Anthology of American Folk Music" has lots of great old-time songs on it, I've worked out plenty of tunes just listening to it. And Doc Watson, of course, plays lots of the old-time songs.

Since a lot of old-time music isn't all guitar-orientated, you might also want to listen to some (clawhammer) banjo stuff. "Masters of the Banjo" is pretty fun - not just old-time stuff, but covers lots of different genres (Tony Ellis's flat-picking is incredible on the Irish tunes). "North Carolina Banjo Collection" is another great tape (I think that's the title).

And not at all a guitar book, but one I've found very helpful, is Tim Jumper's "Banjo Player's Songbook". Even if you never pick up a banjo, there's tons of old standards, with chords and melody lines (granted, in banjo tab, but it's pretty easy to work it out on guitar). Lots of good stuff in it.

[Twelvefret]

Why not learn from the Appalachian players themselves here, http://www.aca-dla.org/cgi-bin/query...TLE=10&CISOROO

This is a vast archive of recordings done by Berea College, Berea, Kentucky. You can download sometimes a dozen MP3's of the same tune from different players.

This is the resource that I have used to learn my fiddle tunes and it is free.

Type in the song you want to here in the space after "search all collections". When the page is populated, click on the song title and then click on the " Click here to display item" tab. Then the file will begin to play.

[fatt-dad]

Download the Pegram Jam Chord book. Use that in conjunction with the Berea recordings or just bring it to a jam. Also, go to the www.mandozine.com web page that has tabedit files. These are usuall tabbed for the mandolin, but you can listen to them and get the idea. Some though are for guitar!

Bring a pencil and paper to the jam and write down the tune names that are often played. That way, when you do your study/learning, you'll be ready to join them next time.

Good luck.

f-d

[PorkPieGuy]

Doc Watson

[michaelhager]

I lived in California for 47 years, learned to play guitar there and only moved to South Carolina a few years ago. I learned of a group that got together and played bluegrass and started joining them on Saturday nights (see my signature link) Although I am playing along with their very basic cords and progressions, playing with many other musicians regularly has improved my personal skill level more than anything in the previous 30 years.

Bluegrass is a very basic evolution from the Appalachian mountain music. the chords are simple, the progressions easy to understand. It is what I have begun calling the "Everymans music" as everyone is generally invited to play along and the music is simple enough to follow easily.

Don't worry so much about CDs and books, Go find a group and attend regularly. It will only take you a couple of songs to get the hang of it and after just a few sessions you will be having a ball! This is the root of American music and it has it's roots in the folk music of Ireland, the Balkins and the peasant European settlers who brought their instruments with them to America.

Have fun!

[mud4feet]

Originally Posted by rlgph

I moved to North Carolina not too long ago from Louisiana..........

How ironic!!!!!.......I moved to Louisiana FROM North Carolina in '06 (here building the Audubon Bridge over the Mississippi). What part of Louisiana did you move from (I live in Jackson - East Felicianna Parrish)?? What part of North Carolina did you move to (I'm from near Waynesville - in the mountains)???

There's PLENTY of music up there and some really great folks - just look around!