Their music was a sign of their times, primarily dealing in poverty and grief and finding hope in community and spirituality following a period of immense death and suffering. The genre's name is derived from Monroe's band, the Blue Grass Boys.įollowing Monroe came Doc Watson, Ralph Stanley, Lester Flatt, and others from across the Appalachian region, each fundamentally shaping the bluegrass genre in the time following World War II and the Great Depression. ![]() ![]() The continued practice of oral storytelling found in the musical traditions native to Appalachia isn't indicative of a resistance to change, but rather a way for the people of Appalachia to stay true to their culture, beliefs, and values in an increasingly modernized world.Īs the tradition evolved, storytellers began using instruments such as the mountain dulcimer, banjo, mandolin, spoons, washboard, washtub bass, and Appalachian fiddle to bring a new life and depth to oral storytelling, birthing what is now known as Bluegrass music.īluegrass as we know it today began in the 1940s in Eastern Kentucky with the Father of Bluegrass, Bill Monroe. The stories of ghosts and mythical creatures, hardship, love and loss, murder and betrayal, and spirituality woven throughout bluegrass and mountain music preserves the mythos and folklore of the Appalachian region and those who inhabit it in a way that written records could not. What many view as a primitive art form and an antiquated history-keeping convention is a means for Appalachian people to preserve their folklore, values, and community that would otherwise be lost to depths of time. ![]() Like many aspects of the region, the tradition of oral storytelling in Appalachia is a practice often misunderstood outside of the culture. 5-Oral storytelling is a tradition in Appalachia with roots primarily tracing back to the Scotch-Irish Appalachian settlers that began inhabiting the region during the 18th century.
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