Chapter 27 Exercises: Music of the Mountains — From Ballads to Bluegrass to Country to Beyond

Exercise 1: Primary Source Analysis — The Bristol Sessions

Read the following primary source excerpts from accounts of the Bristol Sessions of 1927:

Source A — Bristol Herald Courier, July 24, 1927: "The Victor Company will have a recording machine in Bristol for ten days beginning Monday to record records. The company is interested in securing records of old-time melodies, string band music, and other types of music peculiar to this section. Musicians who consider themselves good enough to face a recording machine may call at the Victor recording rooms on State Street."

Source B — Ralph Peer, interview, 1959: "In those days I was going out on location to find new talent, and Bristol was a good location because it was the center of a large area from which mountain musicians could come. I had no idea what I would find. I knew there was music in the mountains — I had been told that — but I didn't know what kind, and I didn't know if any of it was commercially viable. The surprise was how much there was, and how good some of it was."

a) Compare the language of the newspaper advertisement (Source A) with Peer's later recollection (Source B). How does the advertisement frame the music it is seeking? What does the phrase "peculiar to this section" reveal about how Appalachian music was perceived by outsiders in 1927?

b) Peer describes his mission in commercial terms — he was looking for "commercially viable" talent. How does this commercial motive shape what gets recorded and what does not? What kinds of mountain music might have been excluded by the filter of commercial viability?

c) The advertisement invites musicians who "consider themselves good enough to face a recording machine." What does this phrasing suggest about the power dynamic between the recording company and the musicians? How did the technology of recording shift power from the performer to the producer?

d) Write a 400-word essay evaluating the Bristol Sessions as a historical turning point. Was the commercialization of Appalachian music primarily an act of cultural preservation or cultural appropriation? Use evidence from this chapter and the case studies to support your argument.

Exercise 2: Mapping the Musical Traditions

This chapter describes multiple musical traditions within Appalachian culture — ballad singing, old-time string bands, shape-note singing, bluegrass, commercial country, protest music, and contemporary Appalachian music.

a) Create a timeline that maps the development of these traditions from the eighteenth century to the present. For each tradition, identify: the approximate period of its emergence, the key instruments, the key performers, the primary social function of the music, and the relationship to commercial recording.

b) Identify at least three moments of transition or transformation on your timeline — moments when one tradition gave birth to another, or when an external force (such as the phonograph, the radio, or the recording industry) changed the nature of the music. For each transition, describe what was gained and what was lost.

c) The chapter argues that old-time music, bluegrass, and commercial country music are distinct traditions with different values and different social functions. Create a comparison table that identifies the key differences between these three forms. Consider: tempo, instrumentation, vocal style, social context (participatory vs. performative), relationship to tradition, and commercial orientation.

d) Write a 400-word analysis of whether the musical traditions described in this chapter represent a single evolving tradition or a series of distinct traditions that share some common roots. What evidence supports each interpretation?

Exercise 3: The African American Roots of the Banjo

This chapter and its second case study argue that the banjo — the instrument most closely associated with white Appalachian culture — has African American origins that were systematically erased.

a) Trace the banjo's journey from West Africa to the Appalachian Mountains. Identify at least four stages in this journey, and for each stage, describe: the instrument's form, who played it, and how it was perceived by the surrounding culture.

b) The chapter identifies several mechanisms of erasure — minstrelsy, folklorist collecting bias, the country music industry, and the construction of Appalachia as "white." For each mechanism, explain how it contributed to the whitewashing of the banjo's history. Which mechanism do you consider most significant, and why?

c) Research the Carolina Chocolate Drops and/or Rhiannon Giddens's solo career. Listen to at least two recordings. Describe what you hear. How does the music challenge the assumption that old-time Appalachian music is exclusively white? How is the music received by audiences, and what does that reception tell you about the current state of the racial narrative around Appalachian music?

d) Write a 500-word essay on the relationship between cultural creation and cultural credit. When a musical tradition crosses racial lines — as the banjo did — who gets to claim it? What responsibility do contemporary musicians and scholars have to acknowledge the origins of the traditions they practice?

Exercise 4: Participatory Music vs. Commercial Music

The chapter describes a fundamental tension in Appalachian music between the participatory tradition (music made by community members for each other, on porches and in churches) and the commercial tradition (music made by professionals for audiences, in studios and on stages).

a) Define "participatory music" and "commercial music" in your own words. What are the essential differences between the two? Consider not just who performs and who listens, but the social function of the music, the relationship between performers, and the role of the audience.

b) Identify a specific example from the chapter of participatory music and a specific example of commercial music. For each example, describe: who is making the music, who is receiving it, what social function it serves, how the music is transmitted (oral tradition vs. recording), and what value the music has (community bonding vs. entertainment vs. commercial product).

c) Is the distinction between participatory and commercial music absolute, or is there a spectrum? Can commercial music serve participatory functions? Can participatory music have commercial value? Identify examples that complicate the binary.

d) Write a 400-word reflection on the role of music in your own life. Is the music you listen to participatory or commercial? Do you ever make music with other people — at a religious service, at a campfire, at a family gathering, at a karaoke bar? How does the experience of making music with others differ from the experience of listening to recorded music alone?

Exercise 5: Music as Resistance

This chapter describes Florence Reece's "Which Side Are You On?" and Hazel Dickens's protest songs as examples of music used as a tool of political resistance.

a) Listen to at least two of the following songs: "Which Side Are You On?" (Florence Reece), "Black Lung" (Hazel Dickens), "They'll Never Keep Us Down" (Hazel Dickens), "The L&N Don't Stop Here Anymore" (Jean Ritchie), "Paradise" (John Prine). For each song, identify: the specific issue addressed, the emotional tone, the intended audience, and the effectiveness of the musical form as a vehicle for the political message.

b) Florence Reece wrote "Which Side Are You On?" in a single evening, using the melody of an existing hymn. Why was it important that the song used a familiar tune? How does the use of a known melody affect the song's accessibility and its power as a tool of collective action?

c) Compare an Appalachian protest song to a protest song from another tradition — for example, a civil rights freedom song, a labor union anthem, or a contemporary protest song. What do the songs share in terms of form, function, and audience? What is distinctive about the Appalachian tradition of protest music?

d) Write a 400-word analysis of why music has been such a persistent tool of resistance in Appalachia. What can a song do that a speech, a legal brief, or a newspaper article cannot? Why has the Appalachian resistance tradition (described in Chapter 26) consistently produced music alongside its other forms of organizing?

Exercise 6: Then and Now — The Living Tradition

Then: In 1916, Cecil Sharp traveled through the southern Appalachians and discovered that centuries-old English ballads were still being sung in the hollows of North Carolina, Virginia, and Kentucky.

Now: Tyler Childers, Sturgill Simpson, Rhiannon Giddens, and other contemporary musicians are creating new music rooted in Appalachian traditions while reaching national and international audiences.

a) Research one contemporary Appalachian musician (possibilities include Tyler Childers, Sturgill Simpson, Rhiannon Giddens, Gillian Welch, Old Crow Medicine Show, Sierra Ferrell, or another artist of your choice). Listen to at least three of their songs or recordings. Describe the music: What Appalachian traditions do you hear? What is new or contemporary about the sound? How does the artist balance tradition and innovation?

b) Compare the relationship between the contemporary musician and their audience to the relationship between a mountain musician and their community in 1916. How has the social context of Appalachian music changed? What has been gained and what has been lost in the transition from porch music to festival stages and streaming platforms?

c) The chapter argues that the participatory tradition — people making music together on porches and in churches — has not died, even as the commercial music industry has grown. Research a contemporary participatory music tradition in Appalachia (possibilities include old-time jam sessions, Sacred Harp singings, shape-note conventions, or community music programs). Describe the tradition and assess its vitality.

d) Write a 400-word assessment of the current state of Appalachian music. Is the tradition thriving, declining, or transforming? What forces are shaping its future? What gives you hope or concern?

Exercise 7: The Nashville Sound and Musical Authenticity

The chapter describes the Nashville Sound of the 1950s and 1960s as a deliberate effort to smooth the rough edges of mountain music and make it palatable to a broader audience.

a) Listen to an early Carter Family recording (such as "Wildwood Flower" or "Keep on the Sunny Side") and a Nashville Sound recording from the late 1950s or 1960s (such as a Patsy Cline or Jim Reeves recording). Describe the differences in sound, instrumentation, vocal style, and production. What has been added? What has been removed?

b) The term "authenticity" is frequently used in discussions of Appalachian music. Define what "authenticity" means in this context. Is a Carter Family recording more "authentic" than a Nashville Sound recording? Is a porch performance more authentic than a studio recording? What are the dangers of using authenticity as a standard for evaluating music?

c) The chapter argues that the Nashville music industry was "overwhelmingly white and overwhelmingly male" and systematically excluded Black musicians and limited women's roles. Research one example of a musician who was excluded or limited by Nashville's gatekeeping. Describe their experience and assess its significance.

d) Write a 400-word essay evaluating whether commercial country music — the product of Nashville's music industry — should be considered part of the Appalachian musical tradition, or whether it has become something separate from its roots.

Exercise 8: Community History Portfolio — Music in Your County

This exercise is part of the ongoing Community History Portfolio project. For your selected Appalachian county:

a) Research the musical traditions of your county. What kinds of music have been practiced? Were there ballad singers, string bands, gospel groups, shape-note singings, or other musical traditions? What instruments were most common?

b) Identify at least one notable local musician — someone remembered by the community for their musical skill. This person does not need to be famous. They may be someone known only within their own community. Describe what is known about their musical life: what they played, where they performed, who they learned from, and what they are remembered for.

c) Were any musicians from your county recorded — by folklorists, by record companies, or by documentary filmmakers? Are there archived recordings in any collection? If so, describe the recordings and their significance.

d) Write a 600-word musical portrait of your county, connecting the local musical tradition to the broader patterns described in this chapter. Consider: How did the local tradition relate to the commercial music industry? Were there tensions between the living tradition and its commercial representation? Whose musical contributions have been documented, and whose have been overlooked?