Participation Type
Performance
Session Title
Session 5.19 (Music) The Music in These Mountains: A Migratory Geography of Original Songs Inspired by Appalachia
Session Abstract or Summary
Appalachian music is as rich and diverse as the ancient mountain range from which it gets its name. This performance session will explore this storied tradition through original compositions inspired by these hills we call home.
Appalachian music is as rich and diverse as the ancient mountain range from which it gets its name. This performance session will explore this storied tradition through original compositions inspired by these hills we call home. This full session will consist of four topical presentations that focus on different aspects of the Appalachian tradition. “At the Roots of the Mountains: Ancient Influences on the Appalachian Sound” will explore the Scotch-Irish origins of Appalachian music, as well as earlier influences from sacred music and the Book of Psalms. “My Old Mountain Home: Appalachia and the Origins of American Folk and Bluegrass” will survey how the sound of Appalachia helped to define the emerging genre of American folk music, and eventually Bluegrass. “From Mountaineer to Pioneer: A Musical Expedition from Appalachia to the Sierra Nevada Range” will embark upon a sonic journey as the sound of Appalachia migrates across the prairie, picking up Country before crossing the Mississippi, and adding Western out on the frontier. “Urban Appalachia: The Mountain is a State of Mind” will investigate the infiltration of American popular music by the basic structural and lyrical content of Appalachian music, and also look at the role that advances in musical technology have played in preserving this music for future generations.
Presentation #1 Title
At the Roots of the Mountains: Ancient Influences on the Appalachian Sound
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
Explore the Scotch-Irish origins of Appalachian Music, as well earlier influences from sacred music and the Book of Psalms. This opening presentation will explore the Scotch-Irish origins of Appalachian music, as well earlier influences from sacred music and the Book of Psalms. The program will begin with an original composition, “Irish Whiskey,” that is a modern take on the Celtic lament. This will lead into a discussion of the Scotch-Irish origins of Appalachian Music. When Scottish and Irish immigrants came to America en masse as a result of the Potato Famine in the mid-nineteenth century they brought along with them their own culture, religion, and songbooks. Many of these immigrants would come to inhabit the region known today as “Appalachia,” and thus the sound of Appalachian music finds its direct ancestry in the Celtic tradition. The Celtic tradition itself borrows heavily from the sacred music of the Catholic Church, in particular the Psalms of David. This tradition will be discussed and then exemplified by an original composition entitled “Jerusalem”. (“Jerusalem” is available for free download as part of my EP “Cities” at www.jasonleeguthrie.bandcamp.com. “Irish Whiskey” is not yet recorded.)
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Jason Lee Guthrie is currently a Doctoral Student in Mass Communication at The University of Georgia. His research interests include Media History, Copyright Law, and the Music Industry.
Presentation #2 Title
My Old Mountain Home: Appalachia and the Origins of American Folk and Bluegrass
Presentation #2 Abstract or Summary
This presentation will survey how the sound of Appalachia helped to define the emerging genre of American folk music, and eventually Bluegrass.
This presentation will survey how the sound of Appalachia helped to define the emerging genre of American Folk Music, and eventually Bluegrass. After a verbal transition from the previous presentation, an original composition entitled “Athens” will serve as a demonstrative example of American folk music categorized by story-telling lyrics, driving rhythms, and recurring melodies. From there, a short recitation of the history of Bluegrass will commence including reference to major figures such as Bill Monroe and Ricky Skaggs. Insight will be shared about the “high, lonesome sound” that came down from the hilltops of Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and North Carolina. This will be followed by a discussion of Bluegrass as an extension of the folk traditions of Appalachian peoples, and also reference the composition of traditional Bluegrass bands. Finally, comment will be made on the role that virtuosic musicianship plays in Bluegrass music, and this section will end with an original, instrumental Bluegrass composition entitled “Whips and Cords”.
(“Athens” is available for free download as part of my EP “Cities” at www.jasonleeguthrie.bandcamp.com. “Whips and Cords” is by Thomas Petrino, and is recorded but not yet released .)
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #2
Thomas Petrino is a professional musician and photographer, and also serves as an instructor at the Comenius School for Creative Leadership in Fort Mill, SC. He majored in Music Studies with a focus on Jazz Guitar at William Patterson University in Wayne, New Jersey, and plans to return to graduate school in the near future.
Presentation #3 Title
From Mountaineer to Pioneer: A Musical Expedition from Appalachia to the Sierra Nevada Range
Presentation #3 Abstract or Summary
Embark upon a sonic journey as the sound of Appalachia migrates across the prairie, picking up Country before crossing the Mississippi, and adding Western out on the frontier.
This presentation will consist of a short talk on the influence of Appalachian folk music on the evolution of the Country and Western genre. Bookended by two original compositions, listeners will embark upon a sonic journey as the sound of Appalachia migrates across the prairie, picking up Country before crossing the Mississippi, and adding Western out on the frontier. The first song, “Philadelphia,” is typical of the Appalachian folk style of storytelling over simple melodies, and is also a microcosm of the American western migration as far as Kansas City. This will be followed by a short verbal explication of American western expansion, and explain how many of the Scotch-Irish immigrants that originally settled in Appalachia eventually moved with the wagon trains and railroads to seek their fortunes on the other side of the range. As they carry their sound with them yet again, it picks up the lilt, pathos, and longing associated with Country Western music, and the session will end with an original song, “American Silver,” that displays this creative evolution.
(“Philadelphia” is available for free download as part of my EP “Cities” at www.jasonleeguthrie.bandcamp.com. “American Silver” is not yet recorded.)
Presentation #4 Title
Urban Appalachia: The Mountain is a State of Mind
Presentation #4 Abstract or Summary
This final presentation will investigate the infiltration of American popular music by the basic structural and lyrical content of Appalachian music, and also look at the role that advances in musical technology have played in preserving this music for future generations.
This final presentation will investigate the infiltration of American Popular Music by the basic structural and lyrical content of Appalachian Music, and also look at the role that advances in musical technology have played in preserving this music for future generations. The Folk Revival of the 1950s and 60s owes much to the Appalachian Ballads and Sea Shanties imported from Scotland and Ireland during the Nineteenth Century. This will be exemplified in an original composition “Troy” that models the folk styles of Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Bob Dylan. More recently, folk music has revived again and an original composition “London” will capture this sound made popular by acts such as Damien Rice, David Gray, and Ray LaMontagne. The session will end with a discussion of the role that technology and amplification play in the modern preservation of traditional music, and an instrumental jam that will showcase some of this technology in action will be the final original piece.
(Troy” and “London” are available for free download as part of my EP “Cities” at www.jasonleeguthrie.bandcamp.com.)
At the Roots of the Mountains: Ancient Influences on the Appalachian Sound
Explore the Scotch-Irish origins of Appalachian Music, as well earlier influences from sacred music and the Book of Psalms. This opening presentation will explore the Scotch-Irish origins of Appalachian music, as well earlier influences from sacred music and the Book of Psalms. The program will begin with an original composition, “Irish Whiskey,” that is a modern take on the Celtic lament. This will lead into a discussion of the Scotch-Irish origins of Appalachian Music. When Scottish and Irish immigrants came to America en masse as a result of the Potato Famine in the mid-nineteenth century they brought along with them their own culture, religion, and songbooks. Many of these immigrants would come to inhabit the region known today as “Appalachia,” and thus the sound of Appalachian music finds its direct ancestry in the Celtic tradition. The Celtic tradition itself borrows heavily from the sacred music of the Catholic Church, in particular the Psalms of David. This tradition will be discussed and then exemplified by an original composition entitled “Jerusalem”. (“Jerusalem” is available for free download as part of my EP “Cities” at www.jasonleeguthrie.bandcamp.com. “Irish Whiskey” is not yet recorded.)
