History by Mia Llibre

Unfortunately, the history of Old-Time music is rather overlooked. What most people might not recognize is the strong African roots that make up the traditional "string band." From the 1830s up until the Civil War, a popular form of entertainment for most of Western culture and in England was called minstrelsy. In the Minstrel Era, actors would dress up in black face, burning cork and mixing it with water to paint themselves with black face, along with adding exaggerated African features. As a way of making fun of plantation life and of West African culture, white musicians would observe the playing style African Americans used, a technique we use today known as "clawhammer," a banjo style in which one strikes the strings with the top of their nail while holding the hand in a claw shape. This is the same style that people in West Africa used to play the akonting, an instrument similar to the banjo. 

Though the roots of banjo derive from West Africa, the banjo itself is more of an North American instrument that would have most likely developed in the Caribbean and South America. The Civil War also played a large role in Southern string band music because of the cultural exchanges involved. Along with the Black influence that came with the banjo, the mountain dulcimer was introduced to North America, which originated in Germany. It was an instrument that many people would make on their own, especially those who lived in the mountains where there was limited access to resources. European traditions from the British Isles brought in fiddles, mandolins, and guitars. Needless to say, the history of Old-Time music has an intricate and extensive background. It is truly astonishing to see its evolution as, despite its dark past, it's become a beautiful form of expression and community in the High Country.