Mountain Music

The foundation of mountain music is the music of the pioneers --- ballads, folksongs, and the dance tunes brought from the British Isles in the 18th century. While the fiddle, or violin, was the original instrument that provided entertainment for Southern communities, mountaineers started playing the banjo in the middle of the 19th century and the guitar later in the century.

Mountain singers also added new material to the store of older British folksongs, taking songs from the minstrel tradition in the mid-19th century and from the popular music industry toward the end of the 1800s. Religious music also developed from its British roots to include folk hymns and shape-note music --- both products of the frontier experience --- and later gospel music, influenced by ragtime and popular music.

Exhibits:
 Musical Instruments  |  Shape-Note Singing  |  Lulu Belle and Skyland Scotty
Edison Cylinder Phonograph  |  Victrola Phonograph  |  Reed Organ
"Baby" Reed Organ