Keeping oldtime music in the family since 1989

*By Dr. Josh Turknett*

If you ask ten different old-time musicians to define old-time music, you’re liable to get ten different answers. Definitions range from narrow to broad, the borders are fuzzy, and its meaning has shifted over time. What follows is my own definition of old-time music. It is admittedly an oversimplification, and what I describe might more aptly referred to as Southern Old-Time Music, though to many the two terms are synonymous.

In its broadest sense, old-time music is the music folks in America played in their homes prior to recorded music and the radio. Back then, a lot more folks played music. They didn’t play for fame and fortune, because radio was what made such a thing possible. This was before the world of music had been rigidly divided into the “performers” and the “listeners”, the “talented” and the “ordinary”. Before we’d lost sight of the fact that we’re all born to make music. Back then, people played music simply because they loved it.

They most commonly learned from other family members who played, and so the music was passed from one generation to the next. For many years, the primary instruments available in people’s homes were the fiddle and banjo, and it is arguably this unique union of instruments, this synthesis of European (the violin) and African (the banjo) sounds and styles which led to something completely new, and uniquely American. This interplay occurred in many places throughout the country, but perhaps most significantly (and well documented) in the southern Appalachian region. As such, some also refer to this as “Mountain Music”.

The guitar was added to the mix around the turn of the 20th century. Of course, folks also made music with just about anything else they could coax a pleasing sound from (washboards, bones, spoons, washtubs, saws, their bodies, etc.).

Much of this music was played for dances in the form of “fiddle tunes”. And in fact the combination of the fiddle playing the melodic lead and the banjo providing rhythmic accompaniment is considered by many to be the quintessential form of old-time music. These dance tunes now form the bulk of the old-time jam repertoire, though as discussed represent just one part of the “old-time music” spectrum.

Rules for a good Oldtime Session. . .

Old-Time Sessions (old-time jam) is naturally a place where folks get together to play old-time music. As mentioned above, “fiddle tunes” form the bulk of the old time jam repertoire, but songs may be played at some jams as well. There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of potential tunes in that repertoire. This varies to some extent by region, but there are several dozen “standards” which will be known anywhere. Banjos, fiddles, and guitars comprise the primary instruments, but don’t be surprised to find someone playing the bass, washboard, spoon, bones, jug, etc. You’re bound to find people of all ages, walks of life, and ability levels. The atmosphere will almost always be welcoming. People usually sit in a circle at a jam. They take turns calling out a tune to play, and then the playing begins (the tune is either started by whomever called it out, or a fiddler who knows it). At most old-time jams players don’t take “breaks” (i.e. – instrument solos) as is the case typically at a bluegrass jam. Rather, everyone plays in unison. The tune will usually be repeated multiple times so that everyone can get into a nice groove, and to help those unfamiliar with it learn it. Since most banjo and fiddle players re-tune to get into different keys, jams will typically stay in one key for a while.