20/08/2025
What is "Old Time" music and how does it relate to country music, the blues, bluegrass music or even rock and roll? Well, there could be many kinds of music that could be old time but in the case of JAMKids we are talking about the popular music that would have appealed to the people living in the Appalachian mountains sometime ago... Square dance fiddle tunes such as Arkansas Traveler or Turkey In The Straw and Parlor songs like Oh, Susanna, Ol' Dan Tucker or On Top Of Ol' Smokey are considered old time music.
Country music began to break away from old time music in the era of the Carter Family reworking and recording old time songs such as Will the Circle Be Unbroken and Wildwood Flower. Jimmie Rodgers also was part of this era with his bluesy songs such as In the Jailhouse Now and Blue Yodel Number 9.
Bluegrass music later branched out with Bill Monroe reworking the Mule Skinner Blues and writing his own songs like Kentucky Waltz. Did you know that Bill Monroe the "Father of Bluegrass" is in the Rock and Roll "Hall of Fame"? He wrote Blue Moon of Kentucky which Elvis Presley had a big hit on and is credited with influencing the Everly Brothers and others with the harmony and rhythm styles of his music.
All this is to say that we at Grundy JamKids are teaching basic music that can be a foundation for whatever style of popular music your child decides that they may want to play.
-Bob Townsend, JAMkids Grundy fiddle instructor
Visit www.grundyarea.art/jam for more information and to register your family for JAM.
Contact: [email protected]
