Old-time music

Old-time music (or old-timey music) is a form of North American folk music, with roots in the folk music of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Africa. This musical form developed along with various North American folk dances, such as square dance. The genre also encompasses ballads and other types of folk song, and is played on acoustic instruments.

Old-time music as dance music

Instrumental old-time music is traditionally played for dances, and is considered to be dance music. This contrasts with bluegrass music which was developed in the 1940s as a form of concert music. Bluegrass music, however, developed from old-time music, and shares many of the same songs and instruments, but is more oriented toward solo performance than is old-time music.

Related Topics:
Dance music - Bluegrass music

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

While in the British Isles reels and jigs both remain popular, the reel is by far the predominant metric structure preferred by old-time musicians in the United States (though a few hornpipes are also still performed). Canadian musicians, particularly in the Maritime provinces where the Scottish influence is strong, perform both reels and jigs (as well as other types of tunes such as marches and strathspeys).

Related Topics:
Reels - Jig - Hornpipe - Maritime - March - Strathspey

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Each regional old-time tradition accompanies different dance styles. Some of these include clogging and flatfoot dancing (Appalachia), contradancing (New England), square dancing (Southern states) and step dancing (Nova Scotia, particularly Cape Breton Island), though there is some overlap between regions.

Related Topics:
Clogging - Contradancing - New England - Square dancing - Step dancing - Nova Scotia - Cape Breton Island

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~