What Can You Learn to Play?
A variety of musical instruments produce the sounds of Appalachian music. At Pick & Bow, classes are taught in six instruments that characterize music of the region: fiddle, banjo, guitar, mandolin, bass, and ukulele (though ukulele is a more recent addition in the last decade). Other instruments common in Appalachian music include dulcimer, dobro, harmonica, washboard, and jaw harp. Like members of a family, each one has a distinct sound and style that contributes something unique to the collective. Some might provide a notey melody line, while others drive the rhythm of the music. Their roles don’t always stay the same either, as there are many creative ways to play each instrument.
An instrument evolves and transforms depending on where it travels and what materials might be available there to make that instrument. The development of mass production techniques has also shaped instruments and their uses. At the turn of the twentieth century, manufacturers and mail-in store catalogues like Sears-Roebuck made instruments like guitar, banjo, and mandolin more affordable than ever. In our world of increasing globalization, instruments from all corners of the world can end up in people’s homes. At Vintage Music, Dahlonega’s local music shop, you can find a Chinese bowed instrument called the erhu hanging for sale on the same wall as fiddles. It isn’t just a coincidence—if you trace the histories of instruments in Appalachian music far back enough, you will find that related instruments play both unique and surprisingly similar roles in other kinds of music and cultures.
Mandolins, fiddles, and an erhu on the wall at Vintage Music.