Musical Instruments of the Southern Appalachian Mountains

by John Rice Irwin

The roots of Bluegrass music developed for hundreds of years with dulcimers, fiddles, banjos, jew harps, and mouth bows from the Appalachian mountain region of America. Here is the illustrated story of each instrument and their use in the isolated hills to create a truly American style of music .

104 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1983

Reviews

[Tom Schulte · Rating 4 out of 5]

in this book the author, both a native and musician, documents his collection of vintage instruments from crude to exquisite collected in the area. he shares individual and general history. this includes a history of the banjo from its creation and popularization by Joel Walker Sweeney in the 1810s and how the dulcimer and mandolin did not enter the canon until well into the Twentieth Century as core instruments.