Performance Analysis of “Appalachian Journey” An analysis of the documentary “Appalachian Journey” by Alan Lomax proves that the musical performances featured are examples of traditional music. The songs performed used traditional music instruments and styles. Many songs were passed down through oral tradition, and many were stories of real events. The people of the appalachian mountains used banjo’s, guitars, and fiddles while singing throughout the documentary, including hand carved instruments and sound making toys. They played fast repetitive songs like the ballad John Henry and even homemade ballads. The murder ballad “John Henry” was performed by three men playing the guitar and a …show more content…
We can somewhat understand what kind of people they were and the lives they live and how it affects their music. One thing to note is the African influences on their type of music. One of the most common instruments played throughout was the banjo, originating from Africa. There’s also african dances to go along with their music. The whites adopted the black style, like the way the banjo players sometimes have a lot of body movement. Singing and dancing for enjoyment, shows how this music differs from popular or concert. They are poor and sing and dance because it's part of their culture, and they sing about their struggles and you can hear it in their voices. Music was always played as they danced, showing how intertwined they are. One observation is that there is a large number of female cloggers. Clogging is one of the main forms of dancing that goes with their music. The music with the dancing is a lot faster than their ballads, and have a clear difference between dancing songs and otherwise. For the lives of these people, they need things like dancing and music to keep them distracted and their lives full. The music of these people truly define their culture. For poor miners, who have lived hard lives, music emotionally kept their hearts alive, as seen with one old man, who sang about his