The evolution of the original Celtic music into more modern forms was not a simple, linear process. It was, in fact, so complicated that it is nearly impossible to trace it in all its details. Certainly the dance music was an important original element. But another early tradition was of equal importance -- song. As we have already noted, Gaelic song seems not to have come to the area, or at least not to have survived. But the heritage of English language song has been rich.
The homeland of the Scots-Irish -- the Scottish lowlands and the north of England, was a treasure trove of song in English and in the Lowland Scots dialect. Much of this music became formalized and notated into song books at an early date, but much more continued in oral tradition. Probably most important was the tradition of the ballads, or narrative songs. These, or more accurately the texts of these, were codified in the nineteenth century by Professor Francis James Child. His work, including the numbering of the ballads, is considered definitive to this day. At the beginning of the twentieth century several English musicians, most notably Ralph Vaughan Williams and Cecil Sharp, became interested in collecting and preserving the songs as they were then in oral tradition, a tradition which was not expected to survive. Although a truly comprehensive collecting and codification of the tunes of the Child ballads was not accomplished until the work of Bertrand Harris Bronson, these two British scholars were very important in recording the tradition as it then existed, including many songs other than ballads.
Cecil Sharp heard it said that these songs were alive and well in the Appalachian area of the USA. The isolation of the area and the lack of transportation there had, it was said, resulted in the preservation of this material, including many Child ballads. Acting on this information, Sharp and his colleague, Maud Karpeles, made their first trip to Appalachia in 1916, spending six weeks collecting and notating the music. They visited again in 1917 and 1918, spending a total of 46 weeks in the mountains, notating songs from 281 different singers and collecting about 500 songs, with a total of 1612 variants. The greatest bulk of the material came from the area bordering Tennessee and North Carolina, with a rich field also being found in Kentucky. Unfortunately, Sharp and Karpeles failed to recognize the value of the instrumental music and notated very little of it. Karpeles wrote that these were "of little value." (!)
As with the instrumental tunes, the songs underwent many types of metamorphosis. Some transposed the stories to the newer places and circumstances: e.g. "The Banks of Red Roses" became "Pretty Polly," and "Brennan on the Moor" was changed into "The Ballad of Charlie Quantrell." All served as models for the "composition" of new songs. The native song-making propensity of the people, along with the isolation of the mountains, kept song-making activity at a high pace. Everyday life provided plenty of subject matter.
It was this tradition of song which provided the foundation for the evolution into modern country music. The introduction of the guitar into the mountains early in the twentieth century, the growing influence from African-American sources, and the advent of the phonograph resulted in the beginning of the country song as a commercial venture. The original Carter Family is, of course, the most famous name associated with this beginning. From that point on, the story is well known.
Instrumental music, while playing a supporting role in the rise of the commercial song, also had a life of its own. Just as early song had provided models for newer ones, the reels and hornpipes provided models for the development of instrumental music. Instrumental music remained fairly traditional until around 1940, when Bluegrass music came upon the scene. The evolution of older three-finger banjo styles into bluegrass style, the use of the mandolin, and the "high lonesome" style of singing were hallmarks of this music. Bluegrass music has continued to develop along its own lines, to some degree independent of the forces that have produced the modern country styles of such singers as Garth Brooks and Shania Twain.
So where does that leave us now? Twenty or so years ago, when country music was first beginning to go really "modern," many older performers were alarmed. Justin Tubb had a record, "What's Wrong With The Way We're Doing It Now?". Although I was in full sympathy with this point of view, it was obvious that the way we were doing it "now" was itself a modern way when compared to the music's origins. But progress is progress, and the music will continue to evolve in its own way. Fortunately (from my point of view), a vital interest in the original music has arisen, particularly among younger musicians. "Old Time" Appalachian music is alive and well in the mountains, as well as many other places both in the USA and other countries. A revival of interest in the original Irish and Scottish music has been going on across the world -- as well as in Appalachia -- and good, authentic performances are not hard to find. A "cross-fertilization" between the USA and the Celtic countries has resulted from electronic media and easy travel. What this means for the future we don't know. The styles will evolve however they evolve -- but evolve they will. This is, after all, what "folk" music is all about.