Editing Music of the United States (section)

==Folk music==
{{Main|American folk music}}
[[File:PresleyPromo1954PhotoOnly.jpg|thumb|left|Singer [[Elvis Presley]] was one of the most successful music artists of the 20th century, he is often referred to as "the King of Rock and Roll", or simply, "the King".]]
Folk music in the US is varied across the country's numerous ethnic groups. The Native American tribes each play their own varieties of folk music, most of it spiritual in nature. African American music includes [[blues]] and [[gospel music|gospel]], descendants of [[Music of West Africa|West African music]] brought to the Americas by slaves and mixed with Western European music. During the colonial era, [[Folk music of England|English]], [[music of France|French]] and [[music of Spain|Spanish]] styles and instruments were brought to the Americas. By the early 20th century, the United States had become a major center for folk music from around the world, including [[polka]], [[Ukrainians|Ukrainian]] and [[Polish people|Polish]] [[fiddle|fiddling]], [[Ashkenazi Jews|Ashkenazi]], [[Klezmer]], and several kinds of [[music of Latin America|Latin music]].

The Native Americans played the first folk music in what is now the United States, using a wide variety of styles and techniques. Some commonalities are near universal among Native American traditional music, however, especially the lack of [[harmony]] and [[polyphony]], and the use of [[vocable]]s and descending melodic figures. Traditional instrumentations use the [[flute]] and many kinds of [[percussion instrument]]s, like [[drum]]s, [[rattle (percussion instrument)|rattles]], and [[Shaker (musical instrument)|shakers]].<ref>Ferris, p. 18–20.</ref> Since European and African contact was established, Native American folk music has grown in new directions, into fusions with disparate styles like European folk dances and [[Tejano music]]. Modern Native American music may be best known for [[pow wow]]s, pan-tribal gatherings at which traditionally styled dances and music are performed.<ref>Means, Andrew. "Hey-Ya, Weya Ha-Ya-Ya!" in the ''Rough Guide to World Music, Volume 2'', p. 594.</ref>
{{Listen
|filename     = Bice'waan_Song.ogg
|title        = "Bice'waan Song"
|description  = This is an 1897 recording of a traditional Omaha courtship song.
|filename2    = OntheOldKissimmeePrairie.ogg
|title2       = "On the Old Kissimmee Prairie"
|description2 = This is a British tune recorded in Florida in 1940 by Bob Hall, Walter van Bass, Ned Hugh Bass, and J. C. King.
|filename3    = TheOldGreyMare.ogg
|title3       = "The Old Grey Mare"
|description3 = This is old-time Appalachian folk music from 1925. Performed by Bascam Lamar Lunsford.
|filename4    = DollarMamie.ogg
|title4       = "Dollar Mamie"
|description4 = This is a work song for hoeing, recorded at [[Mississippi State Penitentiary]] in 1939.
|filename5    = CaminodeSanAntonio.ogg
|title5       = "Caminode San Antonio"
|description5 = This is a corrido, recorded near [[Brownsville, Texas]] in 1939.
|filename6    = Cotton-EyedJoe.ogg
|title6       = "Cotton-Eyed Joe"
|description6 = [[Cotton-Eyed Joe]] is a traditional [[folk song]] and a [[line dance]] mostly known in the Southern United States, here performed by Elmo Newcomer
}}
The [[Thirteen Colonies]] of the original United States were all former English possessions, and Anglo culture became a major foundation for American folk and popular music. Many American folk songs are identical to British songs in arrangements, but with new lyrics, often as [[parody|parodies]] of the original material. American-Anglo songs are also characterized as having fewer [[Pentatonic scale|pentatonic]] tunes, less prominent accompaniment (but with heavier use of [[drone (music)|drones]]) and more melodies in major.<ref>Nettl, p. 201.</ref> Anglo-American traditional music also includes a variety of [[broadside (music)|broadside ballads]], humorous stories and [[tall tale]]s, and disaster songs regarding mining, shipwrecks, and murder. Legendary heroes like [[Joe Magarac]], [[John Henry (folklore)|John Henry]], and [[Jesse James in music|Jesse James]] are part of many songs. Folk dances of British origin include the [[square dance]], descended from the [[quadrille]], combined with the American innovation of a [[Caller (dancing)|caller]] instructing the dancers.<ref>Nettl, p. 201–202.</ref> The religious [[communal society]] known as the [[Shakers]] emigrated from England during the 18th century and developed their own folk dance style. Their early songs can be dated back to British folk song models.<ref>Hall, p. 21–22.</ref> Other religious societies established their own unique musical cultures early in American history, such as the [[Amish music|music of the Amish]], the [[Harmony Society]], and the [[Ephrata Cloister]] in Pennsylvania.<ref>Crawford, p. 77–91.</ref>

The ancestors of today's African American population were brought to the United States as slaves, working primarily in the plantations of the South. They were from hundreds of tribes across West Africa, and they brought with them certain traits of [[Music of West Africa|West African music]] including [[call and response]] vocals and complexly rhythmic music,<ref>Nettl, p. 171.</ref> as well as [[syncopation|syncopated]] beats and shifting accents.<ref>Ewen, p. 53.</ref> The [[music of Africa|African musical]] focus on rhythmic singing and dancing was brought to the New World, where it became part of a distinct folk culture that helped Africans "retain continuity with their past through music". The first slaves in the United States sang [[work song]]s, [[field holler]]s<ref>Ferris, p. 50.</ref> and, following Christianization, [[hymn]]s. In the 19th century, a [[Great Awakening]] of religious fervor gripped people across the country, especially in the South. Protestant hymns written mostly by New England preachers became a feature of camp meetings held among devout Christians across the South. When blacks began singing adapted versions of these hymns, they were called [[spiritual (music)|Negro spirituals]]. It was from these roots, of spiritual songs, work songs, and field hollers, that blues, jazz, and gospel developed.

===Blues and spirituals===
{{Main|Blues|spiritual (music)}}
{{Listen
|filename=Bertha Houston - We are Americans, Praise the Lord.ogg
|title="We are Americans"
|description=Ethnographic recordings collected for the Library of Congress's Archive of American Folk Song. Performed by Bertha Houston.}}
Spirituals were primarily expressions of religious faith, sung by slaves on southern plantations.<ref>Garofalo, p. 19.</ref> In the mid to late 19th century, spirituals spread out of the U.S. South. In 1871 [[Fisk University]] became home to the [[Fisk Jubilee Singers]], a pioneering group that popularized spirituals across the country. In imitation of this group, gospel quartets arose, followed by increasing diversification with the early 20th-century rise of jackleg and singing preachers, from whence came the popular style of [[gospel music]].
{{Listen
|filename=Colored quartet.pharoah's army got drowned EDIS-SRP-0198-12.ogg
|title="Pharaoh's Army Got Drowned"
|description=Recorded by [[Thomas Edison]] in 1921, released in 1924.}}

Blues is a combination of African work songs, field hollers, and shouts.<ref>Garofalo, p. 44.</ref> It developed in the rural South in the first decade of the 20th century. The most important characteristics of the blues is its use of the [[Pentatonic scale|blue scale]], with a flatted or indeterminate third, as well as the typically lamenting lyrics; though both of these elements had existed in African American folk music prior to the 20th century, the codified form of modern blues (such as with the AAB structure) did not exist until the early 20th century.<ref name="Rolling">''Rolling Stone'', p. 20.</ref>

===Other immigrant communities===
{{Main|Music of immigrant communities in the United States}}
[[File:Dean_Martin_-_publicity.JPG|thumb|left|upright|[[Dean Martin]]]]
The United States is a [[melting pot]] consisting of numerous ethnic groups. Many of these peoples have kept alive the folk traditions of their homeland, often producing distinctively American styles of foreign music. Some nationalities have produced local scenes in regions of the country where they have clustered, like [[Music of Cape Verde|Cape Verdean music]] in [[New England]],<ref>Máximo, Susana and David Peterson. "Music of Sweet Sorrow" in the ''Rough Guide to World Music, Volume 1'', p. 454–455.</ref> [[music of Armenia|Armenian music]] in [[California]],<ref>Hagopian, Harold. "The Sorrowful Sound" in the ''Rough Guide to World Music, Volume 1'', p. 337.</ref> and [[music of Italy|Italian]] and [[music of Ukraine|Ukrainian music]] in New York City.<ref>Kochan, Alexis and Julian Kytasty. "The Bandura Played On" in the ''Rough Guide to World Music, Volume 1'', p. 308.</ref>

The [[Louisiana Creole people|Creoles]] are a community with varied non-Anglo ancestry, mostly descendant of people who lived in Louisiana before its purchase by the U.S. The [[Cajuns]] are a group of Francophones who arrived in [[Louisiana]] after leaving [[Acadia]] in Canada.<ref>Broughton, Simon and Jeff Kaliss, "Music Is the Glue", in the ''Rough Guide to World Music'', p. 552–567.</ref> The city of [[New Orleans, Louisiana]], being a major port, has acted as a melting pot for people from all over the Caribbean basin. The result is a diverse and syncretic set of styles of [[Cajun music]] and [[Creole music]].

Spain and subsequently Mexico controlled much of what is now the western United States until the [[Mexican–American War]], including the entire state of Texas. After Texas joined the United States, the native [[Tejano]]s living in the state began culturally developing separately from their neighbors to the south, and remained culturally distinct from other Texans. Central to the evolution of early Tejano music was the blend of traditional Mexican forms such as [[mariachi]] and the [[corrido]], and Continental European styles introduced by German and Czech settlers in the late 19th century.<ref>Burr, Ramiro. "Accordion Enchilada" in the ''Rough Guide to World Music, Volume 2'', p. 604.</ref> In particular, the [[accordion]] was adopted by Tejano folk musicians around the start of the 20th century, and it became a popular instrument for amateur musicians in Texas and Northern Mexico.