Instruments in Country Music
Dulcimers: The original came from about 200 years ago. They are only used in country music. The first was made in Pennsylvania in the 1780s. The places they were first used was Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Tennessee, and North Carolina. The best players were Lois Hornbostel, Leo Kretzner, David Shnaufer, Lorraine Lee, Larkin Bryant, Howwie Mitchell, Holly Tannen, and Barb Truex.
Accordion: Pee Wee King made the accordion much more know by his piece Tennessee Waltz. Artists that started using accordion to record songs were Hank Williams, Bill Monroe, Roy Acuff, and Marion Martin.
Harmonica: The harmonica is a free reed wind instrument that is played by blown air over one hole at a time. The vibrating of blowing creates sound. There are tight and loose ends and the loose end creates sound. They came to be in Vienna, Europe in the 19th century. There are two ways to play the harmonica - vibrato and head-shaking. Vibrato is created by moving hands which creates a shaking motion that moves the sound. Head-shaking involves the lips moving quickly over the holes. The best harmonica players in country music are Charlie McCoy, Mickey Raphael, Jimmy Fadden, Terry McMillian, Mike Caldwell, Delbert McClinton, Leo Enry, Klint Black, Kevin Garinger, and Eddie K. Lively.
Jumbo Acoustic Guitar: Guitars came to America by European people in the Industrial Revolution. Country players made the first successful guitar. Guitars are used in many different types of music, but it started with country music and can be styled greatly for this type of music.
Fiddle/Violin: Violins and fiddles are the same thing. Fiddles were used for country music as well as Celtic music and Irish jigs. Fiddling was taken to a higher level by combining this type of country music with pop music because of its coordinated lyrics and songs.