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Western music is a form of American folk music composed by and about the people who settled and worked throughout the Western United States and Western Canada. Directly related musically to old English, Scottish, and Irish folk ballads, Western music celebrates the life of the cowboy on the open ranges and prairies of Western North America. The Mexican folk music of the American Southwest also influenced the development of this genre. Western music shares similar roots with Appalachian music (also called ''hillbilly music''), which developed in Appalachia separately from, but parallel to, the Western music genre. The music industry of the mid-20th century grouped the two genres together under the banner of ''country and western music'', later amalgamated into the modern name, ''country music''. ==Origins== Western music was directly influenced by the folk music traditions of England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, and many cowboy songs, sung around campfires in the nineteenth century, like "Streets of Laredo", can be traced back to European folk songs.〔Spell, L. M. (1936). ''Music in Texas: A survey of one aspect of cultural progress''. Austin, Texas, p. 131.〕 Reflecting the realities of the open range and ranch houses where the music originated, the early cowboy bands were string bands supplemented occasionally with the harmonica. The harmonica, invented in the early 19th century in central Europe, arrived in North America shortly before the American Civil War, as the United States was just beginning to expand westward; its small size and portability made it a favorite among the American public and the westward pioneers. Otto Gray, an early cowboy band leader, stated authentic Western music had only three rhythms, all coming from the gaits of the cowpony–walk, trot, and lope. Gray also noted the uniqueness of this spontaneous American song product, and the freedom of expression of the singers.〔Shirley, Glenn. "Daddy of the Cowboy Bands" in ''Oklahoma Today'', Fall 1959, Vol. 9, No. 4, p. 29."〕 In 1908, N. Howard "Jack" Thorp published the first book of Western music, titled ''Songs of the Cowboys''. Containing only lyrics and no musical notation, the book was very popular west of the Mississippi River. Most of these cowboy songs are of unknown authorship, but among the best known is "Little Joe, the Wrangler," written by Thorp himself.〔Thorp, N. (1921) ''Songs of the Cowboys'', p. 96.〕 In 1910, John Lomax, in his book ''Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads'',〔(Online edition )〕 first gained national attention for Western music. His book contained some of the same songs as Thorp's book, though in variant versions (most had been collected before Thorp's book was published). Lomax's compilation included many musical scores. Lomax published a second collection in 1919 titled ''Songs of the Cattle Trail and Cow Camp''].〔(Online edition )〕 With the advent of radio and recording devices, the music found an audience previously ignored by music schools and Tin Pan Alley.〔Quay, ''Westward Expansion'', p. 179.〕 Many Westerners preferred familiar music about themselves and their environment. The first successful cowboy band to tour the East was Otto Gray's Oklahoma Cowboys, put together by William McGinty, an Oklahoma pioneer and former Rough Rider. The band appeared on radio and toured the vaudeville circuit from 1924 through 1936. They recorded few songs, however, so are overlooked by many scholars of Western music.〔''Early Cowboy Band''〕 It is a common impression that Western music began with the cowboy, but this is not the case. The first "western" song was published in 1844. Titled "Blue Juniata", the song is about a young Indian maid waiting for her brave along the banks of the Juniata River in Pennsylvania (at that time, anything west of the Appalachian Mountains was considered "out West"). The song was recorded and sung by the Sons of the Pioneers over a hundred years later and is still being sung today. Subsequent "western" songs down through the years have dealt with many aspects of the West, such as the mountain men, the '49ers, the immigrants, the outlaws, the lawmen, the cowboy, and, of course, the beauty and grandeur of the West. Western music is not limited to the American cowboy.〔Green, Doug. ''Singing in the Saddle'', pp. 1–2.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Western music (North America)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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