<P> Bluegrass tunes can largely be described as narratives on the everyday lives of the people whence the music came . Aside from laments about loves lost, interpersonal tensions and unwanted changes to the region (e.g., the visible effects of mountaintop coal mining), bluegrass vocals frequently reference the hard - scrabble existence of living in Appalachia and other rural areas with modest financial resources . Some protest music has been composed in the bluegrass style, especially concerning the vicissitudes of the Appalachian coal mining industry . Railroading has also been a popular theme, with ballads such as "Wreck of the Old 97" and "Nine Pound Hammer" (from the legend of John Henry) being exemplary . </P> <P> Bluegrass, as a distinct musical form, developed from elements of old - time music and traditional music of the Appalachian region of the United States . The Appalachian region was where many English and Ulster - Scots immigrants settled, bringing with them the musical traditions of their homelands . Hence the sounds of jigs and reels, especially as played on the fiddle, were innate to the developing style . Black musicians infused characteristics of the blues to the mix, and in a development that was key to shaping the bluegrass sound, introduced the iconic banjo to the region . </P> <P> The music now known as bluegrass was frequently used to accompany a rural dancing style known as buckdancing, flatfooting or clogging . As the bluegrass sound spread to urban areas, listening to it for its own sake increased, especially after the advent of audio recording . In 1948, what would come to be known as bluegrass emerged as a genre within the post-war country / western - music industry, a period of time characterized now as the golden era or wellspring of "traditional bluegrass ." From its earliest days, bluegrass has been recorded and performed by professional and amateur musicians alike . Although amateur bluegrass musicians and trends such as "parking - lot picking" are too important to be ignored, it is touring musicians who have set the direction of the style . Radio stations dedicated to bluegrass have also proved influential in advancing the evolution of the style into distinctive subgenres . </P> <P> Bluegrass was initially included in the category of folk music and later changed to hillbilly . In 1948, bluegrass was placed under the country / western heading for radio airplay charting . All four of the seminal bluegrass authors - Artis, Price, Cantwell and Rosenberg - described bluegrass music in detail as originating in style and form, in one form or another, between the 1930s and mid-1940s . However, the term "bluegrass" did not appear formally to describe the music until the late 1950s, and did not appear in Music Index until 1965 (Kretzschmar, 1970). The first entry in Music Index mentioning "bluegrass music" directed the reader to "see Country Music; Hillbilly Music" (Kretzschmar, 1970, p. 91). Music Index maintained this listing for bluegrass music until 1986 . The first time bluegrass music had its own entries in Music Index was 1987 (Stratelak, 1988). </P>

What is the most established and iconic instrumental ensemble in western culture