Country music is a genre of popular music that originated in the southern United States around the end of the 19th century. Today, it is primarily played in North America and Western Europe. Country music has been influenced by many influences including Irish, Scottish, Swedish, and African American folk music. Country songs typically have themes about love as well as tragic situations such as broken hearts and- most often-drinking alcohol to excess. The two most commonly used instruments in Country music are the steel guitar and the fiddle. These two, along with the piano and the banjo, were also popular during the early "old-time" country music era at the end of the 19th century. Other instruments include drums, basses, and acoustic guitars. Electric guitars are used for texture or effect (with a la…solo) rather than for harmony. Vocals are typical of three types: lead vocals, harmony vocals, and background vocals. Harmony vocals are generally used in choruses and catchy melodies. Background vocals are often monophonic and sparse but maybe elaborate in harmony groups or cutting sessions. Vocals also include the fiddle, which is a bowed string instrument used for playing folk music, particularly Appalachian folk music. Fiddles are a part of traditional old-time music, bluegrass music, and Western swing. The strings of a violin belong to the violin family; the violin is the most widely used bowed string instrument in the world. A violin typically has four strings. The banjo is a chordophone with a long neck, resembling a small mandolin, consisting of a large resonating hollow body which is usually metal or wood (though plastic or resin are becoming common), with the head holding tuning pegs in the front and a tension hoop of strung metal hooks at the back. The banjo is played with most of its strings down, but can also be played using a capo. The dulcimer is an American folk music instrument, usually, a small wooden box with metal strings typically played with a hammer or pick. The strings are arranged in pairs and tuned to a diatonic scale. The dulcimer has many different names including "dulcitone", "melochord", and "pluck piano". In Ireland and Scotland, they are also popularly referred to as 'bouzoukis'. It is a very quiet instrument that usually has no more than three strings. The fiddle is a bowed string instrument with four or five strings, typically used for folk music. It is generally held in the left hand and bow of the instrument, and sometimes in the right hand under the chin. In folk music, violinists use different techniques to play melodies or express creativity through ornamentation. Many fiddle tunes were composed as dance music, a uniquely American folk music tradition in which fiddlers improvise a tune in a slow, fluid style. The guitar is an acoustic, stringed musical instrument with nylon strings and metal frets. The sound is generally amplified by magnetic pickups or piezoelectric pickups mounted on the body. The electric guitar has around 100 different built-in sounds and can be used to play any style of music, although the majority of electric guitars are used to play heavy metal. A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other percussion instruments. It includes a snare drum, a kick drum, a hi-hat, toms, congas, and many other percussion instruments. A bass drum is an air-filled drum that produces the fundamental bass note of the music with one beat. A snare drum is a cylindrical percussion instrument that has two heads: one tuned higher than the other (called "snare"), both covered with identical or similar batters. The main types of snare drums include: The bass drum, or double bass drum (also called a kick drum), is a large drum that produces the lowest note in the music and is often used by pop groups and in jazz. It consists of a skin stretched over wire hoops above resonators mounted on its underside. In the past, music and dance ensembles were provided with a single bass instrument, which had several strings played by one musician. Since the bassist needed to play accompaniment parts with some instruments in these ensembles, the double bass was often added. A cymbal is a type of percussion instrument made of multiple, usually two or more thinner pieces of metal, that are struck together or tapped with a beater. Cymbals are usually played by the use of sticks and mallets, although many people play them using bare hands. Cymbals are often associated with the drum kit and make a "shhh" sound when struck. A snare drum is a cylindrical percussion instrument that has two heads: one tuned higher than the other (called "snare"), both covered with identical or similar batters. The main types of snare drums include: A cowbell is a percussion instrument that consists of a single, clear glass bulb partially filled with metal beads or 'metal shot' (solid spheres of approximately 2-7 millimeters (0.08-0.28 in) diameter) that are struck by a free-moving clapper. It produces a sound similar to a bell. The banjo is a chordophone with a long neck, resembling a small mandolin, consisting of a large resonating hollow body which is usually metal or wood (though plastic or resin are becoming common), with the head holding tuning pegs in the front and a tension hoop of strung metal hooks at the back. The banjo is played with most of its strings down, but can also be played using a capo. Traditional music is for the most part not written and learned, but rather transmitted orally from one musician to another. This oral tradition applies to all traditional music to a different degree. For example, in the case of fiddle music, the fiddler's repertoire is passed on informally by parents and other close relatives.