Unfortunately, Native America culture is vastly overshadowed in North American culture in general, and will have to be dealt with in a different unit. Of the larger cultural threads, that of Anglo/Scottish/Irish and African-American dominate in the cultural landscape ( this is not discussing the border areas of the Southwest or the French influenced areas of the North-East and Louisiana). We will discuss the characteristics of these two dominant groups and how they have evolved from the beginnings of colonization through the present day.
Anglo-Scottish singing styles are often characterized by tight-throated, nasal tone. The narrative ballad form is a traditional form. Here is an example from 1928. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Op9j7X5BPGw
European-style dance tunes, both as songs and instrumental are integral part of British-American culture.
Here is an example of string band music played for old-style dancing known as contradances. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlzUT4sMqcE
Square dancing came to represent Euro-American culture in the early 20th Century, and became a political symbol of White Supremacists like Henry Ford. Ironically, the calling out of dance moves is a legacy of slave times and shows the contribution of African Americans to the art.
https://qz.com/1153516/americas-wholesome-square-dancing-tradition-is-a-tool-of-white-supremacy/
Oddly enough, square dances and contra-dances were cultivated by African-American slaves, in imitation or mockery of the Euro-American plantation owners who went to the expense of learning the latest choreographies from dance masters. By having a leader call the dance moves, the less privileged were able to dance in complex patterns. This was later adopted and co-opted by white dancers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_cQuBSo_jk
Here is an example of a song for square dances, which originates in 16th-century England, but has taken on a uniquely American character
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjsUl5XnSiQ
Here is another example from the old "Andy Griffith Show" from the 1950s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu77tX7uDvc
As a narrative style these various elements combined to form country music. One of the famous examples is Dolly Parton's "Jolene." Note her typical nasal vocal style and the strong dance-like rhythms. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ixrje2rXLMA
During the slavery period (1600-1865), African Americans struggled under deplorable conditions, including attempts to totally eradicate their cultures. Nevertheless, musical features common with Afrrican practices endured. These included the following:
Call-and-response
Work songs, often referred to as field hollers, used this African-style performance style
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjv0MYIFYsg&list=PLSXTmA7TUxtoiyeAZNU4JRHOu-gT42xXR
Pentatonic scales--pentatonic scales as used by West-African people such as the Bambara of Mali evolved into the blues scales
The call-and-response format evolved into a form where you had Call-Response copy-Capping phrase. This became the form known as the 12-bar blues form. This example is by the Great Robert Johnson. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iigXKpgrfYo
This is another by Blind Lemon Jefferson (1893-1929) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXC1jjRCXtg
There were many notable female singer/songwriters, including:
Bessie Smith (April 15, 1894 – September 26, 1937) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Bo3f_9hLkQ&pp=ygUcYmVzc2llIHNtaXRoIHN0LiBsb3VpcyBibHVlcw%3D%3D
and Ma Rainy (April 26, 1886 – December 22, 1939) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4H7MUq_o4iY&pp=ygUIbWEgcmFpbnk%3D
The Evolution of the Banjo
Musical instruments with a hide face are common in West African. The most likely ancestors of the banjo are probably
the ngoni https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4F5G-TnHwM
and aconting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzt0v9roU6g&t=72s
which use similar picking styles to the claw hammer style of banjo playing.
Rhiannon Giddens is a brilliant musician of mixed ethnic parentage, who founded the Grammy Award winning group, the Carolina Chocolate Drops. She was trained in opera, but chose to switch bluegrass and folk music. She was recently awarded a McArthur Genius Grant for her work.
Here is her address to the 2017 of the International Bluegrass Music Association in which she talks about the evolution of the banjo, bluegrass music, ethnic identities, and cultural fusion (creolization).
Here is an example of her playing on an old-style fretless banjo made from a gourd, know as a minstrel banjo. These are two pieces that date from the 19th Century. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxW8z56piFk
The following are two performances of compositions of hers that comment on slavery, as well as the origin of the banjo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVrTf5yOW5s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYuqnUs9gP8
Game songs--Interaction with Euro-American culture from the beginning has shaped Afro-American culture, and vice versa. The introduction of jump rope as a children's pastime lead to an urban cultural space that was specifically for girls. Ethnomusicologist Kyra D. Gaunt explains this phenomenon as manifested in the 1950s through 70s, and how the integration of movement, rhythm, and poetry evolved, eventually contributing to the development of rap and hip-hop. Her book, "The Games Black Girls Play: Learning the Ropes from Double-Dutch to Hip-Hop," explores these threads. In the following video Dr. Gaunt discuss this and the concept kinesic aurality: listening with you body, not just your ears.
https://www.ted.com/talks/kyra_gaunt_how_the_jump_rope_got_its_rhythm
Other related African-American musical practices included "Pattin' Juba" or Hamboning.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYOhW-eArvE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kcbHMKAbv8
Other related practices are the rhythmic songs from New Orleans Mardi Gras such as "Iko Iko.'