Old time is a musical genre from the southern Appalachian region of the United States of America. It is the predecessior of bluegrass music. Old Time music was primarily performed by string bands in the early 20th century. These bands were very popular in the 1920s. A typical string band included one or more fiddlers, a banjo, bass, and a guitar, and sometimers a piano.

The first recordings were made in the 1920s and received radio airplay. The success in record sales allowed some musicians to quit their daytime jobs to become professional musicians.

Old Time music declined in The Great Depression of the 1930s. The following decades brought bluegrass and commercial country music.

Old time music is still performed by musicians in North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia. Many younger bluegrass musicians include old time songs in their repertoires and old time music can be heard at hugely popular music festivals such as Merlefest in North Carolina, which is the largest bluegrass festival in the country.

Other world music genres