Collective name for commercialized forms of American “country” music.
The stylistic basis is the ballads of English, Scottish, and Irish settlers. Varieties of country-and-western music are hillbilly (the earliest form, widespread since the 20s of the 20th century), bluegrass (typical for the Southern states of the United States), cajun, rockabilly.
Simplicity of melodic and harmonic structures, instrumental sound, in which banjo, violin, acoustic guitars, harmonica play a big role, are typical for country-and-western in general. The lyrics in country and western are mostly lyrical, humorous, or patriotic. Elements of modern rock-music and rhythm-and-blues are assimilated intensively in the modern forms of country-and-western.