I cannot remember a particular movie title.  It is an independent
movie, I believe, made within the last four or five years.  I THOUGHT
it had a title like "wind talkers" but i know that's not the movie i'm
looking for.  this movie is about the origins of american folk
music/bluesy kind of things.  i know violins and fiddles are heavily
involved.  i believe it takes place in the south or at least prairie
land.  i think it's a period piece but i can't remember when exactly. 
it is not a documentary, it is definitely a dramatic picture.  i
remember the characters wearing overalls and sitting on porches and
using the fiddles, things like that.  those are all the details i can
remember...i DO remember that i saw a preview for this movie on a dvd
(can't remember the dvd i rented, obviously), which ALSO included the
previews for the movies Northfork, and And Now Ladies & Gentlemen. 
Both of THESE movies are paramount classics movies, which made me
think maybe my fiddle movie was too...but on that front I've had no
success.  doesn't mean it's NOT i just couldn't pinpoint anything.

Hi fiddlesmovie,

After viewing the trailer, I believe the movie you are looking for is
called "Songcatcher".

From the Internet Movie Database:
"After being denied a promotion at the university where she teaches,
Doctor Lily Penleric, a brilliant musicologist, impulsively visits her
sister, who runs a struggling rural school in Appalachia. There she
stumbles upon the discovery of her life - a treasure trove of ancient
Scots-Irish ballads, songs that have been handed down from generation
to generation, preserved intact by the seclusion of the mountains.
With the goal of securing her promotion, Lily ventures into the most
isolated areas of the mountains to collect the songs and finds herself
increasingly enchanted - not only by the rugged purity of the music,
but also by the raw courage and endurance of the local people as they
carve out meaningful lives against the harshest conditions. It is not,
however, until she meets Tom - a handsome, hardened war veteran and
talented musician - that she's forced to examine her motivations. Is
the "Songcatcher," as Tom insists, no better than the men who exploit
the people and extort their land?"

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0210299/plotsummary

The trailer http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0210299/trailers
can be viewed here:
http://videodetective.com/home.asp?PublishedID=705472


Songcatcher is available for purchase at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005O0SO/qid=1141380360/103-6794503-5689403


Search strategy:
I tried various search words but the ones that worked, using Google, were:
site:.imdb.com "folk music" 


I hope this is helpful. If you have any questions regarding my answer,
or believe this is not the movie you are looking for, please don?t
hesitate to ask for further assistance before rating.

Best regards,
Rainbow