Folk music

Folk music
Unknown author · Public domain · source
Name	Folk music
Stylistic origins	Oral tradition, Traditional music
Cultural origins	Various ethnic groups, rural communitys across the world
Instruments	Acoustic guitar, Banjo, Fiddle, Accordion, Dombra, Sitar
Derivatives	Folk rock, World music, Americana
Subgenres	Ballad, Work song, Sea shanty

Folk music is a body of traditional and vernacular musical forms transmitted within communities across regions such as Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas. It is characterized by oral transmission, localized variation, and functional roles in rituals, labor, and social life among groups like the Irish people, Basque people, Romani people, Yoruba people, and Maori people. Scholars and collectors such as Francis James Child, Béla Bartók, Alan Lomax, Zoltán Kodály, and Lucy Broadwood documented and analyzed these repertoires during periods of nationalist interest and ethnomusicological fieldwork.

Definition and Characteristics

Folk music is identified by communal authorship and intergenerational transmission, a concept pursued by institutions including the Smithsonian Institution, British Library, Library of Congress, Royal Irish Academy, and Folklore Society. Features include modal scales used by composers like Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina only in comparative study, heterophony observed in traditions of the Mongol people, improvisation seen in performances by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, and variant texts cataloged by collectors such as Francis James Child and Pyotr Kireyevsky. Textual themes overlap with figures like Robin Hood, King Arthur, Baba Yaga, Orpheus, and Dionysus in cross-cultural motifs. Performance contexts range from festivals hosted by Oireachtas na Gaeilge to rituals at the Temple of Karnak and communal dances at places like Tango Buenos Aires.

History and Origins

Origins trace to prehistoric and ancient societies studied in regions such as Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, Indus Valley, Ancient Greece, and Han dynasty. Ethnomusicologists including Curt Sachs, Erich von Hornbostel, Mantle Hood, Bruno Nettl, and Alan Lomax used fieldwork in locations like Transylvania, Andalusia, Sicily, Siberia, Punjab, and Balkans to reconstruct continuities and influences from migrations like those of the Indo-European peoples and the Bantu expansion. Transmission was affected by events such as the Great Migration (African American) and colonial encounters involving Spanish Empire, British Empire, and Ottoman Empire.

Regional Traditions and Styles

European traditions include the Irish traditional music associated with counties like County Clare, the Scandinavian folk repertory of Väsen regions, and the Iberian styles of Flamenco echoes. African traditions encompass Mande music, Highlife of Ghana, and the drumming of the Ashanti people. Asian varieties comprise Hindustani classical influences on folk forms like Baul and Bhangra from Punjab, Gagaku remnants in Japan, and Chinese opera-linked folk songs in Sichuan. The Americas host Appalachian music, Mexican corrido, Andean music with ensembles using panpipes of Quechua communities, and Native American music traditions of nations such as the Navajo Nation and Lakota Sioux. Oceanic forms include Hawaiian hula and Maori waiata.

Instruments and Performance Practices

Common instruments include the fiddle played in sessions in Scotland and New England, the dulcimer of Appalachia, the charango of the Andes, the oud of Arab world, the kora of Mali and Senegal, the sitar of India, and the erhu of China. Ensembles vary from soloists such as Lead Belly to groups like The Chieftains and Bulgarian State Folk Ensemble. Techniques include call-and-response exemplified by Work songs recorded on plantations during the era of the American Civil War, multipart singing in Georgian polyphony of Georgia (country), and normalized ornamentation of Flamenco guitarists like Paco de Lucía.

Folk Song Types and Themes

Typical song types are ballads (narrative forms cataloged by Francis James Child), lullabys, dance tunes such as the reel and polka, epic songs of traditions like the Epic of Gilgamesh's survival motifs, work songs tied to industries in Liverpool docks and whaling communities, and sea shantys of ports like New Bedford, Massachusetts. Themes address love, migration, resistance, heroes like Joan of Arc, tragedies like the Titanic sinking, seasonal rites of Beltane, and moral instruction found in songs collected by John Lomax and Huddie Ledbetter.

Revival Movements and Contemporary Folk

Revival movements include the late 19th-century interest led by collectors like Francis James Child and Lucy Broadwood, the mid-20th-century folk revival involving artists such as Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, and organizations like the Folklore Society and American Folklife Center. Influential festivals include Newport Folk Festival and Cambridge Folk Festival. Contemporary scenes blend with world music producers like Ravi Shankar collaborations, fusion projects by Paul Simon on Graceland, and neo-traditional bands such as The Dubliners, R.E.M.-adjacent acts, and Altan. Political movements referenced include protests against policies enacted by administrations such as Nixon administration where folk songs served as protest anthems.

Influence on Popular and Classical Music

Folk sources influenced composers like Béla Bartók, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Gustav Holst, Aaron Copland, and Zoltán Kodály who integrated modal melodies and rhythms into concert works. Popular genres such as rock and country music drew from folk through artists like The Byrds, Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, Neil Young, and Joni Mitchell. Crossovers include folk rock pioneered by Bob Dylan and The Band and chamber settings by ensembles like the Tallis Scholars when arranging folk melodies. Sampling and reinterpretation in modern production involve collaborations with producers like Brian Eno and labels such as Rough Trade Records.

Category:Folk music genres