From Africa, folk songs include the soca, calypso, zouk, samba andCuban rhumba which were practiced by Africans in the diaspora. A political position in a song to inform the listener and persuade them to agree with the writer is a type of folk song. It is often sung patriotically in the United States today and is the state anthem of Connecticut. Tunes often migrate between neighbouring countries. In eastern Europe, generally, the number of syllables per line is the main organizing factor, regardless of the number of stressed syllables. Traditional village society had a vigorous musical life, in which many songs in most genres were known to, and often sung by, a large proportion of the population. The first major composer of this protest music, Woody Guthrie, was said to have composed more than 1,000 folk songs (including “This Land Is Your Land” and “Union Maid,” the latter set to a traditional German tune); they are identified as folk songs because they voice the concerns of the rural and working-class “folk,” are stylistically similar to older folk songs, and were performed with acoustic guitar accompaniment. Its Roud Folk Song Index number is 4501. A modern analogue of written tradition, recording, substantially influenced the oral tradition, as folk singers could hear various arrangements of folk music in private and commercial recordings. It has become clear, however, that folk songs and other pieces are the result of individual creation, either by villagers or by professional or church musicians whose work is somehow taken up in the folk culture. Characteristics of Classical, Folk and Pop Music 1. A ballad tells a story. The characteristics of folk song - 2309121 Answer:Where a folk song originated is rarely known to its community, and thus the anonymity of the creative process was once considered a major criterion of folk music identification. They were composed by urban poets and tunesmiths, usually anonymously, and they often passed into oral tradition, thus joining the body of more traditional folk music. Historically speaking, when something happens in our world, musicians are often there to write about it and reflect on it. Nevertheless, a degree of musical professionalism must have obtained; instrumentalists, though not formally educated, were specialists, as were singers of epic narratives (in the Balkans and Finland, for example) and singers of occupational songs such as sea shanties. An example of those made from handy materials is the Dolle, a type of fiddle used in northwestern Germany, made from a wooden shoe. Excerpt of the folk song “Barbara Allen,” performed by Rosetta Spainhard and Lois Judd; recorded by Charles Todd and Robert Sonkin at a Farm Security Administration migrant camp in California, 1940. Four songs (text only) printed on the reverse of a broadside prematurely announcing the death of Mexican revolutionary hero Emiliano Zapata in 1914. The repertory of a folk community probably always included songs of very diverse origins. It has been contrasted with commercial and classical styles. By the 19th century, simple harmonic sequences closely related to the practices of 18th-century classical music came to be used, with a variety of largely plucked instruments, such as mandolins, guitars, and banjos. At one time, it seems, simple, dronelike accompaniments were performed by stringed instruments such as harps, zithers, and psalteries. We can feel the emotions of … Heterophony—the simultaneous performance of variations of the same tune by two singers or by a singer and his accompanying instruments—is important in Bulgarian, Serbian, and Croatian song. Folk-Rock takes the simple, direct songwriting style of folk music and melds it to a prominent rock & roll backbeat. These songs were current in villages as well as urban coffeehouses and bars. English folk music, for example, is believed to consist largely of about 40 tune families, each of which descends from a single song. 1. This weekend the Top 13 contestants of India’s biggest singing reality show Indian Idol 10 will be showcasing a folk song challenge, where they will be celebrating vibrant colors of India.Each contestant will represent a folk song from a different state of India. The Kingston Trio was one of the most successful folk groups of its kind, inspiring various other trios to dress alike and tell jokes between their renditions of traditional folk songs. Thus, the Nazi and fascist movements of the 1920s to 1940s in Germany and Italy introduced folk songs into the canons of their military ceremonies. Hungarian folk music, on the other hand, contains some 200 units that could be described as the equivalent of tune families. Polyphonic vocal folk music is more common in eastern and southern Europe than in western Europe. Styles of accompaniment in western Europe appear to have changed over the last thousand years. Departures from these norms are most common in eastern Europe. It is the music of the people. Groups of songs (words or music) that appear, on the basis of analysis, to be related are called tune families or text types. The Eurasian style, which is found mainly in southern Europe and parts of Britain and Ireland, as well as in the Middle East and South Asia, is tense, ornamented, and essentially associated with solo singing. Navigate parenthood with the help of the Raising Curious Learners podcast. Systematic improvisation as a method of composition is found only occasionally, as in the epic songs of what was once Yugoslavia and of Ukraine. Text types, such as narratives that form the basis of ballads, may have numerous variants and versions. Some of therecognized folk music includes epic songs and sea shanties in Finland and theBalkans. Both singing styles can be heard in many parts of Europe and in European-derived folk music. Excerpt from the folk song “Barbara Allen,” performed by Mary Sullivan; recorded by Charles Todd and Robert Sonkin at a Farm Security Administration migrant camp in California, 1940. An important characteristic of a song or piece in traditional folk culture is, thus, its dependence on acceptance by a community—that is, by a village, nation, or family—and its tendency to change as it is passed from one individual to another and performed. Facts about Folk Music 1: Interesting music. Western cultures generally share the same genres of folk music. Formed in 1965 by husband and wife John and Michelle Phillips, the group became whole with the addition of Denny Doherty and Cass Elliot, who were already bandmates in another group called The Mugwumps. Their simplicity and their similarity throughout the world suggest that they may constitute an archaic layer in the history of music. The characteristic musical structures, scales, and rhythms of folk music are also found in the other types of music of the same culture. The third group of instruments may be the product of village culture itself. One of the most distinctive elements of folk-rock is the chiming, ringing guitar hooks, coupled with clear vocal harmonies. A more sophisticated one may be the bowed lyre, once widespread in northern Europe but later confined (as the kantele) mainly to Finland. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Historically and by origin, they can be divided into roughly four classes. It is often difficult to ascertain whether the same composer created both the words and the music in a folk song; many songs are known to have separate sources for words and music. Thus, the transmission of folk music has not been an isolated process but one intertwined with other kinds of musical transmission. Parlando-rubato, stressing the words, departs frequently from strict metric and rhythmic patterns and is often highly ornamented, while tempo giusto follows metric patterns and maintains an even tempo. Instrumental folk music is most frequently an accompaniment to dance. Many polyphonic singing techniques are used on the Balkan peninsula and in the mountainous parts of Italy. Themes in folk literature are usually quite simple, but serious and powerful. Folk songs can often be classified into different types. South Slavic epics from the Balkans, accompanied on the one-string fiddle gusla (or gusle), are organized in 10-syllable lines with music that may be endlessly repetitive, or significantly varied and full of contrasts, depending in part on the narrative content of the moment. Using different criteria, the American folk music scholar Alan Lomax identified three main singing styles, which he called Eurasian, old European, and modern European. In turn, two new lines may be substituted for the initial two, giving it a form EFAB. Bhatiali: music of fishermen and boatman, almost always tied by a common raga (mode), sung solo. The major mode is the most common in western and central Europe, an indication of the influence of nearby art music; others are found in eastern Europe, Scandinavia, and England (as well as in English-derived music around the world). In colloquial discussions of folk songs (or tales), the terms variant and version are used to highlight the differences in ways of singing the same song (or telling the same story). A second group consists of instruments that were taken to Europe or the Americas from non-European cultures and often changed. Tunes may have from two to eight lines, but most often there are four. As the song progresses we can get a sense of the regularity of the beats (we tap our foot to them) and it underpins and organises the element of time within the song. In the course of the 20th century, as the importance of folk music in rural cultures declined in the Western world, folk songs were taken up by political and social movements of many sorts. Although many form types are used universally, each culture favours certain ones. Traditional instruments used in traditional folk music include the fiddle, melodeon, accordion and squeezebox. In Asia genressuch as Nadagam and Noorthy exist. By contrast, in its traditional rural venues, most folk music is monophonic (that is, having only one melodic line). This music is sometimes called “folk rock” . At the same time, urban folklorists (stimulated first by Thomas Percy in Britain and Johann Gottfried von Herder in Germany and continuing with Cecil Sharp in England and the United States) began to collect and publish folk songs for an audience of urban intelligentsia, emphasizing the age of the songs and their national character. The relationship to popular music also intensified, through the creation of mixed genres such as folk rock and through the use of folk-music elements to help create distinct national variants of mainstream rock music. Although the group was only around for a short period of time, The Mamas & the Papas left an undeniable mark on the world of folk music. Singers in the older, ornamented styles frequently depart from rigid metric presentation for melismata (i.e., a single syllable sung to a series of notes) and other expressive effects. The predominance of polyphony does not indicate that the music is somehow more advanced. Further, by the 18th century a tradition had become established in urban working-class districts of composing songs, especially ballads, that narrated or commented on current events such as crimes and accidents. Epics are longer narratives in heroic style, which sometimes require many hours to sing. Excerpt from the folk song “Barbara Allen,” as performed by Hule (“Queen”) Hines; recorded by John and Ruby Lomax at the Florida State Penitentiary, Raiford, 1939. Here are five tracks that display that capacity to full effect. These genres are usually differentiated through their texts, but some cultures also make musical distinctions. Though all cultures have unaccompanied solo singing, the instrumental accompaniment of melody is widespread as well. The musical interrelationship among the lines is described as the form. In the technical literature about folklore, the terms version, variant, and form may be used to express degrees of relationship. Nonmetric material, some of it consisting of long, melismatic passages, is also found in vocal and instrumental music in the parts of Europe influenced by Middle Eastern music, such as the Balkan and Iberian peninsulas. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. ( And, a folksinger is a person who can sing folk songs.) Folk music belongs to the type of interesting music. 49, pp. Once introduced, a song could be easily dropped from the repertory. The old European style, characteristic of central, eastern, and parts of northern Europe, is more relaxed; the sound is produced with full voice. Folk music includes traditional folk music and the genre that evolved from it during the 20th-century folk revival. Although Scandinavian vocal music is largely monophonic, complex styles of instrumental polyphony were developed in the repertoires of instruments such as the Swedish nyckelharpa (a type of keyed fiddle) and the Norwegian Hardanger fiddle (which has four melodic strings and four or more sympathetic strings that are not bowed or plucked). The manner of singing and the tone colour of instrumental music vary by ethnicity and class. Most significant perhaps has been the use of folk music by dissident movements, such as those seeking social and economic reform, opposing wars, or protecting the environment. Italian rural polyphony derives from ancient folk practices, medieval church music, and modern urban choral sounds. Folk music is music for everybody to play and listen to. More likely, however, as it was passed from parents to children and to friends and associates and coworkers, it would be changed. Among the exceptions to the strophic form are children’s songs and ditties as well as some epic narratives. In each region of a country, community, village, or family, and even in the repertory of each singer over time, it may have significant differences. Folk-song collectors, from the very nature of their work, must continually be stumbling upon facts which, although they may have no direct bearing upon folk-music, may be of the utmost value to the folk-lorist. A spiritual is a religious song. Many folk songs originated in written form. Rhythmic structure is closely related to singing style. Classical Music Pop Music Folk Music It´s written in scores. (Accompanying this article are audio recordings of five renditions of “Barbara Allen” from collections at the Library of Congress.). Numerous influences acted on a song, including creativity, forgetfulness, previously learned songs, and stylistic expectations. Several variants, comprising a body of performances of the song that are clearly related but not homogeneous, might be designated as a form. Pentatonic scales (i.e., consisting of five notes to the octave), usually consisting of minor thirds and major seconds, are used throughout the continent, especially in songs and song types that are not strongly influenced by the art music and popular music of the cities. In its 21st-century urban and institutional manifestation, folk music is normally performed by singers accompanied by stringed instruments, by instrumental ensembles, or by choruses. Folk Culture A group of people in a particular place who share experiences, customs, and traits, and who work to preserve those traits and customs in order to claim uniqueness and to distinguish themselves from others. Several versions, not so similar to each other, would constitute a variant. The Russian and Ukrainian epic traditions include ornamented singing, often improvised, in which refrains were sometimes sung polyphonically by the audience. Generally speaking, instrumental music is more rigorously metric than is vocal music. In the 19th century, songs were transcribed and notated from live performance, but then were often altered, “corrected” to conform to expected norms, and published. The process by which members of folk communities compose new songs is not well understood, although the study of how tunes are related may provide some insight. Bagpipes, for example, which use the drone principle, are ubiquitous in Europe. In the 1960s a new type of music was started by Bob Dylan who mixed traditional folk song with rock and roll. In traditional folk song with repeated lines five features of folk song, selfishness, and psalteries Barbara Allen, ” performed Capt. 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