Folk music

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"As old as the tension between art music and vulgar music is, it became radical only in high capitalism. In earlier epochs, art music was able to regenerate its material from time to time and enlarge its sphere by recourse to vulgar music. This is seen in medieval polyphony, which drew upon folk songs for its cantus firmi, and also in Mozart, when he combined peep-show cosmology with opera seria and Singspiel."--"On the Social Situation of Music" (1932) by Theodor Adorno

This page Folk music is part of the music series.
Illustration: Sheet music to "Buffalo Gals" (c. 1840), a traditional song.
Maxim: "writing about music is like dancing about architecture".

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Folk music includes both traditional music and the genre that evolved from it during the 20th century folk revival. The term originated in the 19th century but is often applied to music that is older than that. Some types of folk music are also called world music.

Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers. It has been contrasted with commercial and classical styles. One meaning often given is that of old songs, with no known composers; another is music that has been transmitted and evolved by a process of oral transmission or performed by custom over a long period of time.

Starting in the mid-20th century a new form of popular folk music evolved from traditional folk music. This process and period is called the (second) folk revival and reached a zenith in the 1960s. This form of music is sometimes called contemporary folk music or folk revival music to distinguish it from earlier folk forms. Smaller similar revivals have occurred elsewhere in the world at other times, but the term folk music has typically not been applied to the new music created during those revivals. This type of folk music also includes fusion genres such as folk rock, electric folk, and others. While contemporary folk music is a genre generally distinct from traditional folk music, in English it shares the same name, and it often shares the same performers and venues as traditional folk music. Even individual songs may be a blend of the two.

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+"As old as the tension between [[art music]] and [[Vernacular music|vulgar music]] is, it became radical only in [[late capitalism|high capitalism]]. In earlier epochs, art music was able to regenerate its material from time to time and enlarge its sphere by recourse to vulgar music. This is seen in [[medieval music|medieval polyphony]], which drew upon [[folk music|folk song]]s for its ''[[Cantus firmus|cantus firmi]]'', and also in [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]], when he combined [[peep show|peep-show]] cosmology with [[opera seria]] and [[Singspiel]]."--"[[On the Social Situation of Music]]" (1932) by Theodor Adorno
+|}
+[[Image:Buffalo Gals (1840).jpg|thumb|right|200px|This page '''{{PAGENAME}}''' is part of the [[music]] series.<br><small>Illustration: Sheet music to "[[Buffalo Gals]]" (c. 1840), a [[traditional song]].</small><br>Maxim: "[[writing about music is like dancing about architecture]]".]]
 {{Template}}
-'''Folk music''' can have a number of different meanings, including:
+'''Folk music''' includes both traditional [[music]] and the genre that evolved from it during the 20th century folk revival.   The term originated in the 19th century but is often applied to music that is older than that. Some types of folk music are also called [[world music]].
-* '''[[Traditional music]]''': The original meaning of the term "folk music" was synonymous with the term "Traditional music", also often including [[World Music]] and Roots music; the term "Traditional music" was given its more specific meaning to distinguish it from the other definitions that "Folk music" is now considered to encompass.
-* Folk music can also describe a particular kind of '''[[popular music]] which is based on traditional music'''. In contemporary times, this kind of folk music is often performed by professional musicians.   Related genres include [[Folk rock]] and [[Progressive folk music]].
-* In '''American culture''', folk music refers to the [[American folk music revival]], music exemplified by such musicians as [[Woody Guthrie]], [[Pete Seeger]], [[Bob Dylan]] and [[Joan Baez]], who popularized and encouraged the lyrical style in the 1950s and 1960s.
-==The blending of folk and popular genres==
-The experience of the [[20th century]] suggests that as soon as a [[Traditional music|folk tradition]] comes to be marketed as [[popular music]], its musical content will quickly be modified to become more like popular music. Such modified folk music often incorporates [[electric guitar]]s, [[drum kit]], or forms of rhythmic [[syncopation]] that are characteristic of popular music but were absent in the original.
-One example of this sort is contemporary [[country music]], which descends ultimately from a rural American folk tradition, but has evolved to become vastly different from its original model. [[Hip hop music|Rap]] music evolved from an African-American inner-city folk tradition, but is likewise very different nowadays from its folk original. A third example is contemporary [[Bluegrass music|bluegrass]], which is a professionalised development of American [[old time music]], intermixed with [[blues]] and [[jazz]].
+'''Traditional folk music''' has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers. It has been contrasted with commercial and classical styles.  One meaning often given is that of old songs, with no known composers;  another is music that has been transmitted and evolved by a process of [[oral transmission]] or performed by custom over a long period of time.
-Sometimes, however, the exponents of amplified music were bands such as [[Fairport Convention]], [[Pentangle (band)|Pentangle]], [[Mr. Fox]] and [[Steeleye Span]] who saw the electrification of traditional musical forms as a means to reach a far wider audience, and their efforts have been largely recognised for what they were by even some of the most die-hard of purists. Traditional folk music forms also merged with [[rock and roll]] to form the hybrid generally known as [[folk rock]] which evolved through performers such as [[The Byrds]], [[Simon and Garfunkel]] and [[The Mamas and the Papas]]. Since the 1970s a genre of "contemporary folk", fueled by new singer-songwriters, has continued to make the coffee-house circuit and keep the tradition of acoustic non-classical music alive in the United States. Such artists include [[Chris Castle]], [[Steve Goodman]], and [[John Prine]]. While from Ireland [[The Pogues]] and [[The Corrs]] brought traditional tunes back into the [[album]] charts.
+Starting in the mid-20th century a new form of popular folk music evolved from traditional folk music.  This process and period is called the (second) folk revival and reached a [[zenith]] in the 1960s. This form of music is sometimes called '''contemporary folk music''' or '''folk revival music''' to distinguish it from earlier folk forms. Smaller similar revivals have occurred elsewhere in the world at other times, but the term folk music has typically not been applied to the new music created during those revivals. This type of folk music also includes fusion genres such as [[folk rock]], [[electric folk]], and others.   While contemporary folk music is a genre generally distinct from traditional folk music, in English it shares the same name, and it often shares the same performers and venues as traditional folk music. Even individual songs may be a blend of the two.
-In the 1980s a group of artists like [[Phranc]] and [[The Knitters]] propagated a form of folk music also called [[country punk]], [[cowpunk]] or [[folk punk]], which eventually evolved into [[alt country]]. More recently the same spirit has been embraced and expanded on by performers such as [[Dave Alvin]], [[Miranda Stone]] and [[Steve Earle]]. At the same time, a line of singers from [[Joan Baez]] to [[Tom Paxton]] have continued to use traditional forms for original material.
-The appropriation of folk has even continued into [[hard rock]] and [[heavy metal music|heavy metal]], with bands such as [[Korpiklaani]], [[Skyclad (band)|Skyclad]], [[Waylander (band)|Waylander]] and [[Finntroll]] melding distinctive elements of folk styles from a wide variety of traditions, including in many cases traditional instruments such as [[Musical styles (violin)#Fiddle|fiddles]], [[tin whistle]]s, [[accordions]] and [[bagpipes]] as an element of their sound. Unlike other folk-related genres, [[folk metal]] shies away from monotheistic religion in favour of more ancient [[Paganism|pagan]] inspired themes. Folk inspirations are a massive part of subgenres of [[black metal]], with genres such as [[viking metal]] being defined on their folk stance, and many a band incorporating folk interludes into albums (eg, [[Bergtatt]] and [[Kveldssanger]], the first two albums by once-black metal, now-[[experimental music|experimental]] band [[Ulver]]). There is also a Metal band that uses medieval instruments along with guitars.
-A similar stylistic shift, without using the "folk music" name, has occurred with the phenomenon of [[Celtic music]], which in many cases is based on an amalgamation of [[Folk music of Ireland|Irish traditional music]], [[Music of Scotland|Scottish traditional music]], and other traditional musics associated with lands in which [[Celtic language]]s are or were spoken (a significant research showing that the musics have any genuine genetic relationship is still to be done - at this point, only a book in French written by [[Alan Stivell]] studies a bit the subject of Celtic Music-); so [[Breton music]] and [[Galician music]] are often included in the genre).
-Most [[filk music]] can also be considered folk music both stylistically and culturally (though the 'community' it arose from, is an unusual and thoroughly modern one).
-[[Neofolk]] music is a modern form of music that began in the 1980s. Fusing traditional [[European folk music]] with [[post-industrial (music)|post-industrial]] music forms, historical topics, philosophical commentary, traditional songs and [[paganism]], the genre is largely European. Although it is not uncommon for neofolk artists to be entirely acoustic, playing with entirely traditional instruments.
-Another trend is "anti-folk", begun in New York City in the 1980s by [[Lach]] in response to the "confined" traditional folk music. It now has a home at the Antihootenany in the East Village, where artists like Beck, the Moldy Peaches and Nellie McKay got their starts, and artists continue to push the envelope of "folk."
-Folk music is still popular among some audiences today, with folk music clubs meeting to share traditional-style songs, and there are major folk music festivals in many countries, eg the [[Port Fairy Folk Festival]] is a major annual event in Australia attracting top international folk performers as well as many local artists. Indeed, even for those who consider themselves hip, the arrival of [[Americana]] and the music of  [[Will Oldham|Bonnie "Prince" Billy]] and [[Devendra Banhart]] has shown that folk music can still be cutting edge.
-The [[Cambridge Folk Festival]] in [[Cambridge]], [[England]] is always sold out within days, and is noted for having a very wide definition of who can be invited as folk musicians. The "club tents" allow attendees to discover large numbers of unknown artists, who, for ten or 15 minutes each, present their work to the festival audience.
 ==See also==
+* [[Anthology of American Folk Music]]
+*[[Cultural appropriation in western music  ]]
+* [[Cultural appropriation in western music of the 1960s]]
 * [[Ethnomusicology]]
+* [[Folklore]]
+* [[Folk process]]
+* [[List of classical and art music traditions]]
+* [[Roud Folk Song Index]]
+* ''[[The Voice of the People]]'' anthology of UK folk songs
 * [[Indigenous music]]
-*''[[Folk Is Not a Four Letter Word]]''
+* ''[[Folk Is Not a Four Letter Word]]''
-*[[List of art music traditions]]
+* [[List of art music traditions]]
-*[[Folklore]]
+* [[Psychedelic folk ]]
-*[[Anthology of American Folk Music]]
+* [[The blending of folk music and popular genres]]
-*[[Folk process]]
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Folk music

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