Folk music

Folk music is defined as a type of music that originates—usually anonymously—from the common people of a particular culture or nation and is passed down from one generation to the next aurally (by hearing). The song or music is usually accompanied by traditional acoustic instruments, and the words express the life of the people at the time the music was written.

Folk music can encompass several types of composition and harmony; it is a term that is used to refer to various types of music, including ethnic music, gospel hymns, square dance tunes, and others.

The term folk music was first used in the nineteenth century, but original folk compositions go back further. The main style popularly known as folk music in the first quarter of the twenty-first century evolved in the middle of the twentieth century in the United States and Great Britain, and saw its apex in the mid-1950s and into the 1960s with the popularity of the second folk music revival.

Background

The expression folk music refers to more than one type of music; the term takes on diverse meanings depending on its location, place in history, and the social class of the people who benefit from it. Some sources maintain that folk music goes back as far as the beginning of the Romantic period when some compositions of Joseph Haydn and Ludwig van Beethoven were considered folk music. But typically folk music is considered to be songs outside the classical idiom, generally simple in structure and often with forms, chord progressions, and even lyrics with deep sociocultural roots. Traditionally, folk music has been associated with rural culture in particular, but music rooted in urban experiences can also be considered folk.

The modern popular concept of folk music began in England; the term folk was taken from the German word for people. Folk music consisted of legends and stories made into song by the poorer segments of the British population, and they reflected life in these communities as expressed by musical composers and artists. Of course, similar folk music traditions arose elsewhere in Europe, and indeed around the world. However, the folk traditions from England, Scotland, and Ireland had arguably the greatest influence on the folk music of what would become the United States, and the eventual dominant global influence of American folk means that these traditions are generally traced as the roots of "folk music" in the popular sense. African musical traditions, especially rhythms, brought to the Americas by slaves, also had a profound influence on the development of what came to be the emblematic folk music of the United States.

No matter its origins, traditional folk music does have several factors that set it apart from more formalized musical genres. Folk music is traditionally passed on from one generation to the next by listening rather than through reading. This aural method allowed folk music to reach the lower socioeconomic segments of a population that were not privileged to learn how to read or write. It also means that most songs have unclear sources, with original composers obscured by time and evolution. The lyrics put to music often express inner thoughts and yearnings, or tell a story. Many folk performers start out as amateurs, and styles and sounds tend to vary greatly. Truly traditional folk music is often considered noncommercial, although various traditions have experienced periods of commercial popularity.

During the early years of the twentieth century, before the advent of phonographs and records, the local troubadours moved from one place to another bringing folk music to the people. Since folk music was a reflection of the culture at a specific time, it brought people together collectively and offered a sense of unity during stressful or uncertain times. This period also saw a significant revival of interest in British folk music in particular, with scholars documenting it and musicians taking up its traditions. This revival would directly influence the direction of mainstream folk in the United States, and therefore shape the popular conception of folk music as a whole.

Vinyl recordings, introduced in the early 1930s, opened up a new world to music lovers who were able to appreciate the words of a song and could listen to them over and over again. Talented singers and music composers appeared on the scene, and their verses and tunes spoke to the people. These folk singers traveled with their instruments (typically durable and relatively inexpensive ones such as guitars or banjos) and attracted crowds of listeners who were ready to soak in their words. Folk festivals were scheduled, and thousands of young people attended. While this growing popularity occurred throughout Europe and much of the rest of the rest of the world from the mid-twentieth century on, it was in the United States that the second folk music revival would come to dominate the public conception of folk music.

Second Folk Music Revival

The popular revival of folk music began in America around 1928, when singer Woody Guthrie introduced his first folk composition at the folk music festival in Asheville, North Carolina. Guthrie would prove hugely influential in defining the popular image of the folk musician, traveling widely and recording frequently, including for an ethnological series by the Library of Congress. His emotional songs combining basic vocal melodies with simple acoustic accompaniment set something of a standard. However, Guthrie himself was the product of many influences. Especially in the diverse United States, folk often overlapped with early forms of other genres like blues and country. Singers such as Jimmy Rodgers and Burl Ives injected a southern twang to their singles, bringing traditional rural sounds into the mainstream. They were followed in popularity by vocal groups such as the Kingston Trio and the Weavers.

The second wave of the American folk revival came in the late 1950s and through the 1960s, influenced not only by pioneers like Guthrie but also by the Beat poets and other countercultural forces that sought to identify with the common people. America’s involvement in Vietnam moved folk music in a different direction with harsher sounds and songs made up of protest lyrics and anti-war content. New singers took the stage, belting out compositions that seemed to "speak" directly to the youth who were against the war and were seeking meaning in their lives through music, art, drugs, and anything that was available.

Some of these folk singers, including Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, Phil Ochs, and Peter, Paul and Mary, churned out song after song during this time, becoming major stars. Many of these artists had a direct influence on later vocal groups such as Simon and Garfunkel and even pop bands like the Monkees.

American folk revival music was a powerful force in the music industry from the 1930s into the mid-1970s, when it was displaced in popularity by rock and roll and other types of recordings. However, its influence on the broader folk community was lasting. As noted, "folk music" can refer to almost any informal music associated with any culture around the world, but for many people, the term remains specifically associated with the style of acoustic American music of the 1930s–70s period. Some musicologists, however, consider the revival music and other contemporary folk to be distinct from true traditional folk music.

The folk music revival lost its luster as a major cultural movement by 1975, but the songs have never really been forsaken. There are still many folk clubs and bars where people congregate to listen to performers sing a round of folk tunes, whether traditional or contemporary.

Folk Rock

In addition to its own lasting popularity, folk music has significantly influenced other genres, frequently leading to the development of hybrid or fusion subgenres. Perhaps none of these were as popular and critically acclaimed as folk rock. As the name implies, folk rock is a mixture of folk music and rock music, or rock and roll. Like its parent genres, folk rock is highly diverse, but in its best-known configurations it features musicians playing traditional folk songs (or similarly inspired contemporary compositions) with the instrumentation and arrangements of rock music. Conversely, it also includes rock musicians deviating from their normal sound with more acoustic, folk-inspired playing. As with folk music in general, folk rock is most commonly understood to draw from American and British folk traditions; music incorporating other folk musics in a rock setting is generally considered world music or fusion rather than folk rock.

Folk rock originated in the 1960s at the height of the second folk revival, as rock groups drew inspiration from folk musicians and vice versa. The mainstream press is most commonly cited as coining the term "folk rock" in reference to the Byrds, a band inspired by British Invasion rock groups like the Beatles and using electric instruments to play songs that included covers of folk tunes in the Americana tradition. In June 1965 the Byrds released their debut album Mr. Tambourine Man, named after their cover of a folk-inspired song written by Bob Dylan, who at that point was known as an acoustic folk troubadour. While other bands, including the hugely influential Beatles themselves, had previously experimented with folk covers, folk-inspired songs, and acoustic instrumentation, Mr. Tambourine Man is widely held as the effective beginning of the folk rock craze. In Britain, a parallel movement developed drawing more directly on English, Scottish, and Irish traditional folk, epitomized by bands such as Fairport Convention and Pentangle.

Meanwhile, folk performers also crossed over into rock territory. Most notable was the conversion of Bob Dylan to electric instrumentation, a choice that infamously drew intense controversy when unveiled at the Newport Folk Festival in July 1965. Dylan's hugely popular and influential albums Bringing It All Back Home (1965), Highway 61 Revisited (1965), and Blonde on Blonde (1966) exemplified the folk rock style, mixing heavy, electric psychedelic rock with traditional forms and themes. Other major names in folk rock included Buffalo Springfield; Joni Mitchell; Crosby, Stills, and Nash; Neil Young; the Lovin' Spoonful; and Simon and Garfunkel. While folk rock waned in popularity by the mid-1970s, its spirit carried on in numerous stars, including Jackson Browne and Bruce Springsteen.

Contemporary Folk Music

In the twenty-first century, the popularity of music streaming platforms helped folk artists reach wider audiences. Contemporary folk music also expanded to incorporate different genres, such as folk punk, folk metal, indie folk, electronic folk, country folk, neofolk, and Americana. Popular folk artists of the twenty-first century include the band Mumford & Sons, who specialize in folk rock; the Lumineers, an Americana folk rock band; and indie folk band Bon Iver.

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