anderyn
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Defining folk Mmusic
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Aug 3 17:15 UTC 2001 |
So. Um. Even though I write about folk music, I don't have a really good
definition, except for the old one "when I point to it, THAT'S folk music".
Which works reasonably well in practice, but today at lunch, one of my
coworkers came up with the question, and I realized that I didn't have a good
solid definition that would mean something to someone who's not already in
the community. So. What's YOUR definition?
As for me... I'd say that it's music by the people and embracing traditional
ballads (Matty Groves, etc.), tunes (O'Carolan, anyone?), music hall survivors
(The Unfortunate Miss Bailey), broadside ballads, um, more modern things that
have been written for protest, campfire songs, filk, and the ever popular
singer-songwriter stuff. It also has a certain less commercial flavor to it,
and more of a sense of community among the performers and the audience. More
intimate, if you will?
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tpryan
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response 1 of 26:
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Aug 3 17:27 UTC 2001 |
It's usually voice and guitar. Or can be reduced to voice and
guitar and the essence of the song survives.
Adding drums, fiddle, harmonica to a song makes for good
production values in an album, but the audience does not feel cheated
when they hear it live with just voice and guitar.
Generally, it's been 'passed thru ages' type of music. Now
we have better means for tracking authors and origins.
This past week or so, I was listening to Woody Guthrie's music.
His songs on the Columbia river and the Grand Coley damn where message
songs of the day. He was commissioned to write those.
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happyboy
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response 5 of 26:
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Aug 4 01:51 UTC 2001 |
it is street talk, it is culturally relevant to a group
of folks, it is current.
i think of folk music as a newspaper...
joel mabus works that way, michelle shocked, robert jones
the tannies, andy stewart, capercaille, ice t,
gil scot heron, etc
when was o'carolan alive and more importantly
WHO did he write for...i'll wager he wasn't
championing the life of the crofter, eh?
o'carrolan = classical
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