Folk from Around the World

    When I sat down to write about one last music culture, I had less of a physical place and more of a musical concept in mind. Folk music has been one of my favorite genres for at least a decade, and I wanted to learn more about what folk means and sounds like in other parts of the world. I hope to find where folk comes from and what subgenres it inspired. The one I know, and the one that sparked my personal interest, is indie-folk. I started listening to Hozier, Iron & Wine, and other artists, and I fell in love. Here is one of the first songs I remember listening to, and if you like it, the album is lovely!

    On with the learning! Britannica had a fantastic article about the history of this genre. The phrase "folk music" has been used quite loosely until the past few centuries. The term could mean different things depending on geography, culture, and social class. It could refer to musical oral tradition, "the people's music," which was known throughout an entire community, or just a song accompanied by an acoustic guitar. The Czech use the term narod or "nation," which signifies the music's unification within all Czech-speakers. I cannot take credit for "the people's music" because Germany's Volkmusik and Hindi's log git are terms to label folk music. I'm going to put a pin in that to bring up later. From what I can understand, folk music, regardless of where it's from, is a tool to connect people, and I can't help but think that's part of why I like it as much as I do.

    I've experienced mainly European and American folk music, so I'm going to dive further down that rabbit hole. I wanted to know more about the sound. From the same article in Brittanica, I was not surprised to see an acoustic guitar is one of the traditional instruments of folk music. The acoustic guitar is not too hard to learn as long as you can deal with your fingers hurting before callouses develop. In fact, folk music is perfect for amateur acoustic guitar players or musicians in general. Typically, it's played in a basic four-chord progression, and the melody is simple and repetitive. After all, folk is "the people's music." It was meant to be participatory, not performative.

    Throughout the oral tradition, bits and pieces of the story may have been changed, and folk music was the same way. Songs would be re-created from one singer to another, so people had to get creative since it was not written down very often. It was interesting to read that folk music in our culture had a political agenda, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Songs I've heard explore issues of social action, equality, and the desire to repair the world. Neil Young wanted to bring the Vietnam war and Kent State shooting to light. He brought musicians together, and they wrote "Ohio" by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. 

    I've said enough about English folk music, so it's time to take out the pin I had earlier. The International Folk Music pin is conceptually unique while also bouncing around the theme of "unification." Around the world, these folks have music (see what I did there?) that ties their community together. In Botswana, for example, folk music often includes hand-clapping, which allows listeners to participate. I found an article from Folk Cloud that included a few traditional instruments used by these musicians, such as the Segaba/Segankure (bowed chordophone), Phala (aerophone), and Moropa (membranophone). A song I found captured "World Folk Music" beautifully, incorporating music from the Czech Republic, Sweden, Russia, Denmark, and India. What's incredible to me is that a man is playing the kora in the video... and I know what that is!!!

    Speaking of India, let's learn a little about their folk music since it's also in the video. A passage from another music blog summarized the purpose of folk music in India well, saying it adds "pleasure to the repetitive daily existence." I wanted to share this quote because I think it describes not only folk but music in general. Experts believe that the first documented folk music of India was recorded in 1500 BC, before the founding of India itself! This culture also used folk music as a means of oral tradition. Music was often performed in ceremonies to celebrate their rich history and traditions like Punjabi kafis, or songs. One such song was recorded in 2010, and twelve years later, we get to enjoy it together.

    To wrap this up in a full circle, I'll bring it back to the branches of folk that grew from this folk tree. Like I said earlier, I love indie-folk. It has a softer tone and it's fun to play on the guitar. That's not the only kind of folk, of course, because that would be quite a small tree. Other subgenres of folk include Celtic folk, Urban folk, alternative folk, and many more. Even sea shanties are considered folk songs! After doing some digging, I found a great Celtic-style folk song I'd like to share. Like many other songs in this genre, it has a simple melody and rhythm, so it's easy to play and listen to. Unlike the protest songs, this wasn't about social action, but a horrifying old wives' tale... or was it? The song, "Shankill Butchers" is about murderers that would chop up children that didn't behave. I hope you enjoy this eerie ballad!

Nettl, Bruno. "Folk Music". Encyclopedia Britannica, 3 Dec. 2020, https://www.britannica.com/art/folk-music.

“Indian Folk Music.” Hemsworths Back Alright, 7 June 2020, https://www.hemsworthsbackalright.com/indian-folk-music/. 

“Traditional / Folk Music of Botswana.” Folk Cloud, https://folkcloud.com/folk-music-by-country/botswana.