4. Folk Music
Folk music is a broad term used to describe a wide variety of musical forms that developed within different cultures, often for different reasons. American folk music varies widely depending on the region, but most American folk music was influenced by the European and African cultures from which many Americans descended. We will explore some of the more popular forms of folk music and folk-inspired music.
4.1 Ballads
Folk music in America largely developed from a combination of music from the British Isles and other European regions and music brought here by African slaves. Folk music often uses the form known as the ballad. Ballads most often tell a story that contains a moral or lesson.
“Barbara Allen,” performed by Joan Baez
4.2 Work Songs
Work songs often helped groups of people (including slaves) perform physical work. The music usually uses the tempo of the work itself and was sung by lumberjacks, railroad workers, and prison chain gangs, among others.
“Let Your Hammer Ring,” recorded in a Texas prison
This piece is very similar to how slaves would sing while working on Southern plantations. Its compositional and style traits include the following: it uses a “Call and Response” technique, where a lead singer sings a line and then the group follows him with their response; it uses a simple melody; its performing force is only vocal; it possesses thicker texture (several singers); its tempo is constant and matched to the speed of the axes; and its dynamics are fairly constant.
4.3 Children’s Songs
Children’s songs also have a purpose, usually to teach a simple lesson. They are, therefore, simple to sing and easy to remember.
The ABC Song
This song helps children remember the twenty-six letters of the alphabet.
4.4 Protest Songs
Protest songs are written to directly, or by suggestion, voice complaints about some injustice.
“Blowin’ in the Wind,” performed by Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” is a protest song written in the 1970s to indirectly protest social injustice and the Vietnam War. Its compositional and stylistic elements include the following: it uses the same music for each verse, its melody is simple, its instrumentation is voice and guitar, its texture is thin; and its tempo and dynamics are constant.
4.5 Dance Music
Dance music is folk music written for dancing. It’s that simple! The instrumentation of various types of folk dance music varies with the style. Acoustic instruments were used before the 1950s simply because electric and electronic instruments didn’t yet exist. Its compositional and stylistic components include the following: the form is almost always a form of repetitions; sometimes dance music is a song with words while at other times, it is just instrumental; and the dynamics are usually loud in order to be heard in a dance hall or other large space.
