Folk music consists of a people’s traditional songs and melodies. Folk songs deal with almost every kind of human activity. Many of these songs express the political or religious beliefs of a people or describe their social relationships or history. Other folk songs simply provide amusement.
Characteristics of folk music.
Folk music usually is learned by listening to it rather than by reading the notes or words. The music is passed from person to person, from place to place, and from generation to generation. The melody and words of a song may develop over a long time. Over the years, a song may change a great deal, either by accident or from a desire for change. A tune may be shortened or lengthened, or its pitches and rhythms altered. Part of one song may be combined with part of another. In these ways, families of tunes are created. The words of a song also may change over time. In addition, one set of words may be sung with different melodies, or different words may be sung to a single melody.
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Folk music usually is composed and performed by nonprofessional musicians. In many cases, the composer of a song or melody cannot be identified. Songs by professional composers are considered folk music if they become part of a people’s traditional music. For example, the American composer Stephen Foster wrote such songs as “Oh! Susanna” and “Old Folks at Home,” which are accepted widely as folk music.
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Folk music is known and accepted by a large number of people in a society. It may be thought of as expressing the character of a nation or of an ethnic or social group. In some sense, folk music is the music of the people.
Kinds of folk music.
The ballad is one of the main types of western European and American folk songs. A ballad tells a story, usually based on actual events. Ballads have a stanza form, in which a melody is repeated for each of several verses. There may also be a refrain that is sung several times during the song.
Some ballads relate legendary incidents that occurred long ago. For example, “Barbara Allen” is a tragic love story that dates from at least the 1600’s. Many versions of the song exist, some of which originated in England and others in Scotland. Some ballads are based on more recent events. “Peat Bog Soldiers” describes the plight of prisoners in Nazi concentration camps during the 1930’s and the 1940’s. Many ballads tell about the deeds of heroes. “Casey Jones” praises a brave railroad engineer, and “John Brown’s Body” honors a famous abolitionist.
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Some folk songs deal with a particular activity, occupation, or set of circumstances. American soldiers sang “Gee, but I Want to Go Home” during World War I (1914-1918) and World War II (1939-1945). “Midnight Special” describes the loneliness of prison life.
Laborers create work songs to coordinate their movements, to help their long days pass more quickly, or to sing after work. Popular work songs include “Old Chisholm Trail,” sung by cowboys, and “Drunken Sailor,” sung by sailors. Some union songs call for better conditions for workers. The execution of a famous labor organizer in 1915 inspired the union song “Joe Hill.” Slaves sang about their suffering, and to encourage one another, in spirituals such as “Go Down, Moses” and “Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho.” In the mid-1900’s, African Americans sang “We Shall Overcome” and “Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around” to further their struggle for civil rights. There are also such religious folk songs as “Amazing Grace,” children’s songs, and songs that mark the changing seasons or the stages of a person’s life.
Some folk songs are meant only to entertain. People dance to “Buffalo Gals” and other dance songs. Game songs, such as “Ring-Around-the-Rosy,” give instructions on how to play a certain game. Some songs, including “Arkansas Traveler” and “Froggie Went a Courting,” are intended to make people laugh.
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Instruments used to accompany folk songs include the guitar, banjo, dulcimer, harmonica, and violin. There is also a large body of dance music for instruments. Complex versions of folk tunes are played in modern fiddle contests and folk festivals. The best-known fiddle tunes include “Soldier’s Joy,” Sailor’s Hornpipe,” and “Grey Eagle.” 
American folk music
is noted for its energy, humor, and emotional impact. The major influences on American folk music came from the United Kingdom and other European countries, and from Africa. Various national and ethnic groups preserve the folk music of their ancestors. For example, Americans of Greek ancestry hold festivals during which traditional Greek songs and dances are performed.
The traditional songs of Native Americans are also an important part of the American folk heritage. Some tribes believed that the gods gave them all the songs at the beginning of time and that new songs could not be composed. Other tribes thought that songs came to them in dreams or in other mystical ways. A number of tribes have folk songs designed to control the weather or to cure illness. They believe the songs must be sung correctly because errors could rob the songs of their power.
The early American colonists from the United Kingdom brought their folk music traditions with them, especially ballads and instrumental dance melodies. Later settlers from other countries also brought their own folk music, which interacted and combined with the British music in various ways. For example, country music, which developed in the United States in the early 1900’s, combined elements of folk music from the United Kingdom with blues, popular songs, and religious music.
The slaves who were brought to America from Africa had their own musical traditions. Many slaveowners did not allow the slaves to sing or play their native music. But the slaves created new songs that combined African and European traditions. Many of these songs follow the call and response pattern, in which a leader sings a line and the group answers. Drums and other percussion instruments may play a complex rhythmic accompaniment.
During the folk revival of the mid-1900’s, a number of singers gained great popularity performing American folk songs. Some of these singers also wrote songs that have become part of the American folk tradition. The best known of these songs were concerned with social problems, such as poverty and racial prejudice, or they protested against war. The leading singer-composers included Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, Huddie Ledbetter (known as Leadbelly), and Pete Seeger.
