PeteM wrote:
X-rated Bob wrote:
What is folk music? The gig reviewed there seems to have been largely acoustic - but is that "folk"? Guy Buttery is a great player, but "folk"? I'm not sure.
I get called a folk singer a lot. I'm still confused. When I ask people what "folk" is they usually can't give much of an answer. The best answer I got was along the lines of "you play acoustic guitar and the songs you sing have sad endings."
I'm not out to diss anybody here. I'm just wondering what "folk" music actually is.
+1 Bob - people seem to equate the protest music of the 60's as definitive folk music. Folk music to me is that music which reflects the culture of a group/clan/tribe/nation of people. The songs may be sad, happy, reflective, political or passing social comment. So anti-folk to me (which is what they call their music) is an ecclectic mix.
The folk fiddler/guitarist/singer Bruce Molksy said that folk music is music that becomes "part of the stew of every day life".
The Wikipedia entry on "Song" has this "Folk songs are songs of often anonymous origin (or are public domain) that are transmitted orally. They are frequently a major aspect of national or cultural identity. Art songs often approach the status of folk songs when people forget who the author was. Folk songs are also frequently transmitted non-orally (that is, as sheet music), especially in the modern era." An "art song" is defined as being composed for performance in it's own right, having identifiable authors, being notated and requiring some level of voice training.
The point about art songs becoming folk songs when people remember the song but not the author is interesting. Richard Thompson has expressed delight that he hears one of his songs, "Down Where The Drunkards Roll" being played in folk clubs and the audience and singers just accept it as being part of some fabric of traditional song and don't know that he wrote it or ask who did.
