Folk music continues to adapt and change with society around it. Artists such as Joan Baez, Pete Seeger and Tracy Chapman have used folk music as a vehicle for social activism through music.
Still, folk music remains difficult to define clearly. For an artist like Beck to be considered a folk artist, their song must contain authentic narrative that has been passed down from generation to generation.
Digital Age
Folk music embodies the traditions and celebration of any culture it belongs to. This doesn’t just include songs but all sounds made while working, dancing or celebrating an event. Due to its ethnological roots, folk music can be hard to categorize but unlike pop or classical music it doesn’t aim at preservation.
Folk music was traditionally transmitted orally prior to recorded sound technology’s arrival; thus there are few written records of early folk performances. With the invention of the phonograph however, folk performances could now be written down and recorded for posterity – this interest among musicologists and historians who see early folk recordings as providing insight into musical lives of past periods.
Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie’s rise was instrumental in heralding a folk revival movement. Through their voices, they spread messages of peace, love and tolerance while popularizing traditional songs to a wide audience. Additionally, their use of acoustic instruments like guitar and banjo gave the genre its signature sound.
Recent decades have seen folk music evolve further due to developments in related idioms. For example, the incorporation of drone from classical avant-garde music, non-acoustic instrumentation from rock and electronica as well as field recordings from ambient music, musique concrete and modern classical has broadened its musical spectrum beyond folk and its offshoots.
Hybridization has resulted in the creation of numerous subgenres of folk music, such as anti folk, folk punk (such as that produced by Irish band the Pogues in the 1980s), indie folk, folktronica, freak folk and Americana as well as hybrid genres such as folk metal, progressive folk, psychedelic folk and neofolk fusions. Furthermore, nueva cancion represents how folk is adapting to change by emerging in Latin America as socially engaged music derived from traditional folk tradition – another example of folk adapting with change.
Contemporary folk artists tend to utilise acoustic instruments, break with tradition, and explore self-mocking themes in their music. Artists such as Devendra Banhart, Animal Collective, Vashti Bunyan and Joanna Newsom are well known for creating eclectic folk music styles.
Streaming Platforms
Streaming platforms have opened doors for folk musicians to share their music and connect with fans around the globe. By giving access to an international audience, streaming services have also helped revive an interest in folk music among younger generations. Meanwhile, digital technology has also given way to innovative artists using traditional instruments and styles to craft unique sounds and stories.
Folk music has long been associated with particular places or cultures, making it a powerful way of remembering history and sharing its lessons. Folk songs often recount stories about struggles within groups or times in history; these songs can promote social cohesion as well as create national identities like in Irish folk music. Although highly specific to particular cultures or locations, most folk music can still be appreciated by people from diverse backgrounds.
Scholars have long assumed that folk music evolves through cycles, with waning repertories giving way to new styles. However, urbanization in modern societies has put this assumption into question; although many traditions still reside within rural communities due to urbanization processes such as migration or increased communication channels. As a result, rurality’s role in defining folk music has altered significantly over time.
Although modern folk musicians have moved beyond Van Ronk’s definition of folk music, they still rely on its heritage. Durham-based singer Jake Xerxes Fussell brings traditional material into the present with his lively electric fingerpicking and deep West Georgia drawl; further adding steel guitar and french horn as additional enhancements for an original sound.
Streaming platforms allow folk artists to reach a global audience while also preserving its history. As technology progresses, it will be fascinating to witness how this trend affects folk music’s future development. No matter its source, folk music remains an integral component of our shared cultural heritage; its ability to bring us all closer together inspires and reminds us of humanity itself.
Social Media
Folk music has evolved with modern society over time. As with all genres, folk has always adapted to its environment, but now more than ever the digital era offers musicians new avenues for showcasing their music with audiences worldwide. Platforms like Spotify have made connecting with an audience easier for folk musicians; plus it allows them to collaborate with like-minded musicians and fans who share an affinity for this particular genre – creating a sense of community experience which wouldn’t otherwise exist without these tools.
Folk songs have been used as an outlet for protest since their beginning, touching upon social issues and political topics that resonate across time, such as justice or identity issues. Woody Guthrie famously protested this practice during the Great Depression with “Dead Man Walking”, his song expressing plight of working class people being dispersed from farms to find work elsewhere.
Folk music has evolved through years of musical evolution and adaptation to changes in related genres such as jazz and country, classical avant-garde music and non-acoustic instruments – creating its own distinct style while adapting to societal changes that impact all cultures.
At first, folk music referred to any popular form that didn’t fall under an established genre; often considered music of the people or reflecting cultural traditions within an entire population. Over time however, its definition has broadened considerably, and now refers to any traditional style passed from generation to generation.
Folk music now encompasses an expansive variety of genres, spanning classic country to bluegrass and Celtic music, Americana (roots music from 1940s-1950s) as well as pop, rock and other contemporary forms that draw upon folk traditions for inspiration, Americana (which encompasses Americana roots music from 1940s-1950s roots music) as well as other contemporary forms rooted in folk tradition such as pop rock or even current dance music genres.
Traditional Instruments
Folk music often features traditional instruments like the banjo, dulcimer or fiddle in order to stay true to its genre. Although these instruments can be difficult to play and have their own sound which differs from modern musical styles, folk musicians should employ these traditional instruments so their music remains representative of its genre.
While modernization and urbanization may appear detrimental to folk music, closer examination reveals this is not necessarily true. Instead, change occurs dialectically: with declining repertories being replaced with vibrant styles as traditions mix and cross-pollinate one another.
Additionally, it’s noteworthy that many folk songs utilise universal themes which can be adopted by various cultures – making them particularly effective tools in immigrant societies where traditional folk music serves to unite different cultural backgrounds into a sense of common identity.
Folk music’s hallmark feature is its oral transmission; thus enabling constant changes as it passes from generation to generation. Each musician who performs it contributes their own subtle changes that contribute to its development – so, for instance, Bob Dylan or Beck would not qualify as folk musicians even though their songs might fit within traditional boundaries.
Due to its oral roots, folk music cannot be defined by any one historical moment or place; rather it arises as a result of time-space collapse where old and new musical forms coexist and exchange influence (Hobsbawm 1983:11-12).
Modern society exemplifies this phenomenon, where internet connectivity has fostered even closer ties between musicians. Folk musicians can easily share their music via streaming platforms and collaborate with artists worldwide, further expanding the genre’s reach and reinvigorating interest in it and appreciating its variety of styles and instruments. This has resulted in renewed appreciation of folk music as an artform.