...Anglo American Folk Music is considered as the traditional and typically anonymous music that is an expression of the life of people in a community and passed on through generation. Folk music, in the original sense of the term, is music by and of the people. Folk music arose, and best survives, in societies not yet affected by mass communication and the commercialization of culture. It normally was shared and performed by the entire community (not by a special class of expert performers), and was transmitted by word of mouth. My observation included listening to folk songs and stories of Woody Guthrie. Woody Guthrie was one of those workers who headed to California in search of gainful employment. Woody wrote hundreds of songs between the 1930s and his death in 1967 of Huntington’s Chorea. The traditional American folk singer/songwriter, Woody Guthrie tells stories that often don’t even appear in history books. Woody Guthrie set the precedent for the breadth of issues and subjects about which an American folk singer could sing. His original tunes often put to work traditional melodies, as well as melodies to songs that were popular at the time. His lyrics encapsulated all the important issues of his time and of America in general, in plain and simple language that put words to what so many people were thinking and feeling. Quote from Woody Guthrie: "I am out to sing songs that will prove to you that this is your world and that if it has hit you pretty hard and knocked you for...
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...ASSIGNMENT: IP3 CLASS INFORMATION: Music 253 SEMESTER: Fall 2013 Kimberly Conner Folk Music in the Classroom The three main functions and characteristics of folk materials are that they are enchanting to a young child’s ears, they are natural in the world of young children and folk repertoire is closely related to activities of normal life such as ritual, work, child rearing, and entertainment (Loong, pg. 5). It is important to teach folk material in the classroom to introduce children to different cultures and languages other than their own. Folk music also teaches children their own heritage in a different more captivating way. Introducing folk music in the classroom also provides a basic foundation for constructing an early childhood music curriculum. In class we learned the Horah, a traditional Jewish folk dance that is performed at many Jewish celebrations for people of all ages. We also learned Charlie Over the Ocean, a singing game for children, and we also learned Snail, Snail which is a singing train that moves about the room. According to Dr. Loong’s article, Early Childhood Music, good and appropriate music that is used in the classroom requires five guidelines: 1. Choosing repertoire that has lasted a long period of time, 2. Choosing repertoire that is authentic, 3. Applying activities that can be spontaneously created and improvised by young children, 4. Exploring music that represents the diverse backgrounds...
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...A Definition of Anglo-American Folk Music: Past to Present It is well known that the colonization of the North American continent by europeans laid the ground work for the development of the modern United States. During this era, a new identity was formed as immigrants from the european nations began unifying. Out of this melting pot of cultures, new forms of music were born. Anglo-American folk music is a traditional form of music for the United States that developed from the immigration of English nationals. This form of music can be categorized into four main melodic behaviors: the Ionian (major scale), Mixolydian, Dorian, and Aeolian (natural minor scale) (“Anglo American Folk Music”). From the 20th century on, music became much more predominant to everyday life with the introduction of the radio in the 1930s. Folk music was mostly a treasure secluded to the country and mountains, but the radio allowed music to travel vast distances and have an enormous audience, which was never before possible. This allowed for single artists, like Jimmie Rogers and Bill Monroe, to become well known and produce iconic tracks that would be recorded as the traditional music of America. The lyrics that were used during this early America by these European migrating immigrants where about stories of freedom, life, and a search for identity. This became a significant part of the culture of the developing American people, who used this new form of media to identify themselves (historically...
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...Tracing Papon’s Fandom- An Autobiographical Sketch -Amlan J. Das M2015MC008 School of Media and Cultural Studies Wikipedia describes him as the founder and the lead singer of the folk fusion band Papon and the East India Company. He has around 37,500 followers on Twitter and 536,434 likes on his Facebook page. Born to legendary Assamese folk singer couple Khagen and Archana Mahanta, the world knows him as Papon while parents named him Angaraag Mahanta. Born on 24th November 1975, Papon crafted himself as one of the finest Assamese singers not just in the state but also across the country. His distinct voice and his selection of alternative Electronic fusion and folk fusion genre made his one of the popular names in the Indian music industry today. Assam has been a land of singer. From the likes of Dr. Bhupen Hazarika to Zubeen Garg, singers from the state have made a very distinct mark in the Indian music industry. But Papon managed to do is differently is that apart from conditioning him to industry conditions, he managed to bring out the Assamese folk culture out of the state. Call it the new age information order, boom of the internet or just chance, but other singers from the state haven’t been successful in doing what this Papon did. Before going deep into the bibliography of Papon, let move tangentially to my first association or my first introduction to this singer. Must have been the summer vacations of 2005, as a fifth grader student ...
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...the folk revolution that took shape in the mid-nineteen hundreds in the United States. One of the leaders of this revolution was Robert Allen Zimmerman, known by his stage name, Bob Dylan. Bob Dylan was a major influential musical icon for today’s artists as well as future artists to come. His music was embodied by historical context and spoke about what was going on throughout history in the past and present. He knew his music was shaping the industry which he worked. “I’d either drive people away or they’d come closer to see what it was all about. There was no in-between. There were a lot of better singers and better musicians around these places but there wasn’t anybody close in nature to what I was doing. Folk songs were they way I explored the universe, they were pictures and the pictures were worth more than anything I could say” (Dylan, 18). He made numerous contributions to his genre and embodied the spirit and sound of the 20th century. Born in 1941, in Minnesota, Dylan grew up with a very different childhood then other famous singers. He was brought up Jewish and spent most of his time around family since they were the majority of the Jewish people that were in town. He seemed at an early age to develop a natural talent for writing poetry. Dylan took a deep interest in listening to the radio and admired the people that were on it. He began to notice his deep love for music in high school when he taught himself to play the piano and guitar. Country music, folk, blues...
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...Bob Dylan - "Maggie's Farm" I chose this song because it is a classic Dylan song; it reflects his poetic style and how he wanted to make music, write songs, and experiment because it's what he wanted to do, and if it upset people, then so be it. I believe that the meaning of this song is that Dylan was a worker for his fans, the record company, the press, and the media but not for himself, and that he was going to break away from being pigeonholed into one genre of music and do what he felt like doing. Music wise, this song represents a strong change in Dylan's style. Up until the mid 60's, Dylan was strictly known as a folk singer and songwriter. His music usually composed of an acoustic guitar and a harmonica and occasionally another instrument here or there. This song represents Dylan's change to an electric rock sound, but still stayed true to his folk and blues roots. The music of this song has a very bluesy feel to it which may represent the working that he describes. The lyrics to "Maggie's Farm" go along perfect with Dylan's sudden change of sound. I believe that "Maggie" was intended to represent the people who listened to his music. He says that in the morning he would "pray for rain", which could have symbolized that he doesn't want to have to work, and that he had "a head full of ideas that are drivin' me insane". I feel that this represents that he wasn't able to break free and truly express himself. He also says "it's a shame the way she makes me scrub the...
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...to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the folk-acoustic tradition. Singer-songwriters often provide the sole accompaniment to an entire composition or song, typically using a guitar or piano; both the compositions and the arrangements are written primarily as solo vehicles, with the material angled toward topical issues—sometimes political, sometimes introspective, sensitive, romantic, and confessional. Contents [hide] * 1 History * 2 North America, United Kingdom, and Ireland * 3 Cantautori, the Italian tradition * 4 Latin traditions * 5 Soviet Union and Russia * 6 Bulgaria * 7 Romania * 8 Netherlands * 9 Norway * 10 Periodicals that include coverage of singer-songwriters * 11 See also * 12 References * 13 Further reading | ------------------------------------------------- [edit]History Théodore Botrel The concept of a singer-songwriter can actually be traced to ancient bardic culture, which has existed in various forms throughout the world.[citation needed] Poems would be performed as chant or song, sometimes accompanied by a harp or other similar instrument. After the invention of printing, songs would be written and performed by ballad sellers. Usually these would be versions of existing tunes and lyrics, which were constantly evolving. This developed into the singer-songwriting traditions of folk culture. Traveling performers...
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...Living the Filipino Music Today A Reflection of the Filipino-ness in Lucio San Pedo’s Music Lucio San Pedro has been known to be one of the historical figures of Philippine music. Being dubbed as the creative nationalist, his philosophy in music paved the way for his memorable career as an artist. Conferred with the National Artist Award for Music in 1991, his contributions have indeed made a mark in defining the “Filipino-ness” in music. With the onset of the Original Pilipino Music in the 70’s, Lucio San Pedro’s works have imparted a great amount of influence to the artists that soon followed suit. With his undeniably most famous work which is Sa Ugoy ng Duyan, every student of an Art Appreciation class in the Philippines would remember the great artist because of this wonderful musical piece. The maestro’s main concern during his time was what will make Filipino music distinct and different. Given his educational attainment and experiences abroad, he was able to harness his talent and skill in music which allowed him to discover the great potential of the Filipino artist. Integrating the cultural dynamism and inherent nationalism of Filipinos, he was able to infuse the rich influence of the different folk songs of the Filipino culture into the music he has crafted so beautifully and innovatively. With his creative nationalism philosophy, he was able to encourage artists to express nationalism through the creative use of folk songs. As Lucio San Pedro would put...
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...Kate Schnitman Professor Lebeaux Folk Music Revival November 13, 2012 Bob Dylan: A Growing Performer Throughout the second part of the semester in Folk Music Revival, and after learning about many different performers and how they came about, I have come to prefer Bob Dylan as a talented singer songwriter. Through movies and text, I was able to gather opinions about the artists we have learned about and really think about why I prefer one artist to another. Bob Dylan started out as an unknown performer and he grew into a beloved artist. He was able to have the ability to work with talented people such as Joan Baez, who shared the same love in performing as he did. Dylan was also able to take criticism from an audience and critics in general, and grow as a person from them, and continue to work strong to do what he loved. Bob Dylan, “born in Duluth, Minnesota, in 1941” (Cohen 142) started off as someone who could definitely sing tunes and write some catchy lyrics. “He became a folk singer in Minneapolis, where he learned about southern blues and string bands, and particularly Woody Guthrie…” (141). He had an unusual sense of style, “He performed in work clothes- frayed blue denim pants, over worn tan boots, and stained khaki shirts, sometimes dressed up with a brown suede vest or a gray wool scarf-“ (Hajdu 74). I believe that Bob was someone who captured people’s attention because of his style and his ways of performing. He had the ability to grab the attention of an audience...
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...Pete Seeger Legendary Folk Singer Pete Seeger was born in New York City on May 3, 1919 to musical parents Charles and Constance. Charles was a pianist and taught music at the University of California and Constance taught violin at Julliard. Pete’s parents divorced when he was 7, and his father remarried. Ruth and Charles had four children and all would become folk singers, no doubt influenced by their parents’ musical backgrounds. Charles traveled for work taking his family with him sometimes. It was during one of these times that Pete heard the banjo for the first time. This would become Pete’s signature instrument. (Schrager Lang and Simon 1). The banjo would become popular because of Pete’s use of it. (Miller and Shahriari 487). Charles Seeger was a political man and was involved with the union activism that took place in the university classical music department of all places. He promoted the radical Industrial Workers of the World at Berkley and was fired for his pacifism in 1918. (1). Pete would follow in his father’s footsteps with his political beliefs as well as his love for music. When Pete was a young boy, he would read about American Indians and how the members of the tribe would share everything so that everyone was taken care of and no one was left to fend for themselves. Pete’s early beliefs on how a country should be run was adopted by the books he read. He was a self-proclaimed communist and at 19 he joined the Young Communist League. Pete attended Harvard...
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...Courtney Houston October 11, 2015 World Music The Importance of Bela Bartok On March 25, 1881 the world of music was forever changed, as Bela Bartok had now entered the world. Born in Hungary, Bela grew up studying piano. At the young age of nine, he began composing dance music. He finally commenced showing his work to the public at age eleven. He continued to study piano at the Royal Hungarian Academy of Music. Upon completion of his studies, Bela along with composer Zolan Kodaly recognized a style of music they had never seen before, Hungarian folk music. This is where Bela’s significant importance in music begins. The pivotal point of Bela’s career was when he heard the Dosa’s song. The song moved him so much that he wrote it down. This became the inspiration he needed and he began to “collect the finest examples of Hungarian folk music and raise them to the level of works of art” (Alves). He was able to truly define the folk music of Magyar as its own rather than gypsy music, as it was formerly classified. His research did not stop with Hungarian music. Bela continued to study folk music of many different cultures including Romanian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, Croatian and more. In turn, Bela Bartoks’ work as a composer began to become infused with the style of pheasant Hungarian folk music by including thematic, harmonic and rhythmic nuances. During and after the First World War, Bela’s composing began to shine. Not only did he compose two ballets and an opera, he...
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...Questions to Consider 1. What do ethnomusicologists mean when they say, “Music is universal, but it is not a universal language”? They mean that music is not a language because music does not have specific symbols in standard patterns and does not have grammar rules and also music can mean different things to people in different cultures. 2. What are potential problems in classifying music as “classical,” “folk,” or “popular”? The problem is that they suggest that one type of music is better than the other and also different cultures may have different definitions for what “classical,” “folk,” or “popular” music is. 3.How might an ethnomusicologist approach the study of Western Classical music differently from a musicologist? An ethnomusicologist might approach to study Western classical music and its effect on the Western society and a musicologist would just study the music as a whole. 4. What is “fieldwork”? What is it’s importance to the study of world music? Fieldwork: The first hand study of music in its original context, a technique derived from anthropology. it gives researchers a better understanding of the music they are studying since it gives them the opportunity to be out in the real world interacting with the people of the music they are studying 5. In what ways does world music study require an interdisciplinary approach? because not only is the music itself being studied, but the culture is being studied as well. 6. What is...
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...Protest music helps people realize they aren’t alone. Many folk musicians wrote about their disapproval to America’s involvement during the Vietnam War. A highly influential folk musician was Bob Dylan. He wrote the song “The Times They Are A-Changin.” In this song, he says “there’s a battle outside, and it’s ragin’, it’ll soon shake your windows, rattle your walls.” One can argue that these lyrics were an obvious reference to the Vietnam War. “Edwin Starr’s Motown anthem “War” convinced many listeners of the complex horrors of the Vietnam War through an instantly-recognizable melody. The song, written in 1969, is perhaps the most direct anti-war protest song ever recorded” (Hopkins, 2012). Hopkins and many other musicians from the era made music to attract audiences against...
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...Dylan is considered one of the most influential people in popular music and culture. Bob Dylan’s real name is Robert Allen Zimmerman. He was born on May 24, 1941 in Duluth, Minnesota. Dylan’s parents are Abram Zimmerman and Beatrice Stone Zimmerman. His father worked as the senior manager and helped run the company union. His grandfather, Zigman Zimmerman and his wife, Anna Zimmerman fled Russia and reached the U.S. in 1907. Dylan has a younger brother named, David Zimmerman. When Dylan was six, they moved to Hibbing, Minnesota. Dylan’s formal education took place at Duluth’s Nettleton School. He attended college at the University of Minnesota in 1959. During his time at college, he began to perform at coffee shops. He began to develop an interest in becoming a musical artist. He began to lack an interest in school. Dylan soon decided to leave school and head towards New York to start his career. Dylan had no musical training at all. He taught himself to play the piano and harmonica by the age of 9. Dylan took one lesson for piano, but soon grew to dislike it for it was not the way he wanted to be taught. He purchased his very own Sears&Roebuck guitar and harmonica holder when he was 10. He did not learn to read music. He experimented with several...
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...Questions to Consider 1. What do ethnomusicologists mean when they say, “Music is universal, but it is not a universal language”? They mean that music is not a language because music does not have specific symbols in standard patterns and does not have grammar rules and also music can mean different things to people in different cultures. 2. What are potential problems in classifying music as “classical,” “folk,” or “popular”? The problem is that they suggest that one type of music is better than the other and also different cultures may have different definitions for what “classical,” “folk,” or “popular” music is. 3.How might an ethnomusicologist approach the study of Western Classical music differently from a musicologist? An ethnomusicologist might approach to study Western classical music and its effect on the Western society and a musicologist would just study the music as a whole. 4. What is “fieldwork”? What is it’s importance to the study of world music? Fieldwork: The first hand study of music in its original context, a technique derived from anthropology. it gives researchers a better understanding of the music they are studying since it gives them the opportunity to be out in the real world interacting with the people of the music they are studying 5. In what ways does world music study require an interdisciplinary approach? because not only is the music itself being studied, but the culture is being studied as well. 6. What is...
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