For hundreds of years folk music has been the music of the people, representing the masses rather than the few. In more recent years folk music has expanded its repertoire to include amalgamations of folk-rock and progressive or contemporary folk, whilst still retaining its traditional folk roots. In fact, folk music has become so popular even amongst mainstream music fans that some of the last few decades’ biggest selling artists have been classifiable as ‘folk’ – Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Donovan, Simon and Garfunkel, The Mamas and the Papas and The Corrs are all great examples of the diverse and intricate nature of folk music.
In musical terms, folk music has traditionally relied on vocal and string-orientated compositions, sometimes also including wind instruments and hand-beaten drums. This is a very general description and is not definitive – in fact folk can include all sorts of instruments, as long as the overall sound is genuine and lives up to the folk ethos – that is, music that has heart-felt and often quite candid lyrics that are sung by the very people who wrote the songs (and who therefore relate to them personally), and which is not overpowered by mass-produced electronic noise.
In more recent years folk music has been associated with protests, social stratification and the ‘hippie’ movement. This is in part due to its development into a popular music form during the same period of time as the Vietnam War and the ‘peace and love’ years of the sixties and seventies. Songs such as ‘The Times They Are A Changin’’ and ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’ are good examples of this type of folk music.
In musical terms, folk music has traditionally relied on vocal and string-orientated compositions, sometimes also including wind instruments and hand-beaten drums. This is a very general description and is not definitive – in fact folk can include all sorts of instruments, as long as the overall sound is genuine and lives up to the folk ethos – that is, music that has heart-felt and often quite candid lyrics that are sung by the very people who wrote the songs (and who therefore relate to them personally), and which is not overpowered by mass-produced electronic noise.
In more recent years folk music has been associated with protests, social stratification and the ‘hippie’ movement. This is in part due to its development into a popular music form during the same period of time as the Vietnam War and the ‘peace and love’ years of the sixties and seventies. Songs such as ‘The Times They Are A Changin’’ and ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’ are good examples of this type of folk music.