world music unit 10 study guides

Origins and Historical Context

• European folk music evolved over centuries, with roots in ancient pagan rituals, medieval troubadour traditions, and rural village life
• Oral transmission played a crucial role in preserving and passing down folk songs and tunes across generations
• Folk music often reflects the social, political, and economic conditions of the time, serving as a form of cultural expression and identity
• Migration patterns and cultural exchanges contributed to the diversity and cross-pollination of folk music styles across Europe
• The Industrial Revolution and urbanization in the 19th century led to a decline in traditional folk music practices, as people moved away from rural areas
  • However, the Romantic movement's interest in nationalism and folklore helped revive and preserve many folk music traditions
• Folk music revival movements in the 20th century, such as the British folk revival of the 1960s, brought renewed attention to traditional music and inspired new generations of musicians

Key Regions and Cultures

• The British Isles, including England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, have rich folk music traditions that have influenced music worldwide
  • English folk music includes ballads, sea shanties, and morris dancing tunes
  • Scottish folk music features the bagpipes, fiddle tunes, and the unique Gaelic singing tradition of puirt à beul
  • Irish folk music is known for its lively jigs, reels, and the use of the Irish flute and tin whistle
• Scandinavia, comprising Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland, has a strong folk music heritage characterized by haunting modal melodies and unique instruments like the hardanger fiddle and nyckelharpa
• The Balkans, including countries like Bulgaria, Serbia, and Croatia, have a vibrant folk music scene with complex rhythms, close vocal harmonies, and influences from Ottoman and Byzantine music
• France has several distinct folk music traditions, such as the Breton music of Brittany, the Occitan music of southern France, and the Cajun music of Louisiana, which has its roots in French folk music
• Spain's diverse folk music includes the flamenco tradition of Andalusia, the Celtic-influenced music of Galicia, and the jota dance music of Aragon
• Eastern European countries like Hungary, Romania, and Poland have rich folk music traditions that often feature intricate ornamentation, asymmetric rhythms, and unique scales

Characteristics of European Folk Music

• Monophonic texture, with a single melodic line, is common in many European folk music traditions
• Modal scales, such as the Dorian, Mixolydian, and Lydian modes, are frequently used, giving folk melodies a distinct character
• Pentatonic scales, consisting of five notes per octave, are also prevalent in some regions, such as in Celtic and Scandinavian folk music
• Drones, or sustained notes, are often employed to provide a harmonic foundation, particularly in bagpipe and fiddle music
• Ornamentation, such as grace notes, trills, and slides, is used to embellish melodies and add expressiveness
• Call-and-response patterns, where a soloist alternates with a group or another soloist, are found in various folk music styles
• Improvisation plays a role in many folk music traditions, allowing musicians to create variations on established melodies or engage in musical dialogues
• Folk music is often associated with specific social contexts, such as work songs, lullabies, wedding music, and seasonal celebrations

Traditional Instruments

• The fiddle, or violin, is one of the most widespread instruments in European folk music, found in traditions from Ireland to Romania
  • Regional fiddle styles and techniques vary, such as the Scottish snap bowing and the Swedish polska bowing
• Bagpipes, consisting of a melodic chanter and one or more drone pipes, are iconic in Scottish and Irish music, as well as in other parts of Europe like Galicia and the Balkans
• The accordion, in various forms such as the diatonic button accordion and the chromatic button accordion, is popular in many folk music traditions, particularly in France, Italy, and Eastern Europe
• Flutes and whistles, including the Irish tin whistle, the Breton bombarde, and the Romanian caval, are used for melodic playing and ornamentation
• Plucked string instruments, such as the guitar, mandolin, bouzouki, and balalaika, provide rhythmic and harmonic accompaniment
• Percussion instruments, like the Irish bodhrán, the Spanish cajon, and the Balkan tapan, add rhythmic drive and texture to folk music ensembles
• The hurdy-gurdy, a stringed instrument with a hand-cranked wheel that rubs against the strings, is found in French and Hungarian folk music
• The nyckelharpa, a keyed fiddle with resonating strings, is unique to Swedish folk music

Scales and Modes

• Modal scales are a defining feature of European folk music, with each mode having a distinct character and emotional quality
  • The Ionian mode, equivalent to the modern major scale, is bright and cheerful
  • The Dorian mode, with a minor third and seventh, has a more melancholic and introspective feel
  • The Mixolydian mode, with a major third and a minor seventh, is often used in Irish and Scottish music for its lively and energetic character
  • The Aeolian mode, equivalent to the natural minor scale, evokes a sense of sadness or longing
• Pentatonic scales, which omit the fourth and seventh scale degrees, are common in Celtic, Scandinavian, and Eastern European folk music
  • The anhemitonic pentatonic scale, which does not include semitones, is found in Scottish and Irish music
  • The hemitonic pentatonic scale, which includes semitones, is used in Hungarian and Romanian folk music
• The Hungarian minor scale, also known as the gypsy minor scale, features a raised fourth scale degree and is characteristic of Hungarian and Romani music
• The Ukrainian Dorian scale, with a raised fourth and a natural seventh, is used in Ukrainian and other Eastern European folk music traditions
• Microtonal intervals, or intervals smaller than a semitone, are employed in some folk music traditions, such as in the Albanian iso-polyphony and the Bulgarian gaida (bagpipe) music

Rhythmic Patterns and Dance Forms

• European folk music is closely tied to traditional dance forms, with specific rhythmic patterns and meters associated with each dance
• Jigs, in 6/8 time, are fast-paced dances popular in Irish, Scottish, and English folk music
  • Single jigs have a simple rhythmic pattern of two groups of three eighth notes
  • Double jigs have a more complex pattern of alternating groups of three and six eighth notes
  • Slip jigs, in 9/8 time, have a lilting and graceful character
• Reels, in 4/4 time with a fast tempo, are common in Irish, Scottish, and Breton music
• Hornpipes, also in 4/4 time but with a slower tempo and a more syncopated rhythm, are found in English and Irish folk music
• Waltzes, in 3/4 time, are popular throughout Europe, with regional variations like the French musette waltz and the Finnish humppa
• Polkas, in 2/4 time with a lively tempo, originated in Czech folk music but spread to other parts of Europe, including Scandinavia and the British Isles
• Asymmetric meters, such as 5/8, 7/8, and 11/8, are characteristic of Balkan folk music and are often associated with line and circle dances like the Bulgarian horo and the Serbian kolo
• Flamenco rhythms, such as the 12-beat bulería and the 4/4 tangos, are integral to the flamenco music and dance tradition of southern Spain

Vocal Traditions and Styles

• Ballads, or narrative songs that tell stories, are a significant part of European folk music, particularly in the British Isles and Scandinavia
  • Child Ballads, collected by Francis James Child in the late 19th century, are a canon of English and Scottish ballads that have influenced folk music worldwide
  • Broadside ballads, printed on single sheets and sold in the streets, were popular in the 17th and 18th centuries and often addressed topical events or social issues
• Work songs, sung to accompany and coordinate labor, are found in various contexts, such as sea shanties sung by sailors, field hollers sung by agricultural workers, and mining songs sung by coal miners
• Lullabies, or cradle songs, are gentle melodies sung to soothe infants and young children, often with themes of protection and love
• Yodeling, a singing technique that involves rapid alternation between chest and head voice, is associated with Alpine folk music traditions in Switzerland, Austria, and southern Germany
• Overtone singing, where the singer produces multiple pitches simultaneously by emphasizing different harmonics, is practiced in some Scandinavian and Sami folk music traditions
• Polyphonic singing, with multiple independent melodic lines, is characteristic of several European folk music traditions
  • Albanian iso-polyphony features close harmony singing with drone notes and microtonal intervals
  • Georgian polyphonic singing includes complex three-part harmonies and dissonant intervals
  • Sardinian cantu a tenore involves four-part polyphony with a deep, guttural bass voice
• Throat singing, or overtone singing, is also found in some European folk music traditions, such as in the Bashkir and Tuvan music of Russia

Modern Influences and Preservation

• The folk music revival movements of the 20th century, such as the American folk revival of the 1940s-60s and the British folk revival of the 1960s-70s, brought renewed interest in traditional music and inspired new generations of musicians
  • Artists like Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Joan Baez in the United States, and Martin Carthy, Shirley Collins, and Fairport Convention in Britain, played key roles in popularizing folk music
• The rise of world music as a commercial genre in the 1980s and 1990s exposed global audiences to a wide range of traditional music styles, including European folk music
• Fusion genres, such as folk-rock, Celtic punk, and Balkan beat, have combined elements of traditional folk music with modern popular music styles, introducing folk music to new audiences
• The internet and digital technologies have made it easier for folk musicians to connect, collaborate, and share their music globally, fostering cross-cultural exchanges and innovations
• Online archives, such as the Alan Lomax Archive and the British Library Sound Archive, have made vast collections of folk music recordings accessible to researchers and enthusiasts worldwide
• Folk music festivals, such as the Cambridge Folk Festival in England, the Festival Interceltique de Lorient in France, and the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival in the United States, provide platforms for traditional and contemporary folk musicians to perform and engage with audiences
• Educational programs and workshops, offered by organizations like the English Folk Dance and Song Society and the Irish Traditional Music Archive, help preserve and transmit folk music knowledge and skills to new generations
• The UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List recognizes several European folk music traditions as important cultural heritage, such as the Albanian iso-polyphony, the Bulgarian Bistritsa Babi singing, and the Spanish flamenco