Folk Music
Background
Folk Music is music that transmitted orally or music composed with an unknown composer or music composed by custom over time. Usually, folk music is passed down from generation to generation. To some, folk music is composed of the common people and tells stories that could be understood by anyone. According to Wonderopolis, folk music bonds people together and also has more to do with culture and history than it does entertainment.
Included in folk music is Traditional Folk Music. Traditional folk music and the genre evolved in the 20th Century folk revival. This modern folk music evolved in the 1960s in the United States. Contemporary Folk Music is also considered as Traditional Folk Music. According to Wonderopolis, Contemporary Folk Music is sung with meaningful words and played with acoustic instruments. This is a more recent evolution found in the United States whereas Folk Music can be found all over the world. Because Folk Music can be found in every culture, makes it unique and interesting.
Folk Song - Analysis
"Blowin' In The Wind"
Artist/Songwriter - Bob Dylan
Producer - John Hammond
Recorded - July 9, 1962
Released - August 13, 1963
Studio - Columbia Recording Studios
Lyrics
The lyrics are written by Bob Dylan and according to Wikipedia, he wrote this song as a protest song about peace, war, and freedom. The flow of the lyrics is smooth and very easy to understand the words. We can all relate to the lyrics in this present time as they did back in the 60s.
Instruments
The original chords are played in a D major. The strumming seems to be easy for a beginner who would like to learn this song. For beginner guitarist, they can learn this song in a G major.
Folk Song - Analysis
"This Land is Your Land"(The song was originally called "God Blessed America For Me" before renaming it "This Land is Your Land")
Singer/Songwriter - Woody Guthrie
Singer/Songwriter - Woody Guthrie
Composed - February 23, 1940
Recorded in March 1944
Published in 1945
Lyrics
The lyrics are were written after Woody grew tired of hearing "God Bless America" on the radio. This song was written when he arrived in New York from Oklahoma. We can still relate to the very words today as he did when he wrote this back in 1940. He writes about this land is your land this land is my land, this land was made for you and me. Very interesting to actually see the lyrics and also has a very catchy way of singing the song.
Melody
The melody is very similar to the Baptist gospel hymn by the Carter Family, "When the World's on Fire". The melody is sung in an ABAC structure. It has an upbeat melody, no beat that you would listen to before you go to bed. The instrument played in this song is a guitar. With the song being a folk song, I'm not surprised that just the guitar is played in the original.
My opinion
Folk music was such an interesting topic to learn more about. After taking the Folklore class, this made it that much more interesting to research Folk Music. I was shocked to learn that Bob Dylan's song Blowin' In The Wind was Folk Music. I have heard it in so many movies that it never did cross my mind it was folk music. I did learn that it is in the top 100 of Folk Music and now I understand why it is so popular and in so many movies. I've also learned that This Land is Your Land is also Folk Music. I always thought it was from a soundtrack to a movie. This class has been so much fun and definitely a learning experience for me. I definitely learned what Folk Music is and it is not music just for "Old People", they are stories passed down from generation to generation.
