What is Folk?
 

What is folk to you? give a definition and what it does for you.

for me folk is music is traditional music made for places not affected by mass communication and/or excessive commercialisation. its music for the people- by the people. i like it because folk lyrics are on areas and subjects anyone can relate to. their real and relevant to society

I never really thought of it in a scientific manner, but usually I just say folk is as minimal as it gets. Human + Instrument = folk. Though I do feel bands like Counting Crows are folk bands, I'd have to think about it more.

yeah that's what i think too
it's something that makes me think of the country side, but in a good way (and i'm not talking about country music) i mean when i say folk i see a man in jeans and a shirt with a guitar in his hand singing something sad and not loud...

it's something that appears to be simple but it's not.

To quote Keith Richards, "that little peice of wood and that hole, thats truth", he was taling about acoustic guitars but the point is, the acoustic instument is a trademark of folk, whether its a piano, guitar, banjo or harmonica. Its all about truth, both musically and lyrically. Thats what I'd say folk is, its truth and honesty.

truth and honesty..same thing? anyway, i agree with you, its a musical outlet for emotion in its purest form.

If anyone knows my dad, ask him - he likes folk music he knows his stuff

Now according to wikipedia.....

Charles Seeger (1980) describes three contemporary defining criteria of folk music (Middleton 1990, p.127-8):

A "schema comprising four musical types: 'primitive' or 'tribal'; 'elite' or 'art'; 'folk'; and 'popular'. Usually...folk music is associated with a lower class in societies which are culturally and socially stratified, that is, which have developed an elite, and possibly also a popular, musical culture." Cecil Sharp (1972), A.L. Lloyd ().
"Cultural processes rather than abstract musical types...continuity and oral transmission...seen as characterizing one side of a cultural dichotomy, the other side of which is found not only in the lower layers of feudal, capitalist and some oriental societies but also in 'primitive' societies and in parts of 'popular cultures'." Redfield (1947) and Dundes (1965).
Less prominent, "a rejection of rigid boundaries, preferring a conception, simply of varying practice within one field, that of 'music'."
David Harker (1985) argues that "folk music" is, in Peter van der Merwe's words, "a meaningless term invented by 'bourgeois' commentators".

A Full Definition If Anyone Be Interested.

I guess their the same, but techinically you could tell the truth in a dishonest way.

This is a favorite of my youth:

Did you take my dollar?

Yeah I went in your bag and just stole the dollar right out of there.

imagine the latter being as sarcastic as possible, the truth done in such a way that it deters them from continuing the process of interigation, yet still is "the truth"

Thats just me arguing, they are essentially the same thing.

haha. i'll begrudgingly accept you have a slight point.

:tramp: See Stu, we can get along

we can indeed. when im not labelled as a zeppelin twin.

Im not sure whats up with MB latly but I can't see an avatar for crap. Anyway, I wanted to write to say I think we shouldn't debate what folk is and operate on the "i know it when I hear it" principle. This may be me being an ass but I don't think we need to have "I don't know if this is really folk" or "hmm, I like them but are they folk musicias" in every thread. Lets just roll with the punch and unless someone brings up something thats evidently not folk, just post about the topic.

Opinions?
3

now when i think of folk i think of lepricorns and the like

hopefully you all see this post has no relevance

To me, Folk can be a music from any part of the world, but it needs to be derived of mainly ACOUSTIC instruments. You have South America Folk... mainly acoustic, you have American Folk, both old and new... also acoustic, Celtic Folk... acoustic. Yeah, I think that sums it up. Acoustic!

to me folk is pretty much acoustic songs with a meaning to them. Be it protest songs or a really deep ballad

It does'nt matter what instrument is prominent. Essentially Folk music is a message or story that is shared between communities and is the most digestable and easily understood form of mass communication.

Of course with the media becoming the main conduit for communication these days, Folk music has evolved into a generic style which does'nt really reflect the cultural significance and inherent importance that a storyteller had.

This is not to belittle many important artists that have appeared over the last 50 years, merely a reminder that Folk music was entertainment and an education tool that 20th century artists realised could serve their purposes better.

I love the stories in folk. That's what most attracts me. I love great lyrics. And folk has some great stories. One of my favorite songs I would call folk for the story in the lyrics is "Harper Valley PTA." Gosh I love singing that one.

To me, Folk is music that is made to be simple and tell a story. They're often about what the singer/songwriter of the song have experienced, and what they think is going to happen. It also usually speaks for it's generation/culture at the time, and speaks for them the most, out of any music. But really, all music gives a standpoint on it's generation (ie, hip hop, punk, whatever else), but Folk kinda does it... best or most.

That's my definition.

im gonna have to agree with the point made on the first page, that folk is just a label made up by bourgeois commentators to distinguish between the "elite" form of classical music from that "lesser" music of the peasant

I think someone doesn't like peasants. >[

so what the hell are we gonna call it now?

Grindcore.

...peasant rock?

i don't think we have to call it anything because for the most part it doesn't exist anymore anyway

haha, i like this.


for me, folk is simpler music, with less distortions, etc. i guess that would generally fall under the acoustic category, but i don't think folk necessarily must be played without electricity. i like to think of it as music for the sake of music, instead of music for the sake of...something else.

agreed.

that is probably the most ignorant thing i've ever heard in my life.

Heh, peasants. They're less desirable.

And thanks for the appreciation of my definition, twinkletoes.