Influence of Traditional Folk Music on Songwriters - Essay Example

Influence of traditional folk music on songwriters towards the content of music in the 1960’s and 1970’s, specifically political songs and gospel/blues songs [Name] [Professor Name] [Course] [Date] Introduction Folk music comprises the traditional genre and music that developed in the 20th century. While the term was coined to refer to the 19th century music, it usually refers to music that is much older than then. On the other hand, the definition of traditional folk music emerges in several ways, including the type of music that is orally transmitted or which has unfamiliar composers. It has been contrasted with commercial and classical styles (Papageorgi & Welch 2015). One meaning often given is that of old songs, with no known composers; another is music that has been transmitted and evolved by a process of oral transmission or performed by custom over a long period of time. During the mid-20th century, a novel type of popular folk music was derived from the traditional folk music. That point in time largely referred the folk revival and attained the summit during the 1960s. Such kind of music is often referred to as contemporary folk revival music or folk music to differentiate it from earlier music forms. An underlying argument is that the traditional folk music has had far-reaching effects on songwriters, especially with regard to the content of political and gospel music that marked the 1960’s and 1970’s. The folk music emerged much earlier than the 19th century and continued to survive in the Minimalism music during the 20thh century -- between the 1960s and 1980s (Bratcher 2007). The traditional folk music is to some extent tantamount to the music of the Minimalism, although some communities that actively played living folkloric music used the term traditional music as a way of differentiating their music from "folk music," particularly after the 1960’s "singer-songwriter" genre. Brief Background The 1960s marked the Minimalism period, where a musical construction technique applied the method of "repetition," also known as the ostinato-type concept. Such a repetition was characteristics of the short figures, rooted in particular series of tones of rhythms. Indeed, the music of the time had static harmonies, which many composers picked from traditional folk music (PBS.org 2001). Some of the sing-songwriters included the Terry Riley and Philip Corner. Based on their aesthetics, it could be argued that some of the songs by Terry Riley such as "The Philosopher's Hand" was characterised by a non-teleological, non-narrative, as well as non-representational concept, and marks an innovative approach to listening to music through focus on the music’s internal processes that lacked motion toward the goals. Some key features of the music included the consonant harmony, stasis, steady pulse, as well as repetition of musical phrases (Davis 1998). These types of folk music also comprise fusion genres like folk metal, folk rock, and electric folk. Although the contemporary folk music consists of a genre that is particularly separate from the traditional folk music, the music of the 1960s and 1970s shared several elements of the traditional folk music. Indeed, during the 1960s, knowledge of folk songs, songwriters, and artists grew, while popular artists started drawing on folk music as being unprecedented artistic sources (Unterberger 2010). At this stage, folk music transformed into a kind of popular music as made popular by songwriters like Bob Dylan, who pioneered the cherished acoustic performing styles, which borrowed largely from the folk musicians. At this stage, more songwriters began looking for innovative to explain the varied range of musical styles that were sung and performed across the United States, even as most were listened to on the radio. This gave birth to "roots music," which is used in reference to the wide variety of musical genres, such as gospel, blues, zydeco, and Native American pow-wow (PBS.org 2001). Cultural influences The traditional folk music influenced the manner in which music in the 1960s and 1970s adopted significant cultural form that people relied on to for asserting and preserving histories despite the shift in social conditions at the time. For instance, the spiritual songs written and sang by African-American slaves influence the songs used during the civil rights era in the 1960s. An example of the songs largely used during the civil rights era is "We Shall Overcome," which was embraced as an anthem within the Civil Rights movement (PBS.org 2001). At the same time, the subject of freedom is also exemplified by several American musicians and songwriters like Woody Guthrie, who was famous for the “Wandering Hero.” Other songwriters and musicians included the blues musicians like Bessie Smith, who also embraced the subject of freedom in their songs like “Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out” (Suisman 1999). Among these songs included the protest songs that the youth in the United States sang. An example is the Texas-Mexican youths who sang the “corridor." Others include the "union songs" that were predominantly used by labor organization to suggest the manner in which music was an intrinsic response to the cultural and historical conflicts, as well as a vehicle for encouraging collective action (Papageorgi & Welch 2015). Indeed, it could be argued that the “corridor” served as an influential symbolic response the Mexicans in respect to their oppression under the political systems set up by the Anglos in the Southwest. To date, contemporary musicians and songwriters from a range of diverse ethnic backgrounds who have continued to take advantage of music as a means to draw attention to their underlying injustices (Bratcher 2007). An example of this is the roots music of the 1960s, which continues to serve a means for providing the marginalised with a voice (Unterberger 2010). The term American roots music derives from the experiences of people who were seen to be unique or continued to be viewed so, due to the socio-cultural constructions of gender, class, and race. In the same way, music is reflective of the manner in which Americans had to struggle against oppressive socio-economic conditions, is the same way it serves as a vehicle for celebrating cultural identity (PBS.org 2001). Elsewhere, such as in Ireland, bands like The Chieftains and The Clancy Brothers & Tommy Makem revitalised and re-popularised Irish folk music, as they were largely based on living tradition of Irish music. They derived their traditional elements from the works of Peter Kennedy and Seamus Ennis. In the case of Britain, the revival of folk music was marked with limited commercial success, although it assisted in raising the profile of folk-rock hybrid and emergence of singer-songwriters liked Ralph McTell in his works the “Streets Of London.” In Hungary, the folk traditions influenced the cultures and music clubs of the popular music in the country, of what came to be called the tanchaz movement. This Hungarian model resulted from the cooperation of musicology experts and some amateurs. Their key characteristic is that the Hungarian folk culture and folk music carried strong Hungarian cultures particularly from places like Transylvania, which were integrated into the contemporary music (Bratcher 2007). In fact, the traditional costumes once used in rural areas were integrated into the revived music, For instance, the tanchaz that began in the 1970s transformed into a massive movement that created an alternative leisure activity for the young people in Hungary, besides the music clubs and discos. This also implies that it influenced the type of music clubs created, besides the content. The tanchaz movement later spread globally (PBS.org 2001). Therefore, what is perceivable is that immediately the folk traditions of the 19th century and early 20th century began to be marketed as popular music between the 1960s and 1980s, their musical content was modified to form what is called popular music. The modified folk music integrated forms of rhythmic syncopation, drum kit, and electric guitars. Political influences The folk music introduced romantic nationalism into the music of the folk revival of the later 20th century. The folk revival of the mid-1960s and into the early 1980s was connected to the large political, musical, lifestyle, in addition to countercultural transformation. The folk music went through rapid evolution. Significant transformations involved those leading to the creation of new fusion types of music with pop and rock. During this time, the term "protest music" was coined and characterized traditional folk music with the underlying political situations of the time (PBS.org 2001). The influence of folk music on the 1960’s to 1980’s songwriters and performers started with the songwriters whose careers were anchored in the authentic folk tradition. For instance, Woody Guthrie started by singing songs that he heard his mother sing during his childhood. During the 1930s and into he1940s, he compiles folk music and began to compose own songs. Pete Seeger did the same thing as Guthrie. By disseminating their recordings commercially in the 1950s, they influenced the artists of the 1960s. This was particularly spurred by the emergence of mass media communication in the United States, such as the coming of the ABC Hootenanny television series in 1963. Guthries influenced Jack Elliott who in turn influenced Bob Dylan. Guthrie influenced songwriters like Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs and Joan Baez, who also started writing politically, toned protest music, as well as topical songs, especially against the Vietnam War and in support of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States (Papageorgi & Welch 2015). Even as the folk traditions gradually declined, their political influence on contemporary sing-songwriters inspired their revival or resuscitation. For this reasons, folk revivals also consisted of collaboration between traditional folk musicians and other participants (often of urban background) who come to the tradition as adults. In Britain for instance, the folk revival of the 1960s began in 1950 when Alan Lomax came to the country and met seminal sing-songwriters like Ewan MacColl and A.L.'Bert' Lloyd who were known to perform folk music. The two initiated the Ballads and Blues Club, which led to the emergence of Alan Stivell 's works, such as “"Gwriziad difennet.” During the 1960s, the folk and rock'n'roll music also combined to form folk-rock and later popular music, which became greatly influential. An example is Bob Dylan, who in 1964 revolutionized contemporary folk music when he sang about social and political issues. A hybrid of folk and rock can also be found in the blues of the 1960s. For instance, it is manifest how the group Animals' interpreted traditional folk song called the "The House of the Rising Sun," as well as the song "I'm a Loser" by the Beatles. Byrds also made an electric version of Dylan's contemporary folk song called "Mr. Tambourine Man" in 1965. It could further be reasoned that the initial folk-rock band called the Byrds was made up from folk music writers who only had to pick up their electric instruments several years before they made it into the limelight (Papageorgi & Welch 2015). Consequently, Dylan and Byrds’s successes influenced several more emulators, including the “Lovin' Spoonful,” which was one of Dylan's greatest folk-rock music. Examples of those influenced include Donovan, which was a success during the mid 1960s, followed in the footsteps of Dylan, which went both psychedelic and electric. The producers of the song included a twelve-string guitar to the old folk music called "Sounds of Silence" by Simon & Garfunkel. Additionally, other groups like Blue Things from Kansas and the Leaves from Los Angeles also made magnificent recordings of folk-rock singles. Despite this, the “rock” in the folk-rock hybrid songs was more outstanding compared to the "folk” despite both of them having high commercial sense of melody (Unterberger 2010). Religious influences The folk music also had significant effect in influencing the religious music of the 1960s and 1970s. Indeed, when a majority of the diverse cultural groups in the United States are taken into perspective, it could be argued that there has been an elongated reciprocal association between folk music and religion. During the 18th century and 19th century in the Southern states of the United States, religious music of the time had significant impact on the musical developments of the African-American and Anglo religious music (PBS.org 2001). During the nights, the singing drew community members together, who looked forward to listen to Spiritual music in the South. At the time, the African American male members of Gospel quartets created bonds that existed throughout the life cycle of their singing careers. The quartet offered frameworks of the communities based on where people gathered and created individual experiences. In the white and black communities, religious music emerged as a source for structuring and performing secular songs (Davis 1998). For instance, country music became an issue that greatly influenced the religious life of people in the Southern states, and subsequently transformed into a deeply religious society (Papageorgi & Welch 2015). At this stage, both the white and black residents of the Southern states acquired their musical education in settings that emphasises religious music. Examples of the songs included the "Farther Along" and "Amazing Grace.” Influence son personal expressions and relationships The traditional folk music influenced lyrical aspect, particularly on love, that was integrated into the African-American blues and popular music of the 1960s. What is particularly unique regarding the blues is its connection to the American traditional folk music of the 1920s, particularly the aspects of representational freedom and intellectual freedom. In particular, among the clear and obvious aspects derived from the folk music were the depictions of heterosexual love relationships, which were compatible with earlier ideology of love, including sexual partnerships and marital relationships (PBS.org 2001). A striking feature is the idea that the professional performers of music of the blues were women. An example includes Bessie Smith; popularly known was the "Empress of the Blues" (Suisman 1999). The historical aspects of the blues picked the tradition of openly addressing both female and male sexuality from the folk music, which related to the ideological framework that was particularly African-American after the abolition of slavery. The blues provided musical expression to the sexual and social realities that African-Americans encountered as free men and women. For instance, in Bessie Smith's "Sam Jones Blues," the song contain some commentaries on marriage that were found in her body of work (Davis 1998). In addition, the singer-songwriters who approached the folk-rock hybrid from the folk side tended to be less commercially successful, although some like Gordon Lightfoot, Phil Ochs, and Fred Neil. The folk-rock hybrid claimed incredible success in 1965. For instance, the Beatles were leveraged the opportunity to address more personal relationships in their 1965 songs, such as "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away," which were among the most successful folk-rock hybrid. Although groups like Beatles moved beyond folk-rock and into psychedelia through exploring greater instrumental and lyrical innovation and experimentation. Although the folk-rock and blues gained commercial successes in mid-1960s, it actually had a strong presence in rock, it did not permanently become an addition to the rock'n'roll lexicon. Indeed, the Buffalo Springfield band that came from Los Angeles released recordings that relied largely on folk-rock elements and only added some elements of psychedelia and eclecticism. The experience was global, as in the late 1960s, a British band called Fairport Convention attained a pure folk-rock mix, with almost equal balances between the acoustic and electric, as well as the modern composition (Davis 1998). To this end, the singer-songwriter movement that marked the late 1960s and into the 1970s was not as susceptible to inclusion of electric guitars and group ensembles, despite taking folk-rock as a primary inspiration. Examples include Tracy Chapman and bands like the REM. Discussion During the 1950s, the contemporary music mostly referred to serialism. During the 1960s serialism, electronic music integrated media. While minimalism was developed during the 1960s chiefly in America and across Europe during the 1970s, its folk elements are traceable to medieval times, particularly the repetitive phrases of choral liturgy, which can be heard in Stravinsky's “Rite of Spring”, which largely relied on rhythm. In the 1970s, during the minimalism and post-minimalism period, there was increased stylistic variety, despite the continuation of avant-garde traditions that were picked from folk music, such as music experimentalism. Others included revitalisation of the tonal styles rooted in the traditional folk music elements, and the non-functional triadic harmony, which were typified by composers who worked in the minimalist traditions (Blood 2013). During the 20th century, contemporary folk music consisted of modernism. Examples included twelve-tone technique, rhythmic complexity, greater dissonance, and atonality. During the 1950s, contemporary music mostly consisted of serialism while the 1960s serialism were characterised by computer music, performance art. During the 1970s, the revival folk was characterised by increased stylistic variety (PBS.org 2001). In order to understand the practices of the contemporary performance correctly, and what the music of the 1960s wanted of the songwriters’ compositional style. As a matter of fact, despite picking certain elements from the traditional folk music, except that meters, rhythms and the manner in which notes are segmented appeared to have greater emphasis compared to the traditional folk music. Additionally, the performers followed written musical notation marks precisely (Blood 2013). Conclusion The traditional folk music has had far-reaching effects on songwriters, especially with regard to the content of political and gospel music that marked the 1960’s and 1970’s. The folk music emerged much earlier than the 19th century and continued to survive in the Minimalism music during the 20thh century -- between the 1960s and 1980s. The traditional folk music influenced the manner in which music in the 1960s and 1970s adopted significant cultural elements, which sing-songwriters relied on, for purposes of asserting and preserving histories despite the shift in social conditions at the time. For instance, the spiritual songs written and sang by African-American slaves influence the songs used during the civil rights era in the 1960s. The folk music also introduced romantic nationalism into the music of the folk revival of the later 20th century. The folk revival of the mid-1960s and into the early 1980s was connected to the large political, musical, lifestyle, in addition to countercultural transformation. The folk music went through rapid evolution. The folk music also had significant effect in influencing the religious music of the 1960s and 1970s. The traditional folk music influenced lyrical aspect, particularly on love, that was integrated into the African-American blues and popular music of the 1960s. What is particularly unique regarding the blues is its connection to the American traditional folk music of the 1920s, particularly the aspects of representational freedom and intellectual freedom. Therefore, what is perceivable is that immediately the folk traditions of the 19th century and early 20th century began to be marketed as popular music between the 1960s and 1980s, their musical content was modified to form what is called popular music. The modified folk music integrated forms of rhythmic syncopation, drum kit, and electric guitars. References Blood, B 2013, Music History Online: Music Of The 20th Century, viewed 26 July 2015, Bratcher, M 2007, Words and Songs of Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, and Nina Simone: Sound Motion, Blues Spirit, and African Memory, Routledge, New York Davis, A 1998, “I Used To Be Your Sweet Mama,” The New York Times, viewed 26 July 2015, Papageorgi, I & Welch, G 2015, Advanced Musical Performance: Investigations in Higher Education Learning, Ashgate Publishing, Burlingtong PBS.org 2001, Into the Classroom Tapping the Roots of American Music: A Teacher's Guide, viewed 26 July 2015, Suisman, D 1999, "was Bessie Smith a Feminist," Souls, vol 1 no 1, pp.71-75 Unterberger, R 2010, Folk-Rock: An Overview, viewed 26 July 2015, Read More