Folk and Country

Standard Definitions

Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music or international music. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways.

Music transmitted orally ,with unknown composers, played on traditional instruments, about cultural or national identity, that changes between generations (folk process), associated with a people's folklore or performed by custom over a long period of time.

It has been contrasted with commercial and classical styles.

The term originated in the 19th century, but folk music extends beyond that.

Starting in the mid-20th century, a new form of popular folk music evolved from traditional folk music. This process and period is called the (second) folk revival and reached a zenith in the 1960s. This form of music is sometimes called contemporary folk music or folk revival music to distinguish it from earlier folk forms.

Smaller, similar revivals have occurred elsewhere in the world at other times, but the term folk music has typically not been applied to the new music created during those revivals. This type of folk music also includes fusion genres such as folk rock, folk metal, and others.

While contemporary folk music is a genre generally distinct from traditional folk music, in U.S. English it shares the same name, and it often shares the same performers and venues as traditional folk music.

Image by : Tiểu Bảo Trương (Pexels.com)

EMC Classification

In the Frame "Folk and Country" you can find N° 3 Level 2 Broad Genres :

1. Western Folk;

2. Country Music;

3. World Music.

1. This Frame is strictly based on the features of artists' repertoires and is build up around the paths of music traditions which they represent.

2. A temporal classification can be found between traditional, classical and contemporary folk artists only in those genres where the sound characteristics of the repertoires have substantial differences from the genre that preceded temporally or inspired it.

3. The classical subdivision that provides for the distinction between traditional and contemporary folk music identified by born of the current named "Folk revival" in 1960s is not used in EML.

4. To define temporally the genres movements in the current context we have included a distinction only from the third level (Music Clusters) generally with the following scheme.

• Traditional Folk refers to genres and styles without a retroactive time limit.

• The term Classic Folk refers to the genres that arose from the middle of last century and that are still produced and played in current days, even with substantial differences in the different national or local scenes.

• Contemporary Folk generally defines genres developed after the 2000s , that have a totally new approach to the classic features or that are strongly influenced by other contemporary styles, techniques or equipments.

The temporal attribute does not refer exclusively to the period of activity of the artists but to the expressed musical form.

5. The subdivision in Lev 3 Clusters of the Broad Genre "Folk Music"is based on three different basic groups:

• North America Folk ;

• UK Folk ;

• European Folk.

Genres in this set provide a further deeper subdivision always based on geographical paths.

Example in North America Folk you can find the L4 Genres: Cajun, Native American Music, Indigenous Music of Canada, Western Music etc.

6. In Folk Music , the subdivision in Clusters  and Genres are formed on the basis of the following types of sets:

• Strictly geographical distinction (or example the sub-continent South America).

• Macro-areas of international music markets;

• On the common language of not well-defined areas as for Francophone African Pop.

• On national scenes (example Deutsch Folk) or on the local scenes that have had or have a strong and distinct tradition and a following at the national or international mainstream.