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fandomhigh2016-06-19 10:52 pm
sharp_as_knives) wrote in fandomhigh2016-06-19 10:52 pm
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Music Appreciation | Monday, period 1
//Wikipedia,// Jono began, once students seemed to have settled in the music room for the day, blithely skipping past any explanation for last week's absence or the CDs that the office gremlin had left to make up for it, //defines folk music as both traditional music, and the more modern genre of music that evolved from it in the 20th century. The traditional sort is also generally defined either as old music with no known composer, or music that has been passed around orally, or performed according to custom over time.//
Thank you for that, Wikipedia. Jono didn't like admitting that he knew what you were, but you were a godsend when he sucked it up and made use of you.
"In practice," Hannibal added, "that means that most of the medieval and Renaissance music we have, apart from religious music, counts as 'folk music'. It also means we're limited in our knowledge, since so much music wasn't written down. There are chansons - songs that tell stories - and dance music, and many other sorts besides. And to clarify, we are speaking here of Western European music for the most part. It's so broad a topic, we would be lost otherwise, although should anybody have an interest in Japanese folk music, I'm happy to discuss it later."
//Contemporary folk, or folk revival music, is much newer. Creating a new genre based on old styles of music began in the mid 20th century, and really hit its stride around the 1960s. Contemporary folk is characterized by its style more than its history, and uses traditional instruments to accompany vocals that often tell stories that best resonate with the working class of their time.// Jono shrugged his shoulders, looking slightly amused as he added, //It also gets fused with other modern genres in ways that work far better than you'd expect.//
"Some of the same people, you will find, do both - it isn't uncommon for a musician or band to cover traditional music and create more of their own." Hannibal queued up the first song. "This band does a wide range of things, but this is a traditional Medieval dance song. You'll note the main instrument is a pipe," it was very difficult for him to simplify things like this, but if he got into musical theory, they might never leave, "and there is a strong drum, to keep the beat for the dancers."
After they had listened to that, he continued. "Of course, a lot of music was sung as well. Particularly the ones that tell a story. Unfortunately, learning all of the Medieval languages is somewhat beyond the scope of this class," he said, chuckling, "so let's just enjoy the music." And he played another song.
"For my last two songs," Hannibal said, "we begin to move into the more modern. First, a song that has been famously covered by a modern folk group, but in a more traditional version than theirs."
Next, he queued up a video instead of more audio. "And finally, a band that brings a definite modern sensibility into what is, I assure you, a traditional song."
//This week, I've just got some contemporary music that just falls directly under the 'folk' heading, without muddying up the water with all of the little subgenres just yet. That's a rabbit hole that would be difficult to come out of if I were to start heading in that direction during the lecture, but I'll let you explore it a bit more in a bit.// He put a CD into the stereo, and hit play on some Dylan. Pretty textbook folk, really. //Note how straightforward the musical accompaniment is. It's not uncommon to see a contemporary folk artist perform solo, with just an acoustic guitar or a fiddle on hand. And the lyrics generally tend to lean toward introspective questions, such as Blowin' In The Wind, there. Or narratives or political statements. Sometimes all three, tied into one.//
He switched CDs, and this time the music that began to play was purely vocal, no instrumental accompaniment to be heard. But that was fine. The man who was singing, Stan Rogers, had a strong voice and a fairly compelling story to tell.
//While a lot of modern music exists either for the sake of a catchy rhythm or even just venting out into the void, folk is generally written to speak to their audience. It strays a bit from that, again, once you start getting into subgenres such as folk rock and folk punk, but the general feel of it follows a similar tone. It's usually not difficult to figure out when a song was written by listening to the historical context of the lyrics. We've already touched on songs that come out of war time, either singing about the aftermath or about people hoping to avoid being dragged into those conflicts, for example.//
"These sorts of folk music often gain popularity in the face of conflict," Hannibal noted. "The Blues are a sort of folk music as well, easily as vast as most of this." He waved his hand at their examples so far. "A song such as Nina Simone's rendition of 'Strange Fruit' or Robert Johnson's "Crossroads" shows the emotions and tribulation that the singer faced, which a good deal of their audience would have been familiar with."
//More recent songs often carry a more environmental message, as the fact that we're more or less ruining the planet starts to become more unavoidable. Every major event since the mid 20th century almost certainly has a folk song written about it, reaching out to the audience with a message, a warning, or an emotion.//
Jono nodded out toward different seats around the room, set next to listening stations, mp3 players, mostly, with headphones attached, of course.
//Today's activity is to listen to different examples of the various types of folk that have been set out for you to sample. Some are more traditional than others, some have strayed far enough from the classical definition of the genre that you might wonder what the connection to folk is at all. Listen to as few or as many as you'd like, then feel free to discuss the songs you heard. How they made you feel, what they're talking about, whether or not they spoke to you or turned you off, flat-out.//
"And if you have any examples of your own," Hannibal added, "we would love to hear them. And, as usual, please feel free to ask questions."
[Open! So, so, so many YouTube links within.]
Thank you for that, Wikipedia. Jono didn't like admitting that he knew what you were, but you were a godsend when he sucked it up and made use of you.
"In practice," Hannibal added, "that means that most of the medieval and Renaissance music we have, apart from religious music, counts as 'folk music'. It also means we're limited in our knowledge, since so much music wasn't written down. There are chansons - songs that tell stories - and dance music, and many other sorts besides. And to clarify, we are speaking here of Western European music for the most part. It's so broad a topic, we would be lost otherwise, although should anybody have an interest in Japanese folk music, I'm happy to discuss it later."
//Contemporary folk, or folk revival music, is much newer. Creating a new genre based on old styles of music began in the mid 20th century, and really hit its stride around the 1960s. Contemporary folk is characterized by its style more than its history, and uses traditional instruments to accompany vocals that often tell stories that best resonate with the working class of their time.// Jono shrugged his shoulders, looking slightly amused as he added, //It also gets fused with other modern genres in ways that work far better than you'd expect.//
"Some of the same people, you will find, do both - it isn't uncommon for a musician or band to cover traditional music and create more of their own." Hannibal queued up the first song. "This band does a wide range of things, but this is a traditional Medieval dance song. You'll note the main instrument is a pipe," it was very difficult for him to simplify things like this, but if he got into musical theory, they might never leave, "and there is a strong drum, to keep the beat for the dancers."
After they had listened to that, he continued. "Of course, a lot of music was sung as well. Particularly the ones that tell a story. Unfortunately, learning all of the Medieval languages is somewhat beyond the scope of this class," he said, chuckling, "so let's just enjoy the music." And he played another song.
"For my last two songs," Hannibal said, "we begin to move into the more modern. First, a song that has been famously covered by a modern folk group, but in a more traditional version than theirs."
Next, he queued up a video instead of more audio. "And finally, a band that brings a definite modern sensibility into what is, I assure you, a traditional song."
//This week, I've just got some contemporary music that just falls directly under the 'folk' heading, without muddying up the water with all of the little subgenres just yet. That's a rabbit hole that would be difficult to come out of if I were to start heading in that direction during the lecture, but I'll let you explore it a bit more in a bit.// He put a CD into the stereo, and hit play on some Dylan. Pretty textbook folk, really. //Note how straightforward the musical accompaniment is. It's not uncommon to see a contemporary folk artist perform solo, with just an acoustic guitar or a fiddle on hand. And the lyrics generally tend to lean toward introspective questions, such as Blowin' In The Wind, there. Or narratives or political statements. Sometimes all three, tied into one.//
He switched CDs, and this time the music that began to play was purely vocal, no instrumental accompaniment to be heard. But that was fine. The man who was singing, Stan Rogers, had a strong voice and a fairly compelling story to tell.
//While a lot of modern music exists either for the sake of a catchy rhythm or even just venting out into the void, folk is generally written to speak to their audience. It strays a bit from that, again, once you start getting into subgenres such as folk rock and folk punk, but the general feel of it follows a similar tone. It's usually not difficult to figure out when a song was written by listening to the historical context of the lyrics. We've already touched on songs that come out of war time, either singing about the aftermath or about people hoping to avoid being dragged into those conflicts, for example.//
"These sorts of folk music often gain popularity in the face of conflict," Hannibal noted. "The Blues are a sort of folk music as well, easily as vast as most of this." He waved his hand at their examples so far. "A song such as Nina Simone's rendition of 'Strange Fruit' or Robert Johnson's "Crossroads" shows the emotions and tribulation that the singer faced, which a good deal of their audience would have been familiar with."
//More recent songs often carry a more environmental message, as the fact that we're more or less ruining the planet starts to become more unavoidable. Every major event since the mid 20th century almost certainly has a folk song written about it, reaching out to the audience with a message, a warning, or an emotion.//
Jono nodded out toward different seats around the room, set next to listening stations, mp3 players, mostly, with headphones attached, of course.
//Today's activity is to listen to different examples of the various types of folk that have been set out for you to sample. Some are more traditional than others, some have strayed far enough from the classical definition of the genre that you might wonder what the connection to folk is at all. Listen to as few or as many as you'd like, then feel free to discuss the songs you heard. How they made you feel, what they're talking about, whether or not they spoke to you or turned you off, flat-out.//
"And if you have any examples of your own," Hannibal added, "we would love to hear them. And, as usual, please feel free to ask questions."
[Open! So, so, so many YouTube links within.]
Re: Discuss!
Re: Discuss!
Re: Discuss!
So there.
Re: Discuss!
Going by that grin, not so much.