Slobin, Chapter 1, "Overview: Sound and Setting," Folk Music                                                       1/29
Lornell, Chapter 1, "Start Here!"

Summary & Folk Music Definition

Slobin chapter 1 starts by saying that there is no definition of folk music, but it rely's on principles. As the book says, folk music combines a sense of old songs and tunes with an imaginary simpler lifestyle. Though out generations, folk music is reshaped and revived. Locating folk music starts with the word "music". Its not a set of songs and tunes but its a more of a "working practice". Folk music knowledge starts with insiders feelings which takes some time for outsiders to evoke according to Slobin. Expressive culture is the many ways that people perform feelings and beliefs. Folk music is sound waves traveling through the air from a source, into an ear, then into the brain. The way that Slobin talks about that everyone is a folksinger, but not technically musically educated. Lornell starts with an opening of Thanksgiving in Franklin County, Virginia. He states that is marks a period of transition. Lornell states that the traditional styles discussed in the book result from the hybridization that keeps traditional American music in constant evolution. Lornell believes that Scholars have long suggested that the mass media will eventually destroy today's racial, ethnic, regional, and traditional styles of American music. Lornell then goes on talking about the roots of twenty-first-century folk music. I like the line that says, "Music is a healing force in the universe". In this book, folk music has six different definitions. the first one is that folk music varies greatly over space but relatively little over time. The second says that folk music emanates from a specific, identifiable community. The third says that the authorship or origins of folk songs and tunes are generally unknown. The fourth one says that folk songs are usually disseminated by word-of-mouth, aurally, or through in-fornal apprenticeships within a community. The fifth one states that folk music is most often performed by nonprofessionals. Lastly the sixth one states that short forms and predictable patterns are fundamental for folk music. Lornell then goes and talks about how different instruments to perform. The book then goes on and talks about the different types of instruments.

Definition:Music that originates in traditional popular culture. Folk music is typically of unknown people and is past down from generations to generations.