Strings and Stories: Let's Talk About Folk Music
What is Folk Music?
Folk music is a genre rooted in the traditional songs, stories, and instruments of a community or culture. Often passed down orally from generation to generation, folk music reflects the history, values, and everyday life of those who create it. Common instruments in folk music include the guitar, banjo, fiddle, accordion, and various regional instruments while the content usually tells stories or conveys messages.
Where Did It Originate?
Due to its unique and widespread history, it is hard to pinpoint the origins of folk music but it shows up in many cultures and spaces across the world. According to Brittanica, “where a folk song originated is rarely known to its community, and thus the anonymity of the creative process was once considered a major criterion of folk music identification. It has become clear, however, that folk songs and other pieces are the result of individual creation, either by villagers or by professional or church musicians whose work is somehow taken up in the folk culture.”
Black Folk Artists
African Bluegrass notes that Black artists have played an enormous part in moving forward the history of American folk music, from the slave spirituals to early field recordings, songs of the civil rights and feminist movements, story songs, gospel songs, protest songs, and beyond. Listed below are 10 of the most influential Black folk artists to ever participate in the genre:
- Harry Belafonte
- Blind Boys Of Alabama
- Carolina Chocolate Drops
- Elizabeth Cotten
- Richie Havens
- Keb Mo
- Leadbelly
- Ma Rainey
- Odetta
- Toshi Reagon
- Sweet Honey in the Rock
Elizabeth Cotten
Above is a video of Elizabeth Cotten playing In the Sweet By and By left-handed with only 2 fingers. Born in Carrboro, North Carolina, Elizabeth Cotten’s music career began relatively late in her life but left a significant impact on the folk music scene. Cotten was known for her “left-handed” guitar style, meaning she played the guitar upside-down and backward. This technique gave her music a unique sound and approach
