Exploration and settlement in the Adirondacks brought with it traditions and documentations of life passed through generations in the form of song. Adirondack folk music, catchy and easy to learn, holds in its lyrics details of the Adirondack past. Whether it is specific accounts of individuals or the portrayal of a way of life, we can learn a lot about daily struggles in the Adirondacks and who the people were that lived there. After a long day’s work, people would gather around and sing a song together. The only form of entertainment, they would listen to the stories and join in taking their minds off of the grueling lumber work of that day. This form of singing was very powerful for the communities that participated, for it brought individuals closer together. While these traditions persisted for many centuries, in the present day it is very difficult to find songs that tell stories. In the 21st century, how has the folk tradition changed? What has impacted different shifts in our culture’s music?
In the present day, folk is a very popular genre. Many famous musicians such as Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Paul Simon and James Taylor consider themselves folk singers. However, folk music today is in the style of folk, not the genre. A true folk singer is just an average musician, who plays music has been shaped and written by a communal composition. In other words, it has been passed down through generations of singers. Folk is by definition for the people and sung by the people, and unfortunately, the non-lucrative occupation of street performing is the closest one can get now to this form of performance. It is definitely not the preferred method for most artists.
Just as folk has changed in the past few decades, so has music overall. Every year, new genres are discovered and the quality of music shifts to increasingly represent the desires of a new and young generation. However, in the 21st century, the most significant evolution has been HOW we listen and buy music. Music continues to shift to digital platforms like iTunes and recently Spotify. In doing so, these shifts have also changed the purpose of music, which used to be more of a communal activity. Now, more often than not, music is an individualized and isolating activity. Everywhere we walk we see people walking to class or work with headphones in. Technology has fundamentally changed the way we buy music but also the way we interact with it. For a tradition that relies on the communal power of music to transcend generations, will the true folk song survive in the coming decades?
This is certainly an interesting issue; before today I had never thought about the difference between traditional and modern folk music. I don't agree, however, that the closest present-day equivalent is street performing. It seems to me that an important part of what makes a song a "true folk song" is its amateur nature, its singers weren't seeking a profit (street performers are definitely seeking profit), only entertainment for themselves. As strange as it may sound, I think some aspects of traditional folk music can be seen in viral internet videos (ok hear me out...). They're originally created by one person or group of people but are remixed, imitated, memed, etc., by many. They capture a moment in time, they're not inherently made with the intent of making money, and they provide entertainment for a wide range of people and end up existing outside of the context in which they were created. I think the need for the type of entertainment found in folk music has not been erased by modern society, but has morphed to work with the mediums of this century.
ReplyDeleteI agree that folk music hasn’t disappeared but has simply shifted how it is presented. If you stick with the definition as being a song that is for the people by the people, then the internet videos that Hannah talks about definitely qualify as being folk songs, just with a different style. I will say though that music in general has definitely become more individualized. When we were talking in class about how none of us were singing along to the folk songs, I thought about when I do sing, which happens to be when I am alone. It is interesting to think about how the role of music has shifted over time from being what everyone would do to being background noise.
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