The Roots Of English Folk Music
Folk music is defined as traditionally based music, by most dictionaries. In most countries, its origins are not always clear. For example, in England only the music played in royal courts or churches was actually written down at the time, so very early examples of this music can still be played today. However, the music of the general population was not preserved in this way, so there are very few examples of this kind of early folk music.
People have always sung, so folk music has been around as long as there has been language. In England, the earliest reference to people singing accompanied by an instrument is from the 600′s. The Venerable Bede mentions feasts at which people sang accompanied by the harp. Caedmon, a famous 5th century poet, wrote some of the earliest recorded songs. His song Hymn was written down and is still sung today. It sounds more like court music than folk music and is religious song, but many people argue that it is the earliest surviving example of English folk music.
By the 1500s, the music that the ruling classes listened to was becoming very different to that listened to by the rest of the population. At this point, the folk music we are familiar with today began to develop. By the mid 1600s folk music was so different to that listened to in royal courts that it was considered a new genre of music. Modern folk music was born, but it was not until the early 1700s that it was given the name folk music.
In the past 100 years, English folk music has evolved drastically. Today there are many different forms of folk music, which could be considered genres in their own right. These include folk punk, electric folk and folk rock. However, many of the old folk songs can still be heard today. Modern musicians play them either as they have always been played or sing the traditional lyrics to a different style of music. Some of these popular folk songs are now nearly 200 years old.
Once it was possible to record music, people began to hear music from all over the country and the world. Instead of folk music influencing other styles of music as it had done in the past, folk music was influenced and changed to meet the tastes of the modern masses.
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