International Cinema Festival of India

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.

It can be assumed that people have always sung, so folk music has very deep roots. The earliest reference to people singing accompanied by an instrument in England is from the 600′s. The Venerable Bede refers to feasts at which people sang accompanied by the harp. The poet Caedmon wrote some of the earliest folk songs, very few of his songs survive, but his song Hymn was written down and is known today. It does not sound much like modern folk music, but it is purported by some to be the earliest surviving example of English folk music.

In the 1500s, a strong division between the kinds of music played in wealthy circles and that played by the rest of the populous was beginning to develop. You could argue that this is when English Folk music was really born. By the mid 1600s, there was very little correlation between the 2 styles of music. Folk music was a genre in its own right; in the early 1700s, the term folk music began to be used to describe the music of the masses.

In the 1900s, English folk music evolved drastically; today there is electric folk, folk punk, folk metal, folk rock and Celtic folk, all of which have their origins in traditional folk music. As technology and instruments have evolved so has folk music. The songs are still about everyday life and follows similar rhythms, but the sound of folk music is now more eclectic.

In the beginning English folk music heavily influenced other forms of music, such as, sea shanties, jigs, hornpipes and traditional dance music. In the past 100 years or so, it has been other forms of music, which have influenced and changed the sound of English folk music.

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