"The Music of American Folk Song" and Selected Other Writings on American Folk Music

Author: Ruth Crawford Seeger
Publisher: University Rochester Press
ISBN: 9781580460958
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 220

Book Description
This is the first publication of an annotated monograph by the noted composer and folksong scholar Ruth Crawford Seeger. Originally written as a foreword for the 1940 book Our Singing Country, it was considered too long and was replaced by a much shorter version. According to her stepson, Pete Seeger, when the original was not included "Ruth suffered one of the biggest disappointments of the last ten years of her life. It just killed her . . . She was trying to analyze the whole style and problem of performing this music." Along with her children Mike and Peggy Seeger, he has long desired to see this work in print as it was meant to be read. The manuscript has been edited from several varying sources by Larry Polansky, with the assistance of Seeger's biographer Judith Tick. It is divided into two sections: I. "A Note on Transcription" and II. "Notes on the Songs and on Manners of Singing." Seeger examines all aspects of the relationship between singer, song, notation, the eventual performer, and the transcriber. In Section I, Seeger develops a complex and well-organized system of notation for these songs which is meant to be both descritive (transcription as cultural preservation) and prescriptive (she intended that others would be able to perform these songs). In Section II, she provides an interpretive theory for performance of this music, and suggests how performers might make the songs "their own" through a deep knowledge of the original styles. Ruth Crawford Seeger considered this work to be both a major accomplishment and a central statement of her own ideas on the topic. Larry Polansky is Associate Professor of Music at Dartmouth College, and a well-known composer and theorist on American music. Judith Tick is Professor of Music at Northeastern University and author of the first major biography of Ruth Crawford Seeger.

The NPR Curious Listener's Guide to American Folk Music

The NPR Curious Listener's Guide to American Folk Music PDF Author: Kip Lornell
Publisher: Perigee Trade
ISBN:
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 260

Book Description
A comprehensive listener's guide to American folk music provides a concise history of the musical genre and its most important performers, along with an A-to-Z glossary of terms, information on stylistic variations, helpful resources, and a listing of dozens of essential folk music CDs.

First Book of American Folk Songs

First Book of American Folk Songs PDF Author: Bergerac
Publisher: Courier Corporation
ISBN: 9780486288857
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 52

Book Description
Expert settings of 25 American folk classics by a well-known composer and arranger for young pianists. Includes "Amazing Grace," "Aura Lee," "Blue Tail Fly," "The Gift to Be Simple," "Go Down Moses," "Pop Goes the Weasel," "Shortnin' Bread," and "Sweet Betsy from Pike."

American Ballads and Folk Songs

American Ballads and Folk Songs PDF Author: John A. Lomax
Publisher: Courier Corporation
ISBN: 048631992X
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 719

Book Description
Music and lyrics for over 200 songs. John Henry, Goin' Home, Little Brown Jug, Alabama-Bound, Black Betty, The Hammer Song, Jesse James, Down in the Valley, The Ballad of Davy Crockett, and many more.

American Folk Songs for Guitar

American Folk Songs for Guitar PDF Author: David Nadal
Publisher: Courier Corporation
ISBN: 048641700X
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 99

Book Description
Specially transcribed and arranged for beginning and intermediate guitar players, this anthology of 49 classics includes such perennial favorites as Beautiful Dreamer, Amazing Grace, Aura Lee, On Top of Old Smoky, Blue Tail Fly, Camptown Races, Dixie's Land, Yankee Doodle, Sweet Betsy from Pike, John Henry, and many more.

American Folk Tales and Songs

American Folk Tales and Songs PDF Author: Richard Chase
Publisher: Courier Corporation
ISBN: 0486172880
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 260

Book Description
Full of lively stories, jokes, and games for performance, the book also includes 40 songs with melody and guitar chords. Written by outstanding practicing folk performer. Includes 44 illustrations.

American Folk Songs for Children in Home, School and Nursery School

American Folk Songs for Children in Home, School and Nursery School PDF Author: Ruth Crawford Seeger
Publisher: Garden City : Doubleday
ISBN:
Category : Children's songs
Languages : en
Pages : 196

Book Description
More than 90 favorite folk songs for children, including ballads, work songs, chants, spirituals, and blues.

Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music

Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music PDF Author: Ross Hair
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1317123581
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 268

Book Description
Released in 1952, The Anthology of American Folk Music was the singular vision of the enigmatic artist, musicologist, and collector Harry Smith (1923–1991). A collection of eighty-four commercial recordings of American vernacular and folk music originally issued between 1927 and 1932, the Anthology featured an eclectic and idiosyncratic mixture of blues and hillbilly songs, ballads old and new, dance music, gospel, and numerous other performances less easy to classify. Where previous collections of folk music, both printed and recorded, had privileged field recordings and oral transmission, Smith purposefully shaped his collection from previously released commercial records, pointedly blurring established racial boundaries in his selection and organisation of performances. Indeed, more than just a ground-breaking collection of old recordings, the Anthology was itself a kind of performance on the part of its creator. Over the six decades of its existence, however, it has continued to exert considerable influence on generations of musicians, artists, and writers. It has been credited with inspiring the North American folk revival—"The Anthology was our bible", asserted Dave Van Ronk in 1991, "We all knew every word of every song on it"—and with profoundly influencing Bob Dylan. After its 1997 release on CD by Smithsonian Folkways, it came to be closely associated with the so-called Americana and Alt-Country movements of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Following its sixtieth birthday, and now available as a digital download and rereleased on vinyl, it is once again a prominent icon in numerous musical currents and popular culture more generally. This is the first book devoted to such a vital piece of the large and complex story of American music and its enduring value in American life. Reflecting the intrinsic interdisciplinarity of Smith’s original project, this collection contains a variety of new perspectives on all aspects of the Anthology.

Easy American Folk Songs: A Collection of Popular Traditional Tunes (Guitar Tab), Book & CD [With CD (Audio)]

Easy American Folk Songs: A Collection of Popular Traditional Tunes (Guitar Tab), Book & CD [With CD (Audio)] PDF Author: Howard Wallach
Publisher: Alfred Music Publishing
ISBN: 9781929395569
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 52

Book Description
A wonderful collection of 20 popular, beautiful and fun-to-play songs for beginning to intermediate guitar students. The melody, an easy strumming pattern, chord diagrams and complete lyrics are provided with each song, so students can choose to either play the melody or strum to accompany themselves as they sing. Large-sized music, TAB and diagrams make the songs easy to read, even for beginners. The 48-page book also contains a review of music reading, tablature and chord diagrams. This handy songbook is the perfect tool for guitar teachers seeking fun musical activities to keep their students happy and involved with music making.

Exploring American Folk Music

Exploring American Folk Music PDF Author: Kip Lornell
Publisher: Univ. Press of Mississippi
ISBN: 1617032646
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 410

Book Description
The perfect introduction to the many strains of American-made music