"Exploring American Folk Music: Ethnic, Grassroots, and Regional Traditions in the United States" reflects the fascinating diversity of regional and grassroots music in the United States. The book covers the diverse strains of American folk music--Latin, Native American, African, French-Canadian, British, and Cajun--and offers a chronology of the development of folk music in the United States.

The book is divided into discrete chapters covering topics as seemingly disparate as sacred harp singing, conjunto music, the folk revival, blues, and ballad singing. It is among the few textbooks in American music that recognizes the importance and contributions of Native Americans as well as those who live, sing, and perform music along our borderlands, from the French speaking citizens in northern Vermont to the extensive Hispanic population living north of the Rio Grande River, recognizing and reflecting the increasing importance of the varied Latino traditions that have informed our folk music since the founding of the United States. Another chapter includes detailed information about the roots of hip hop and this new edition features a new chapter on urban folk music, exploring traditions in our cities, with a case study focusing on Washington, D.C. "Exploring American Folk Music" also introduces you to such important figures in American music as Bob Wills, Lydia Mendoza, Bob Dylan, and Muddy Waters, who helped shape what America sounds like in the twenty-first century. It also features new sections at the end of each chapter with up-to-date recommendations for "Suggested Listening," "Suggested Reading," and "Suggested Viewing."

Aissata G. Sidikou and Thomas A. Hale reveal the world of women s songs and singing in West Africa. This anthology collected from 17 ethnic traditions across West Africa introduces the power and beauty of the intimate expressions of African women. The songs, many translated here for the first time, reflect all stages of the life cycle and all walks of life. They entertain, give comfort and encouragement, and empower other women to face the challenges imposed on them by their families, men, and society. Women's Voices from West Africa opens a new window on women s changing roles in contemporary Africa."

This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature.

Profiles of artists and performers from around the world form the basis of this innovative volume that explores the many ways individuals engage with, carry on, revive, and create tradition. Leading scholars in folklore studies consider how the field has addressed the connections between performer and tradition and examine theoretical issues involved in fieldwork and the analysis and dissemination of scholarship in the context of relationships with the performers. Honoring Henry Glassie and his remarkable contributions to the field of folklore, these vivid case studies exemplify the best of performer-centered ethnography.

The Konpa Encyclopedia is a reference book that covers the history of Konpa music.
Readers will learn how the Konpa music started in 1955, the meaning of the word "KONPA," how Nemours Jean Baptiste created the formula, and the uniqueness of this genre of music.
The book will help you discover the great work of the Haitian musicians from the 1950s to this date.
If you are interested in knowing more about Konpa music, one of the most popular styles of music of the Caribbean, the "Konpa Encyclopedia" is a book that you must have in your collection.

A "Kirkus Reviews" Best Nonfiction of 2011 title

In the late 1960s, with popular culture hurtling forward on the sounds of rock music, some brave musicians looked back instead, trying to recover the lost treasures of English roots music and update them for the new age. The records of Fairport Convention, Pentangle, Steeleye Span, and Nick Drake are known as "folk rock" today, but Rob Young's epic, electrifying book makes clear that those musicians led a decades-long quest to recover English music--and with it, the ancient ardor for mysticism and paganism, for craftsmanship and communal living.
It is a commonplace that rock and R&B came out of the folk and blues revivals of the early 1960s, and Young shows, through enchanting storytelling and brilliant commentary, that a similar revival in England inspired the Beatles and Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and Traffic, Kate Bush and Talk Talk. Folklorists notated old songs and dances. Marxists put folk music forward as the true voice of the people. Composers like Benjamin Britten and Ralph Vaughan Williams devised rich neo-traditional pageantry. Today, the pioneers of the "acid folk" movement see this music as a model for their own.
""

"Electric Eden "is that rare book which has something truly new to say about popular music, and like Greil Marcus's "Lipstick""Traces," it uses music to connect the dots in a thrilling story of art and society, of tradition and wild, idiosyncratic creativity.

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

Pablo's Fandango is an endearing story about a special boy who discovers the cycle of life when he stumbles upon a lifeless animal. He embarks on a journey through the Sierra Madre, and soon discovers that traditions, can also live and later perish. With his grandfather's help, he revives a centuries old genre of Mexican folk music, and through it his love for animals inspires an unexpected surprise for the entire village.

"Music from the Heart" follows Emile Benoit, a fiddler from French Newfoundland, through a rapidly changing musical milieu as he moves from a small rural community to international musical and folk festivals. Seeing himself as a representative of French Newfoundland, Benoit viewed his music as an expression of that identity. In Benoit's tunes one finds reference to the people, places, communities, roads, and natural landmarks that have framed his life. The compositions included represent a range of work that evokes his youthful experiences and follow his career as he leaves home, plays with other musicians, and presents his stories to audiences around the world. Quigley has based his study on years of observation of Benoit's compositional practices, his own experiences performing with Benoit, interviews, and analysis of the thoughts and conceptions of the artist himself.

A true American original is brought to life in this rich and lively portrait of Pete Seeger, who, with his musical grace and inextinguishable passion for social justice, transformed folk singing into a high form of peaceful protest in the second half of the twentieth century. Drawing on his extensive talks with Seeger, "New Yorker" writer Alec Wilkinson lets us experience the man's unique blend of independence and commitment, charm, courage, energy, and belief in human equality and American democracy.
We see Seeger instilled with a love of music by his parents, both classically trained musicians; as a teenager, hearing real folk music for the first time; and as a young man, singing with Woody Guthrie and with the Weavers. We learn of his harassment by the government for his political beliefs and his testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1949. And we follow his engagement with civil rights, the peace movement, and the environment--especially his work saving the Hudson River and building the ship "Clearwater." He talks ardently about his own music and that of others, and about the power of music to connect people and bind them to a cause. Finally, we meet Toshi, his wife of nearly sixty years, and members of his family, at the house he built on a mountainside in upstate New York.
"The Protest Singer" is as spirited and captivating as its subject--an American icon, celebrating his ninetieth birthday.

"From the Hardcover edition."

The Traditional Tunes of the Child Ballads begins where Francis Child's The English and Scottish Popular Ballads leaves off. Bronson has collected all available tunes for each of Child's ballads, annotated and organized them, with notes describing the history and development of each tune and tune family. This is an indispensable text for ballad scholars, performers, and students of the ballad tradition.

The story of Ireland--its graces and shortcomings, triumphs and sorrows--is told by ballads, dirges, and humorous songs of its common people. Music is a direct and powerful expression of Irish folk culture and an aspect of Irish life beloved throughout the rest of the world.

Incredibly, the largest single gathering of Irish folk songs had been almost inaccessible because, originally newspaper based, it was available in only three libraries, in Belfast, Dublin, and Washington D.C. "Sam Henry's "Songs of the People"" makes the music available to a wider audience than the collector ever imagined. Comprising nearly 690 selections, this thoroughly annotated and indexed collection is a treasure for anyone who performs, composes, studies, collects, or simply enjoys folk music. It is valuable as an outstanding record of Irish folk songs before World War II, demonstrating the historical ties between Irish and Southern folk culture and the tremendous Irish influence on American folk music.

In addition to the songs themselves and their original commentary, "Sam Henry's "Songs of the People"" includes a glossary, bibliography, discography, index of titles and first lines, melodic index, index of the original sources of the songs and information about them, geographical index of sources, and three appendixes related to the original song series in the "Northern Constitution."

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

The Traditional Tunes of the Child Ballads begins where Francis Child's The English and Scottish Popular Ballads leaves off. Bronson has collected all available tunes for each of Child's ballads, annotated and organized them, with notes describing the history and development of each tune and tune family. This is an indispensable text for ballad scholars, performers, and students of the ballad tradition.

The American singer and guitarist Ramblin' Jack Elliott (1931- ) is a seminal figure in the folk music revivals of the United States and Great Britain. Declared an American treasure by former President Bill Clinton, Elliott has traveled and performed for more than 50 years, and his life and career neatly parallel the ascension of folk music's "renaissance" from the 1940s through the present day. Ramblin' Jack Elliott: The Never-Ending Highway is the first complete biography of this important figure in the history of folk music. Elliott's music and Beat-era sensibility influenced countless artists in the fields of folk, rock, and country and western music, and Hank Reineke provides the full story of Elliott's relationships and influences. Most notably, his associations with Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan are well-documented: Elliott is considered Guthrie's most famous protege and Elliott mentored Dylan in his early career. Reineke also recounts how Elliott's life intersected with Derroll Adams, Jack Kerouac and the Beats, Princess Margaret, James Dean, and scores of others. The book examines the full breadth of Elliott's career, discussing how the rough-edged cowboy singer survived in the music industry and eventually won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Recording and the prestigious National Medal of the Arts. In addition to the biography, Reineke has amassed the first exhaustive and comprehensive discography of albums from the singer's notable back-catalog (1955-2009), including nearly 60 LP and CD issues, many rare and sought-after 78rpm discs, EPs, and 45rpm recordings, as well as a number of contributions to compilations, soundtracks, festival recordings, and guest appearances. This impressive volume is rounded out with a bibliography, an index, and more than 30 photographs, making this a must-have for scholars and fans of American folk music."

The Traditional Tunes of the Child Ballads begins where Francis Child's The English and Scottish Popular Ballads leaves off. Bronson has collected all available tunes for each of Child's ballads, annotated and organized them, with notes describing the history and development of each tune and tune family. This is an indispensable text for ballad scholars, performers, and students of the ballad tradition.

Estimates put the canon of traditional Irish dance tunes at at least seven thousand compositions. Given this diversity, a common problem faced by musicians and ethnomusicologists is identifying tunes from recordings. This work attempts to solve this problem by developing a Content Based Music Information Retrieval (CBMIR) system adapted to the characteristics of traditional Irish dance music. Included is a comprehensive review of the domain of traditional Irish music and three chapters of related work in the fields of feature extraction, melodic similarity and music information retrieval. A new software system is presented called MATT2 (Machine Annotation of Traditional Tunes) whose goal is to annotate recordings of traditional Irish dance music with useful metadata. A new algorithm is also presented called TANSEY (Turn ANnotation from SEts using SimilaritY profiles) that annotates sets of tunes played segue as is the custom in traditional Irish dance music.

How contradanceand quadrille gave rise to merengue, danz

The Traditional Tunes of the Child Ballads begins where Francis Child's The English and Scottish Popular Ballads leaves off. Bronson has collected all available tunes for each of Child's ballads, annotated and organized them, with notes describing the history and development of each tune and tune family. This is an indispensable text for ballad scholars, performers, and students of the ballad tradition.

In the autumn of 1961, an obscure recording by a little-known college folk group climbed to the top of the Billboard charts. Upon returning to campus for their senior year, the five Highwaymen found themselves with the number one song not only in the U.S. but throughout most of the world. It was the pinnacle of the last Folk Revival of the 20th century, the time of "Great Folk Music Scare." The era that began with Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and the Weavers, and which would eventually give birth to the legend of Bob Dylan, and those who followed, reached its popular, commercial zenith between 1960-1964. "NUMBER #1" tells the story of folk music-- especially at its commercially successful-- through the lens of the Highwaymen and their experiences. The history of folk music is traced from its roots, through the crucible of the Great Depression and World War II, and into the 1950s and 1960s, where it experienced its greatest popularity. The story continues as the legacy of folk music continues into the 21st century. The Highwaymen-- yes, the originals-- are still singing together and still celebrating the folk tradition with songs old and new. Relive the songs of yesterday, celebrate the sounds of today, and look forward to the music of tomorrow with "NUMBER #1."