FOLK SONG | ˈfoʊk ˌsɔŋ | [noun] a song that originates in traditional popular culture or that is written in such a style. COLLECTION | kəˈlekSH(ə)n | [noun] an assembly of items such as works of art, pieces of writing, or natural objects, especially one systematically ordered: a folk song collection.
The American Folk Song Collection – the definitive archive for Music Educators interested in authentic folk song and analysis created at the Holy Names University Kodály Center. Now maintained by The Kodály Center.
The Association for Cultural Equity – (ACE) was founded by Alan Lomax to explore and sustain the world’s expressive traditions with humanistic commitment and scientific engagement. ACE was registered as a charitable organization in the State of New York in 1983, and is housed at New York City’s Hunter College.
Alan Lomax and the Search for the Origins of Music – an interesting read on Lomax’s Cantometrics (a method developed for relating elements of the world’s traditional vocal music to features of social organization).
Afghan Children’s Songbook Project – collection created to return the songs (that were intentionally eradicated by oppression) to the children of Afghanistan. Currently, 50,000 songbooks and 7500 Teacher’s Guides have been distributed to over 15 Provinces across Afghanistan. The first book is now available for purchase with English translations.
Ancestral Voices – this project is the result of a collaborative venture among the AFC, the Passamaquoddy Tribe of Maine, and the creators of TK Labels and Mukurtu CMS. Passamaquoddy elders have provided cultural narratives and added traditional knowledge about Passamaquoddy recordings, which were spoken in a French-influenced dialect of the Passamaquoddy language in 1890. The Library of Congress hopes to expand Ancestral Voices to include other tribal groups and historic recordings in future online presentations.
Calicanto associates – Bringing California history to life through music
Center for Lifelong Music Making – was created to launch projects to get all people making music.
Chinese Folk Songs Project – a collection of popular Chinese music in an easy-to-learn format for English-speakers. Gathered and transcribed by a Music Educator (who teaches at a Mandarin bilingual elementary school in Canada) during her travels through China.
The Complicated History of the Star Spangled-Banner – if you were educated in a U.S elementary school, you may have heard the story of how “The Star-Spangled Banner” was written. At a battle in Baltimore during the War of 1812, Francis Scott Key watched the British bomb American forts, and decided to write patriotic lyrics that eventually became the country’s national anthem. But the story of the lyrics, how Key’s words became the anthem, and how its role in our culture has changed throughout the last two hundred years, is much more complex.
Country Music | a film by Ken Burns – official website. Watch the 8-episode film to explore the remarkable stories of the people and places behind a true American art form.
David Byrne Curates a Playlist of Great Protest Songs Written Over the Past 60 Years: Stream Them Online – stretching over six decades, the playlist demonstrates the various forms protest can take.
Ethiopian Children’s Songs: The Resource – collected by a Music Educator from the families in her school (assisted by translators who are familiar with traditional Ethiopian children’s songs as well as a professor in the Center of African Studies from Howard University).
Fiddlin’ Documentary – since 1935, the southern Virginia city of Galax has hosted the world’s oldest Fiddler’s Convention, which just completed its 84th year. A documentary about the annual event, titled Fiddlin’, will become available in October 2019 via video-on-demand. Directed by Julie Simone, the film has already earned numerous honors on the festival circuit, capturing the sights and sounds of the mountain music that continues to inspire generations of amateur and professional performers. Here, Rolling Stone displays the official trailer.
Folk Cloud: Complete Archive of Folk Music for All Countries – a project focused on original folk and traditional music of the different countries, nations, and ethnic groups of the world. Asks for folk musicians to send their songs with information about their music and their works.
The Folk Song Index – an Oberlin College Libraries & Sing Out! Collaboration. Put in a song title, it will give you the title of books containing the song.
Grandmother, 81, Releases Debut Album with Grandson – and is nominated by Latin Grammys for “Best Norteño Album”.
How a Newspaper Article Saved Thousands of Black Gospel Records From Obscurity – a professor in Texas collects and digitizes these important rare recordings from across the country.
Iconic Pop Tunes Inspired by Classical Music – in 17 cases of chicken and egg, we explore the times pop artists were influenced by their classical predecessors.
Internet Archive of 78rpm records – here’s how over 250,000 records have been preserved through the Great 78 Project.
Jewish Choral Music – a resource center for anyone looking for choral music from a wide variety of Jewish traditions and experiences. Over the years, we’ve collected a wealth of music and are happy to make recommendations based on our experience. We invite you to use this website as a resource to find material for your choir. Remember — You don’t have to be Jewish to love this music. The site covers a wide spectrum of styles, eras, voicings, nationalities, languages, and levels
Kodály Hub – a public on-line Knowledge Centre in which a Songbook, a Community, a Calendar, and further resources are available to assist teachers in their everyday work. The Songbook contains several hundred songs and music listening materials from all over the world. The songs are analyzed using many key, searchable parameters, and (when relevant) accompanied by a game or movement activity to support the teaching objectives and increase the enjoyment of the lesson.
Library of Congress Performing Arts Encyclopedia – search for all things historical in the performing arts.
Li’l Liza Jane: A Movie About A Song – this trailer previews some of what our film will look like when we tell the full story of America’s favorite “poor gal”.
The Music I Love Is a Racial Minefield – “How I learned to fiddle my way through America’s deeply troubling history.”
Nordic Sounds – an e-book containing pedagogical collection of traditional music, dance, songs, games, rhymes and lullabies from the Nordic countries: Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.
The Poetry of Rope-Skipping – a digitized version of a Dec-16-1973 article from The Times’s print archive about skipping rope rhymes from around the world. Fascinating.
The Radical Inclusiveness of Rhiannon Giddens – like a good gospel preacher mid-sermon, Americana musician Rhiannon Giddens becomes more and more impassioned when she talks about her ongoing efforts — a crusade, one might even call it — to promote the musical contributions of populations that have been overlooked, or, as she puts it, “disappeared.”
Rhiannon Giddens and What Folk Music Means – the roots musician is inspired by the evolving legacy of the black string band. New Yorker Interview from May-20-2019.
Some Fairy Tales May be 6000 Years Old – a new study, published in Royal Society Open Science, which treats fairy tales like an evolving species, finds that some may have originated as long as 6000 years ago.
Soul Cakes and Souling: A Musical Tradition From the Past – around the time of Halloween, families in the medieval period traditionally made soul cakes in remembrance of the dead. Children and poor people would go from door to door, singing or praying and receiving a soul cake in return.
SongMISS – over 80 indexed song books as well as links to free books and collections. The idea seems great, I look forward to when the site is fully functional as there is a ticking clock (i.e. “coming soon”) on the MISS page.
Traditions Building Community – a website that sells books to musicians of Rounds, Contra Dances, and Singing Games. Includes a free down-load of “Lyrics of Traditional American Songs for Group Singing”.
World Songs & Conversations – beautiful website for traditional and international folk songs from a passionate, seasoned Music Educator.