FOLK MUSIC AND

DANCE
-DERAMA
What is Folk Music?

Folk music is a type of traditional and generally

rural music that originally was passed down
through families and other small social groups.
Typically, folk music, like folk literature, lives in
oral tradition; it is learned through hearing rather
than reading.
FOLK MUSIC

Introduction:
Traditionally, folk music refers to melodies and songs of
the common people that are handed down from one
generation to the next. Dealing with almost every kind of
human activity, folk music often expresses the character
of ethnic and social groups, and sometimes of a nation. As
the music of the people, it can express political or
religious beliefs, tell a story, recount history, or simply
provide amusement.
In the 1960s and 1970s, folk music took on a
new character. It was expressed with
elements of rock to express the social and
political concerns of the youth of that era.
In the United States for example, musicians like
Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Joni
Mitchell, John Denver, James Taylor, Cat Stevens,
the group Peter, Paul and Mary, and the duo of Paul
Simon and Art Garfunkel sang and wrote heartfelt
lyrics accompanied by guitar, to protest against
war, alienation, hunger, injustice, destruction of
nature, and the like.
Woody Guthrie

Born on July 14, 1912

(Okemah, Oklahoma, United
States) and died on October
3 1967 (New York, United
States) because of
Huntington’s disease

His Songs:
• This Land is Your Land
• Which Side Are You On?
• Tear the Fascists Down
• Hobo’s Lullaby
Bob Dylan

Born on May 24, 1941 (82 years old) and

lives in Duluth, Minnesota, United States.

His Songs:
• End of the Line
• Blowin’ In The Wind
• Handle with Care
• Like A Rolling Stone
Joan Baez

Born on January 9, 1941 (age

82 years), Staten Island, New
York, United States

Her Songs:
Diamonds and Rust
De colores (In Colors)
The Night They Drove Old Dixie
Down
• Donna Donna
Joni Mitchell

Born in November 7, 1943

(age 79 years), Fort
Macleod, Canada

Her Songs:
Both Sides Now
Big Yellow Taxi
A Case Of You
• Got ’til It’s Gone
Folk Music was adopted by contemporary
performers and popularized in concerts,
recordings, and broadcasting. A new genre of
popular music with folk roots have
developed.
FOLK DANCE

Folk dance celebrates the cultural roots of a

particular group of people. Folk dance is typically
performed as a form of ritualistic entertainment at
social gatherings. Some kinds of folk dance tell a
culture’s foundational stories, while others may
simply emphasize cultural pride.
A dance that originates as ritual among and is
characteristic of the common people of a country
and that is transmitted from generation to
generation with increasing secularization.
Distinguished from court dance.
It is a traditional dance performed by the common
people of a particular region. Folk dances reflect
the life of the people, It is colorful, vibrant and
beautiful because it reflects who they are.
Thank You for listening.