tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post1982520385938300218..comments2024-03-27T03:19:11.216-04:00Comments on Assistant Village Idiot: Folk InstrumentAssistant Village Idiothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-89468900357037203922014-10-11T22:34:35.290-04:002014-10-11T22:34:35.290-04:00The LA Times rock critic Robert Hilburn used to sa...The LA Times rock critic Robert Hilburn used to say that it was up in the air whether rock and roll was going to be primarily guitar or piano music up through the mid 1950s. The two most electrifying performers of the early rock era, Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard, were piano players. And we know now that Chuck Berry's classics were largely composed musically by his piano player. Steve Sailerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11920109042402850214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-11087994701761439282014-10-10T23:51:42.779-04:002014-10-10T23:51:42.779-04:00Andrea - I say that's exactly what's wrong...Andrea - I say that's exactly what's wrong with the definition. I don't think Alan Lomax and Pete Seeger should get to define who are the real "folk." Consider: are union miners "folk?" Are square dance or wedding ensembles "folk?" Merchant marines? Schoolchildren? Camp meetings? Frontier evangelists? One-room schools? Odd Fellows and Masons?<br /><br />In America, the "folk" don't necessarily fit old Marxist categories.Assistant Village Idiothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-34097192721429389652014-10-10T05:13:44.094-04:002014-10-10T05:13:44.094-04:00"Even small churches had a piano, or a pipe o..."Even small churches had a piano, or a pipe or pedal organ. Schools had them, and even in a mill city in the 1950's in a lower-middle-class district, it was one per classroom. Quality poor, but piano present."<br /><br />But churches and schools are institutions, and so their music wasn't exactly 'folk'. <br /><br />It's like military music isn't 'folk' either.Andrea Ostrov Letaniahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13478113002321077670noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-89297784736896985552014-10-08T19:19:02.737-04:002014-10-08T19:19:02.737-04:00And along with the piano came sheet music--with id...And along with the piano came sheet music--with identifiable composers. Or hymnbooks.jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01792036361407527304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-19177949511441058422014-10-08T10:34:09.149-04:002014-10-08T10:34:09.149-04:00Technically, an ethnomusicologist wouldn't con...Technically, an ethnomusicologist wouldn't consider something a "folksong" if it had an identifiable composer, but the popular use of the term includes anything that works its way in the general culture broadly enough that no one thinks of its having been created deliberately, at a particular time, by a particular person.<br /><br />Once a song has been "cut loose" in this way, it undergoes a predictable process that includes the development of a number of versions. The tune gets polished down so that it can be sung by most people of ordinary ability. The lyrics settle into an easily memorable form, often with generous use of repetitive motifs. A song that originally was inspired by a historical event often becomes universalized, like a fairy tale.<br /><br />This kind of thing happened more easily when almost all songs were transmitted orally. Written and recorded music (to say nothing of copyright protections) tend to freeze songs.Texan99https://www.blogger.com/profile/10479561573903660086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-41098823567977527772014-10-08T08:34:56.453-04:002014-10-08T08:34:56.453-04:00I was surprised to learn that the perennial countr...I was surprised to learn that the perennial country-music favorite Wildwood Flower derives from an 1860 "parlor song"...parlor song apparently meaning it was to be <br /><br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildwood_FlowerDavid Fosterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15464681514800720063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-12701787841422484332014-10-07T21:15:00.497-04:002014-10-07T21:15:00.497-04:00Donna B - quite possibly so. In New England the p...Donna B - quite possibly so. In New England the piano may have been more automaticAssistant Village Idiothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-18148896618134120212014-10-07T17:31:42.601-04:002014-10-07T17:31:42.601-04:00There's also the octave range, and the volume....There's also the octave range, and the volume. My sister and I had piano lessons, though I think our much younger brother didn't; and my children had piano lessons (don't know about hers), My sister and daughter played violin in school, I the bass viol, my son a trumpet. My brother took up bass guitar.Sam L.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00996809377798862214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-12205505256949650972014-10-07T12:23:08.264-04:002014-10-07T12:23:08.264-04:00I think that, overall, you are correct. But this s...I think that, overall, you are correct. But this sentence struck me as out of tune:<br /><br />"Schools had them, and even in a mill city in the 1950's in a lower-middle-class district, it was one per classroom."<br /><br />In a certain region, certain type of mill... . In the area west of the Mississippi and east of California, no. <br /><br />It's a huge country, and that region is the only one I can speak of with any (though not much) authority. <br /><br />One thing I think you overlooked is the ease of playing a piano for beginners. There's no learning curve to being in tune (if the instrument is) and hitting the right note uses vision as much as the ear. <br /><br />You touch on the ease by noting "Heart and Soul".Donna B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/16771075314473811594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19305198.post-22784322702227265922014-10-07T10:53:09.005-04:002014-10-07T10:53:09.005-04:00A folksy aspect of the piano certainly is that it ...A folksy aspect of the piano certainly is that it tends to sit out in a public place and be implicitly available for anyone to come along, sit down, and start playing. You wouldn't normally leave your guitar lying around, and someone might well hesitate to pick it up and start playing it, for fear of intruding or giving offense--especially if it were in its case.<br /><br />There's something to be said for a tin whistle, or similar instruments that non-industrial people can easily whip up at home, but they're not made for singing along.<br /><br />I've spent some time with the Sacred Harp community, which is very strict about barring musical instruments from the church, or any venue for a Sacred Harp gathering, and in fact is a little cool toward instruments generally. For them it's all about joining voices.Texan99https://www.blogger.com/profile/10479561573903660086noreply@blogger.com