Introduction to Traditional Music

Traditional Music:

• Traditional music is music that has been performed, by custom, over a long period (usually several generations).
• The music of this area of the music syllabus is inspired by traditional music. Modern songs usually take inspiration from the area they originate from.
• The following slides describe genres that have been inspired by traditional music from different areas. Listen to the suggested listening and try to pick out features from each area.
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Blues music from 1920–1950:

• Blues music originated from African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the end of the 19th century.
• Blues music was generally quite spiritual, made up of lyrical ballads and African musical traditions.
• The lyrics of early traditional blues verses often consisted of a single line repeated four times.
• Blue notes (flattened 3rds and 5ths) are very important in creating blues music.
• Blues as a genre is also characterized by its lyrics, bass lines, and instrumentation.
• One of the most common features of blues is the 12-bar chord progression.

Fusion Music:

• Fusion music is defined as music where two styles have been brought together. It typically refers to the integration of world music traditions into typical pop/rock music.
• Reggae is an example of this. Reggae as a genre originated in Jamaica in the 1960's. It became very popular in the US, particularly with artists such as Bob Marley.
• Paul Simon's Graceland combines elements of South African music with traditional pop music in the US. This album took traditional instrumentation and rhythmic patterns, adding them to modern vocal lines.
• Another example of fusion music is jazz fusion, a musical genre that developed in the late 1960's when musicians combined aspects of jazz harmony and improvisation with styles such as funk, rock, rhythm and blues, and Latin jazz.

Contemporary Latin Music:

• Contemporary Latin music is the topic from which the three set works for Area of Study 3 are taken.
• Latin music is any music that comes from Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking areas of the world (including Spain and sometimes Portugal), as well as music sung in either language.
• Since the late 1990's, the Latino population has been growing in the US, bringing Latin music and inspiring fusion.
• ​​​​By the 2010's, the Latin music field became dominated by up-tempo rhythms, as Latin ballads and crooners fell out of favour among US.
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Contemporary Folk Music of the British Isles:

• British folk music has had a significant renaissance in recent years, and has gained a new lease of life thanks to the popularity of a number of folk-inspired acts.
• A common ensemble at traditional folk gigs is the three-piece ensemble of singer, guitarist and violinist.
• Folk music varies by country and there are different traditions across England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland.
• Artists such as Mumford and Sons have brought popularity back to the genre.
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