The English Folk Dance and Song Society websites use cookies.
You can read more about cookies and how we use them here.
Continued use of this site implies that you agree to our use of cookies.  
Close
 
Advanced search
Close

Filter by collection

Select/deselect all

Filter by field

Reset all

Yes No Both

Welcome to the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library

Beginners' Guide: English Folk Music

Information      
Music Montage from The Full English digital archive by Rob Harbron

Introduction

English Folk Music is a diverse and broad genre made up of songs and tunes from across the country.  There are also strong connections with related traditions of the British Isles, Europe, America, and further afield. 

 

English Folk Music is often recognised as being music that contains elements passed on from one generation to another often with some element of oral (or aural) transmission – that is, it is passed from one person to another learning by ear rather than from books or recordings or written notation. That is only one aspect of folk music though, and nowadays (and in the past) many people learn music and songs from recordings of other singers or find material in books.

 

English Folk Music encompasses strong regional traditions that are evident through differences of style, form, purpose and instrumentation. There is rarely one ‘true’ version of a tune.  One tune will have different variations in rhythm, pitch and melody depending on the place in which you hear it, and how the tune is used e.g. if it is being used for accompanying dancing, or it is being played on its own.  Tunes also vary depending on how folk collectors transcribed them, and subsequently shared them in publications etc.  The diversity and variety of tunes is an important characteristic of the music.

 

A lot of English Folk Music is considered traditional in origin, meaning music that is passed along over generations, but might change to reflect the changes within the community over time.  The knowledge of who first wrote or played the tune has been lost through time.  The tunes have lived on through being played and appreciated by musicians and listeners over the decades and centuries.  Traditional music has also been a focus for ‘collectors’ who have recorded and transcribed music in efforts to preserve it for posterity, and to make it available to others. 

 

There is now also a lot of English Folk Music that is contemporary – the composers are known, and may be still living, composing and playing.  Contemporary folk tunes, songs and dances may use the styles, forms and structures of the traditional material for inspiration, as well as being influenced by other traditions and other types of music.

 

You can hear English Folk Music at sessions and concerts, at social dances (ceilidhs/barn dances) and with performance dance (morris, rapper, clog, longsword etc.) and at festivals, competitions and celebrations (religious and secular). 

 

More videos

Digital Archive records related to this item

Note that these links take you to the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website which holds the full archival details of the material. Material on the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website is not censored or expurgated and may contain material considered offensive by modern standards.

Maps on the Full English site related to this item

Note that these links take you to the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website which holds the full archival details of the material. Material on the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website is not censored or expurgated and may contain material considered offensive by modern standards.

Types of Tunes

Information      
Types of Tunes

Types of Tunes

Tunes can be used in many different ways – as songs, instrumental listening pieces, marking special occasions and as accompaniment for social and performance dances.  Dances have travelled across regional and national borders for centuries, and been enjoyed by all sections of communities – from royal courts to village squares. This accounts for some of the similarities between the types of tunes used in English folk music and those found in the British Isles, Europe, America, and further afield.

 

Folk tunes in the British Isles and England in particular are grouped by their rhythmic characteristics or time signatures; often this is because they are the traditional tune for a particular type of dancing. Just as people dance at weddings, clubs and discos, in the past social dancing formed an important part of family and community gatherings and live music played a huge part in this.

 

Common types of English tunes are jigs, reels, hornpipes, polkas and waltzes though there are other types as well. The tune types are grouped by the same names as the dances.

 

The structure of a traditional tune is usually quite short. A typical English folk tune will be made up of an 8 bar phrase (commonly called an ‘A’ part), which repeats, and then a subsequent 8 bar phrase (‘B’ part), which also repeats. In practice, the whole piece (AABB) would be played through a few times before finishing the tune.  It is common for tunes to played in ‘sets’ – one tune played a few times, followed by a second complementary tune – before stopping or continuing into additional tunes.

 

There are, of course, lots of exceptions to the ‘typical’ example above – with some tunes having more bars within each part, or not repeating some of the parts, or tunes having several different parts, and sometimes repeating different parts at different times!

More videos

Digital Archive records related to this item

Note that these links take you to the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website which holds the full archival details of the material. Material on the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website is not censored or expurgated and may contain material considered offensive by modern standards.

Maps on the Full English site related to this item

Note that these links take you to the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website which holds the full archival details of the material. Material on the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website is not censored or expurgated and may contain material considered offensive by modern standards.

Tune example: Jig

Information      
Queen's Delight from Ralph Vaughan Williams' collection in The Full English digital archive

Tune example: Jig

Tunes in compound time (6/8, 9/8, 12/8), used for dances such as Circassian Circle.

 

The term ‘jig’ may derive from an old French word, giguer, which translates as ‘to leap’ or’to gambol’.  Jigs come in a variety of styles, but basically a single or double jig is denoted with the time signature 6/8 and a slip jig has a 9/8 time signature on written music.  The jig has notes usually group in threes, with a ‘bumpy’ feel.  Think of tunes like Humpty Dumpty and Blaydon Races.

 

An audio recording of concertina player, Rob Harbron, playing a set of Jigs, including The Queen's Delight (http://www.vwml.org/record/GB/7d/18) shown here, is available on the audio tab.

The notation of the jigs Rob plays is included in the resource pack on the PDF tab.

More videos

  • Jig Set: Queens Delight, Cock o the North, Kingsbury Jig - Rob Harbron

    Download: mp3(0 bytes) ogg(0 bytes)

Digital Archive records related to this item

Note that these links take you to the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website which holds the full archival details of the material. Material on the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website is not censored or expurgated and may contain material considered offensive by modern standards.

Maps on the Full English site related to this item

Note that these links take you to the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website which holds the full archival details of the material. Material on the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website is not censored or expurgated and may contain material considered offensive by modern standards.

Tune example: Reel

Information      
Henry Cave's Country Dance from The Full English digital archive

Tune example: Reel

Tunes in simple time (2/4, 4/4, 2/4), used for dances such as the Dashing White Sergeant.

Probably of Scottish origin, the word reel can mean a whole dance, a particular movement or a tune in even time.  The Anglo-Saxon word is hreol, and rulla is interpreted as ‘to whirl’.  According to Grove’s Dictionary, the first specific written reference occurred in 1590, so reels are very much part of the musical heritage of the British Isles.

 

Think of tunes like Bobby Shaftoe, Knees Up Mother Brown, or Coming Round the Mountain.

 

You can listen to concertina player, Rob Harbron, playing a set of reels including the Country Dance (http://www.vwml.org/record/CJS2/10/1488) shown here, by clicking on the audio tab.

The notation of the reels Rob plays is included in the resource pack on the PDF tab.

More videos

  • Reel Set: Twin Sisters, Morpeth Rant, Country Dance (Henry Cave)

    Download: mp3(0 bytes) ogg(0 bytes)

Digital Archive records related to this item

Note that these links take you to the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website which holds the full archival details of the material. Material on the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website is not censored or expurgated and may contain material considered offensive by modern standards.

Maps on the Full English site related to this item

Note that these links take you to the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website which holds the full archival details of the material. Material on the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website is not censored or expurgated and may contain material considered offensive by modern standards.

Tune Example: Hornpipe

Information      
Country Dance - Evercreech Hornpipe from The Full English digital archive

Tune Example: Hornpipe

An indigenous musical rhythm to England, Scotland and Wales, but strangely enough, not to Ireland, although of course, today, hornpipe figure strongly in the musical repertoire of Irish musicians.  The hornpipe as a dance has been known in England since the 15th Century and is still very popular.

Hornpipes are common written in 4/4 time (like reels).  However, they are often played with a ‘dotted’ or ‘swung’ feel. There are also some hornpipes written in 3/2 time which are particularly popular with English traditional musicians.

You can hear the tune shown here arranged by John Kirkpatrick as The Evercreech Hornpipe (http://www.vwml.org/record/CJS2/10/1492) by clicking on the audio tab.

The notation for the tune is available by clicking on the PDF tab. 

More videos

  • The Evercreech Hornpipe - melody - John Kirkpatrick

    Download: mp3(0 bytes) ogg(0 bytes)

Digital Archive records related to this item

Note that these links take you to the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website which holds the full archival details of the material. Material on the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website is not censored or expurgated and may contain material considered offensive by modern standards.

Maps on the Full English site related to this item

Note that these links take you to the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website which holds the full archival details of the material. Material on the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website is not censored or expurgated and may contain material considered offensive by modern standards.

Tune example: Polka

Information      
New Jenny Lind Polka from The Full English digital archive

Tune example: Polka

This rhythm and dance probably came from what is now the Czech and Slovak Republics and is presumed to have originated from a Bohemian folk dance.  It was introduced in Prague society in 1837 and a Prague dancing master introduced it to Paris in 1840.  The polka went on to become a popular dance rhythm throughout Britain and Europe. 

Polkas are commonly written in 2/4 time, and are very lively.

You can download the notation for the New Jenny Lind Polka (http://www.vwml.org/record/FK/6/26) by clicking on the PDF tab.

You can hear an audio recording of Laurel Swift playing the New Jenny Lind Polka on the audio tab.

More videos

  • New Jenny Lind Polka - Laurel Swift

    Download: mp3(0 bytes) ogg(0 bytes)

Digital Archive records related to this item

Note that these links take you to the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website which holds the full archival details of the material. Material on the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website is not censored or expurgated and may contain material considered offensive by modern standards.

Maps on the Full English site related to this item

Note that these links take you to the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website which holds the full archival details of the material. Material on the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website is not censored or expurgated and may contain material considered offensive by modern standards.

Tune example: Waltz

Information      
Miss Dillon's Waltz from The Full English digital archive

 

Tune example: Waltz

In 3/ 4 time, the waltz is a smooth and flowing type of tune that from the 16th century that has become widely popular across Britain and Europe. 

Waltzes are usually played for couple dances.

You can hear an audio recording of Miss Dillon's Waltz (http://www.vwml.org/record/AGG/2/139/20a) by Laurel Swift by clicking on the audio tab.

You can download the notation for Miss Dillon's Waltz by clicking on the PDF tab.

More videos

  • Miss Dillon's Waltz (in G) - Laural Swift

    Download: mp3(0 bytes) ogg(0 bytes)

Digital Archive records related to this item

Note that these links take you to the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website which holds the full archival details of the material. Material on the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website is not censored or expurgated and may contain material considered offensive by modern standards.

Maps on the Full English site related to this item

Note that these links take you to the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website which holds the full archival details of the material. Material on the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website is not censored or expurgated and may contain material considered offensive by modern standards.

Instruments Part 1

Information      
Fiddle (Gavin Davenport)

Instruments

Many instruments are traditionally associated with playing English Folk Music – some boast a longer association than others – for instance the pipe and tabor have been used since mediaeval times whilst the concertina was invented in the 1820s.

Instruments vary in the range of notes they are capable of making. Some are fully chromatic and able to play tunes in a variety of keys. Others instruments are limited to one or two scales, restricting the choice of tunes available to the player. However, the limitations of some instruments also encourage invention and creativity in approaches to playing music.

A variety of instruments associated with playing English folk music are described below:

Fiddle

Often tuned identically to a classical violin, it is the technique and style of playing folk music on it that makes it a fiddle.  The fiddle has been associated with folk music for many centuries.  Recently there has been an increase in popularity of the cello and viola in folk music too.

 

Melodeon

Melodeon

The melodeon has a set of bellows with buttons (often in two rows) on the right hand side providing the melody by allowing air through banks of reeds.  There are fewer buttons on the left hand side, which provide bass notes and chords.  The notes on both sides are different depending on whether the bellows are being pushed or pulled by the player. Melodeons usually come in fixed keys: D/G or C/F.

 

 

 

Piano accordion

A set of bellows with a piano keyboard on the right hand side, and plenty of buttons offering bass notes and chords on left hand side.  All the notes are the same on the push and pull of the bellows.  Accordions are fully chromatic.

 

Pipe/taborPipe and Tabor player with Bucknall Morris (VWML)

Usually played by one player, the pipe and tabor combination has been used in folk music since mediaeval times. The pipe has mouthpiece at the top and, unlike recorders and tin whistles, it has only 3 holes at the end of its length, as well as the hole at the end of the pipe which lets the blown in air out.  This allows the musician to hold and play the pipe with one hand, whilst beating out a rhythm on the tabor (drum) with the other hand.

 

 

 

Button accordion

A set of bellows with buttons on the right hand side arranged in 3 rows, playing in the keys of B, C and C#. This allows the instrument to be fully chromatic. The notes on this side are different on the push and pull of the bellows.  There are buttons on the left hand side, which provide bass notes and chords (as the piano accordion) – and are the same on push or pull of the bellows.

More videos

Digital Archive records related to this item

Note that these links take you to the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website which holds the full archival details of the material. Material on the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website is not censored or expurgated and may contain material considered offensive by modern standards.

Maps on the Full English site related to this item

Note that these links take you to the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website which holds the full archival details of the material. Material on the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website is not censored or expurgated and may contain material considered offensive by modern standards.

Instruments Part 2

Information      
Duet Concertina (Gavin Davenport)

Instruments Part 2

Concertina – English, Duet and Anglo

 

The English concertina was invented in the 1820s. It has a set of bellows with buttons on either side that play the same notes on the push or pull of the bellows. 

Anglo Concertina (Gavin Davenport)The Anglo concertina was invented in the 1830s.  It has a set of bellows, with buttons on either side that play different notes on the push or pull of the bellows.

The Duet concertina plays the same note on the push or pull like the English concertina, but has lower notes on the left hand and higher notes on the right hand side for a more piano-like arrangement.

 

Bagpipes

There is evidence that bagpipes were played across England from the 13th century. 

Northumbrian Pipes: developed in the North East towards the end of the 18th century.  These are quiet, bellows blown pipes. 

Lowland and Border Pipes:  Played in the North of England and the Lowlands of Scotland from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries. Border Pipes are currently undergoing a renaissance.

And many others, including Lincolnshire bagpipes, Leicestershire Small pipes, Double Pipes from Cornish and England.

 

 

Percussion (Gavin Davenport)Percussion

Many different instruments are used to add and enhance rhythm within folk music.  Some of these instruments include spoons, bones, drums, triangle, tambourine.

 

 

 

Other popular instruments include:

  • Recorder
  • Flute
  • Banjo
  • Whistles
  • Mandolin
  • Guitar
  • Dulcimer
  • Harp
  • Harmonica
  • Jews/Jaws harp

More videos

Digital Archive records related to this item

Note that these links take you to the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website which holds the full archival details of the material. Material on the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website is not censored or expurgated and may contain material considered offensive by modern standards.

Maps on the Full English site related to this item

Note that these links take you to the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website which holds the full archival details of the material. Material on the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website is not censored or expurgated and may contain material considered offensive by modern standards.

Beginners' Guide: English Folk Music Further Information

Information      
Music collage

Further Information

The following links help provide further information English Folk Music:

 

More videos

Digital Archive records related to this item

Note that these links take you to the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website which holds the full archival details of the material. Material on the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website is not censored or expurgated and may contain material considered offensive by modern standards.

Maps on the Full English site related to this item

Note that these links take you to the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website which holds the full archival details of the material. Material on the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library website is not censored or expurgated and may contain material considered offensive by modern standards.

   
 
Beginners' Guide: English Folk Music
Beginners' Guide: English Folk Music
 
 Types of Tunes
Types of Tunes
 
 Queen's Delight from Ralph Vaughan Williams' collection in The Full English digital archive
Tune example: Jig
 
 Tune example: Reel
Tune example: Reel
 
 Tune Example: Hornpipe
Tune Example: Hornpipe
 
 Tune example: Polka
Tune example: Polka
 
 Tune example: Waltz
Tune example: Waltz
 
 Instruments Part 1
Instruments Part 1
 
 Instruments Part 2
Instruments Part 2
 
 Beginners' Guide: English Folk Music Further Information
Beginners' Guide: English Folk Music Further Information
 
   

VWML News

Maps

Are you interested in local history, folk songs and tunes? Would you like to explore the folk songs and tunes that were collected locally to you, and around the world? Click here, and let the search begin!

 

How to get here

Cecil Sharp House – home to the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library (VWML) and the English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS) is positioned in the heart of London. Discover the best way to reach us.

 

Support us

Please consider making a contribution today. Any gift, large or small, really will make a difference.