"Traditional folk music — sometimes called world music — can be hard to define, but there are several common characteristics that help define the genre. Traditional folk music can usually be thought of as old music by unknown composers that has been passed along orally for generations by the poor, working class.  You might think of traditional folk music as the music of the common people. It tells the stories of the common people in language they can understand. It bonds people together in a way that has more to do with culture and history than entertainment" (Wonderopolis).

What are characteristics of the American folk song?

According to the Brittanica Encyclopedia:

• Typically, folk music, like folk literature, lives in oral tradition.
  
• It is learned through hearing rather than reading.
• Usually associated with other activities, and it is primarily rural in origin.
• In the 20th century, transmission through recordings and mass media began to replace much of the face-to-face learning.
• Many people may participate in these songs, typically at a calendar ritual or celebration.
• Often do not know the origins of the song.
• There is not a singular "official" way to play the song, because it's learned orally.
• Contains a chorus that's repeated several times with stanzas of a poem.
• Instruments may include: fiddles; rattles; flutes with and without finger holes; the bull-roarer; leaf, grass, and bone whistles; long wooden trumpets, such as the Swiss alpenhorn;folk oboes; banjos; bagpipes; violin; bass violin; clarinet; and guitar.

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© J. Burton, 2017 All images courtesy of Google Images.