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Folk
Browse Folk piano sheets with calm, playable notation. Folk music covers two related things: traditional folk music, and the newer songwriting that grew out of the 20th-century folk revival. Traditional folk has been defined in several ways, as music passed on by ear, music whose composers are unknown, or music tied to a people's identity and customs. Before the 20th century most people learned such songs from memory rather than from books, and the songs could change from one generation to the next. Traditional songs make up most of ZenPiano's Folk shelf. Greensleeves is among the oldest: a ballad of that name was registered in London in 1580, and the tune appears in late 16th-century lute books. Danny Boy sets words written by Frederic Weatherly in 1910 to the traditional Irish melody known as the Londonderry Air. Korobeiniki is a 19th-century Russian song that most players outside Russia know as the Tetris theme, and La Cucaracha, Spanish in origin, became popular during the Mexican Revolution in the 1910s. Irish and Scottish music runs deep here, from The Wild Rover, Carrickfergus and The Parting Glass to jigs such as the Swallowtail Jig and songs such as Rocky Road to Dublin, alongside songs from Sweden, Wales, Israel, the Philippines and Latin America. The modern side of folk appears through songwriters such as Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen and The Lumineers. Many of these pieces come in beginner arrangements, which makes the shelf an easy place to start. Try letting the melody lead over a simple left hand: give a jig a light, lilting pulse, and let a slow air such as Danny Boy breathe.
About Folk
Browse Folk piano sheets with calm, playable notation.
Folk music covers two related things: traditional folk music, and the newer songwriting that grew out of the 20th-century folk revival. Traditional folk has been defined in several ways, as music passed on by ear, music whose composers are unknown, or music tied to a people's identity and customs. Before the 20th century most people learned such songs from memory rather than from books, and the songs could change from one generation to the next.
Traditional songs make up most of ZenPiano's Folk shelf. Greensleeves is among the oldest: a ballad of that name was registered in London in 1580, and the tune appears in late 16th-century lute books. Danny Boy sets words written by Frederic Weatherly in 1910 to the traditional Irish melody known as the Londonderry Air. Korobeiniki is a 19th-century Russian song that most players outside Russia know as the Tetris theme, and La Cucaracha, Spanish in origin, became popular during the Mexican Revolution in the 1910s.
Irish and Scottish music runs deep here, from The Wild Rover, Carrickfergus and The Parting Glass to jigs such as the Swallowtail Jig and songs such as Rocky Road to Dublin, alongside songs from Sweden, Wales, Israel, the Philippines and Latin America. The modern side of folk appears through songwriters such as Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen and The Lumineers.
Many of these pieces come in beginner arrangements, which makes the shelf an easy place to start. Try letting the melody lead over a simple left hand: give a jig a light, lilting pulse, and let a slow air such as Danny Boy breathe.
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Common questions
Questions and answers FAQ
What makes a song a folk song?
Definitions vary: traditional folk songs are usually passed on by ear, often have no known composer, and are tied to a community's identity and customs.
How old is Greensleeves?
A ballad called Greensleeves was registered in London in 1580, and the tune appears in late 16th-century lute books.
Is the Tetris music a folk song?
Yes. The Tetris theme is Korobeiniki, a 19th-century Russian folk song about a peddler and a girl.
Where does Danny Boy come from?
Frederic Weatherly wrote the words in 1910, and they were set to the traditional Irish melody known as the Londonderry Air in 1913.