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How to Borrow from Folk SongsFebruary 7, 2012 Leave a comment (http://www.organizingsound.com/how-to-borrow-from-folk-songs/#respond)

In todays exercise, were going to take whole folk songs and transform them into something new. Inengaging in this practice, youll actually be participating in the very tradition were borrowing from.

BACKGROUNDFolk song traditions are all about borrowing. The ideal of the totally original musician is a relativelyrecent development. Folk musicians have been reusing chord progressions and musical phrases foras long as such traditions have existed. Interestingly, late medieval and renaissance composers builtsome of the earliest polyphonic music on the basis of melodic lines taken in whole from popular songsof the time. This was not considered stealing; in fact, part of the interest these songs held was in thedifferent interpretations and developments of those basic melodic ideas composers brought to thetable.

These kind of practices are generally difficult and expensive to engage in these days due to copyrightlaws (though there is a growing number of musicians releasing their songs with less restrictive creativecommons licenses). However, at least for the time being, huge archives of folk songs and traditionals

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remain in the public domain. This means you are free to take from them what you will. I recommendyou take advantage of this possibility.

Some 20th century composers such as Bela Bartok, a favorite of mine, viewed folk music as a purifiedform of musical expression. The thought was that the process of borrowing and refining over thecenturies produced a treasury of concise and powerful melodic ideas. Bartok, among others,attempted to integrate these pure ideas into more complex pieces built on the sophisticatedprinciples of the European classical tradition.

Whether or not this romantic view of folk music has merit, its a fascinating idea, and perhaps one thatresonates with you in some way. The good news is that you are free to dive into the treasury of folkmusic and build on the wealth of ideas to be found there in your own way.

THE EXERCISEThere are many ways to build on folk songs, but I am going to focus on a particularly easy one to getyou started. Get your hands on a folk collection of some kind and start learning a few of the songs.When you find one you like, learn the chord progression and forget the melody. There you have it: thefoundation for a new song.

First, just try writing a new melody over the old chord progression. As always, I suggest doing thisseveral times, in part to explore the variety of ideas one can build over the same foundation, in part toget the most interesting result you can.

Second, whether or not you were able to come up with something over the old progression, its timeto start tweaking it. Try varying the harmonic tempo. That is, vary how long you spend on each chord.Spend half a measure (http://organizingsound.com/a-measure-or-bar/) on some, two measures onothers. This simple technique can really change the feeling of a progression, and opens up a widevariety of new melodic possibilities.

Third, try making minor changes to the chords themselves. Substitute a vi for a I, or vice versa. Ifyoure not sure what key your song is in, see if all the chords fall on one row in this chart(http://organizingsound.com/scale-degrees/). Bring in some secondary dominants [LINK COMINGSOON]. Use the folk song as a verse and your own progression for a chorus, or vice versa. Play thechords in reverse. The possibilities are endless.

If you just have fun with this method, youll find that its a great way to generate new ideas. As Ivetried to emphasize elsewhere, skillful borrowing doesnt lead to copies; instead, it can lead togenuinely original ideas that bear only passing resemblance to the originals.

Feel free to submit (http://organizingsound.com/how-to-submit/) your genuinely original ideasfor the benefit of the rest of us, helping us keep the age-old folk tradition of borrowing andreinterpreting alive.

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John Thomas Mumm

I'm a musician, writer, and professional philosopher. I'm writing this blog to help musicians gain control oftheir songwriting. I'd also like to challenge some prevailing but limiting beliefs about what it takes to writegreat music.

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