III.

Musical Structure

Although the folk musics of European cultures are extremely diverse, they share some general characteristics. The music is relatively simple, usually consisting of songs with a strophic form—that is, the music repeats in short stanzas with different words. The most common stanza type has four lines, sometimes with different words (abcd), but more frequently with some repetition (aaba, abba, and so on). The use of antiphony, or alternation between a leader and a chorus, each singing one line or stanza, is common throughout Europe. Much instrumental folk music presents successions of lines in which each line is repeated or varied once (aabbccdd or aa’bb’, and so on). Epic songs that tell a complex story may repeat a single musical line many times. The ways of relating musical materials are often sophisticated. For example, in a typical Hungarian form, the second half repeats the first a fifth lower (a5a5aa). This technique of transposition (repeating a line at different pitch levels) is widespread in Eastern Europe.

The melodic material of European folk music is closely related to that of art music. Seven-tone scales, sometimes using tonalities and modes like those of medieval church music, were widely adopted. The Dorian and Mixolydian modes are common in English folk songs, and the Phrygian is common in Spanish folk songs. Especially common throughout Europe are pentatonic scales—scales with five tones. Simpler scales with three or four tones are found in children's ditties, counting-out rhymes, and songs of pre-Christian rituals. 

Rhythm in folk songs is sometimes related to the metric structure of poetry (see Versification). English folk song texts frequently use lines of four iambic feet, and the accompanying melodies are often set in one of three rhythmic patterns:

In Eastern Europe, complex rhythms such as 2+2+2+3 beats, as well as measures of 5, 7, 11, and 13 beats, may be found, particularly in the Balkan countries. Instrumental folk music tends to be rhythmically repetitive, a characteristic that may also be found in Western Europe, where complex structures are used. An example is the irregular alternation of four and three beats in Bavarian dances.

Most folk music is monophonic—that is, it consists of a single, unaccompanied melody. Instrumental accompaniment may provide simple chords or a drone (a single note or chord repeated under a melody). Polyphonic singing, with two or three voices pursuing independent melodies, is particularly prevalent in Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain, and the Balkans and other Eastern European countries. Most frequently, singers relate their voices to one another by singing the same tune at different intervals or pitch levels—in thirds or sixths (Germany, Italy, Spain, the Western Slavic countries), fourths or fifths (Russia, Ukraine), or seconds (the Balkans). Drones (Italy), rounds or canons (universal), and more complex relationships (Russia, the Balkans) are also used. Polyphonic folk music is rare in Asia. In some countries such as Iran and Afghanistan, however, polyphony is more common in folk music than in classical music.

Folk and art music contrast strikingly in their use of the voice and the tone color of instruments. The trained opera singer’s bel canto, or virtuousity of vocal technique, is rarely used. Each culture or area has developed a characteristic vocal sound that it favors. Folk music in areas of Spain, Italy, and the Balkans uses a tense, nasal sound and highly ornamented melodies. In Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, and Russia, a more open-throated, clear sound and unembellished melodies are preferred. A mixed style lying between the two occurs in industrialized areas, including parts of Britain, and in France. In American folk music, singing style is the primary element that distinguishes among eastern, western, southern, and African American traditions. The singing styles that reflect cultural identity have an instrumental parallel in the playing style of folk fiddlers who give each note a fresh stroke of the bow, in contrast to the concert violinist’s vibrato or slurred method of bowing.