Traditional music (sometimes referred to as 'folk' music) is defined as the traditional music created by the people of an area or an ethnic group. This is often contrasted with Western "art" or "classical" music.
This can include:
traditional music of the people associated with a particular place (i.e. traditional music of Japan or Brazil)
the 'popular' music of a people not associated with any one place (such as traditional Jewish music, or music of African Americans)
The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music by Ruth M. Stone (Editor)
Call Number: Ref. 780.9 G233e
ISBN: 9780824060350
Publication Date: 1997-08-01
10-volume series takes a cultural approach to its focus on the music of all the world's peoples. Each volume is arranged topically, regionally, or by ethnic group, and complemented by an extensive index.
Folk Music in the United States by Bruno Nettl; Helen Myers
Call Number: 784.4 N475i, 1976
ISBN: 9780814315569
Publication Date: 1976-02-01
Gives readers a broad overview of many kinds of folk music found in this country, from the songs of rural Appalachia and New England through the indigenous music of the American Indians and the African music brought by slaves, to the folk songs of European minorities.
A History of European Folk Music by Jan Ling; Linda Schenck; Robert Schenck
Call Number: 781.620094 L755es
ISBN: 9781878822772
Publication Date: 1997-07-20
The aim of this study is to increase the reader's understanding of folk music within an historical, European framework, and to keep the genre alive as a dynamic and changing artform. The book addresses a plethora of questions through its detailed examination of a wide range of music from vastly different national and cultural identities.
The Study of Folk Music in the Modern World by Philip Vilas Bohlman
Call Number: 781.620072 B676s
ISBN: 9780253355553
Publication Date: 1988-01-01
Examines folk music as a genre of folklore from a broadly cross-cultural perspective and espouses a more expansive view of folk music, stressing its vitality in non-Western cultures as well as Western, in the present as well as the past