Folk baroque
Encyclopedia
Folk baroque or baroque guitar is the name given to a distinctive and influential guitar fingerstyle developed in Britain in the 1960s, which combined elements of American folk, blues
, jazz
and ragtime
with British traditional music
to produce a new and elaborate form of accompaniment. It has been highly important in folk music
, folk rock
and electric folk
playing, particularly in Britain, Ireland, North America and France.
craze of the later 1950s and as a result were familiar with American blues, folk and jazz styles. Initially they copied these styles, occasionally using open D and G tunings, but by the early 1960s a distinctive way of playing acoustic guitar began to emerge as performers like Davy Graham and Martin Carthy
attempted to apply these styles to the playing of traditional English modal music. They were soon followed by artists such as Bert Jansch
and John Renbourn
, who further defined the style.
A landmark in this early period was the release, by Topic
, of the EP
3/4 A.D by Alexis Korner
and Davy Graham in April 1962. This includes the instrumental "Angi" which was to become Graham's best-known composition, as well as the title track, 3/4 A.D., named after its time signature and the initials of the two performers. This instrumental piece took its inspiration from jazz sources such as Miles Davis
and Charles Mingus
, but was in the form of an acoustic guitar duet by Korner and Graham—one of the earliest recordings of folk baroque. The sleeve notes by Korner struggled to classify the music but twice resort to the term "baroque".
tuning (from lowest highest strings), which gave a form of suspended-fourth D chord, usefully neither major or minor, which could be employed as the basis for modal based folk songs. It is uncertain who first developed this tuning, as both Graham and Carthy attributed it to each other, but it has been speculated that Graham may have acquired it from the oud
while visiting north Africa. This was combined with a fingerstyle based on Travis picking and a focus on melody, that made it suitable as an accompaniment. Denselow, who popularized the phrase ‘folk baroque’, singled out Graham's recording of traditional English folk song ‘Seven Gypsies’ on Folk, Blues and Beyond
(1964) as the beginning of the style.
, hurdy gurdy
or the fiddle
found in British medieval and folk music, played by the thumb on the two lowest strings. The style was further developed by Jansch, who brought a more forceful style of picking and, indirectly, influences from Jazz and Ragtime, leading particularly to more complex baselines. Renbourn built on all these trends and was the artist whose repertoire was most influenced by medieval music.
In the early 1970s the next generation of British artists added new tunings and techniques, reflected in the work of artists like Nick Drake
, Tim Buckley
and particularly John Martyn
, whose Solid Air
(1972) set the bar for subsequent British acoustic guitarists. Perhaps the most prominent exponent of recent years has been Martin Simpson
, whose complex mix of traditional English and American material, together with innovative arrangements and techniques like the use of guitar slides, represents a deliberate attempt to create a unique and personal style.
who made it part of his own technique for playing French and Irish music. Perhaps from here it was taken up by in Scotland by Dick Gaughan
, but particularly by Irish musicians like Paul Brady
, Dónal Lunny
and Mick Moloney
. Carthy also influenced Paul Simon
, particularly evident on ‘Scarborough Fair
’, which he taught to Simon, and a recording of Graham’s Anji that appears on Sounds of Silence
, and as a result was copied by many subsequent folk guitarists. By the 1970s Americans such as Duck Baker
, Eric Schoenberg
were arranging solo guitar versions of Celtic dance tunes, slow airs, bagpipe music, and harp pieces by Turlough O'Carolan
and earlier harper-composers. Renbourn and Jansch’s complex sounds were also highly influential on Mike Oldfield
’s early music. The style also had an impact within electric folk
, where, particularly Richard Thompson used the DADGAD tuning, but with a hybrid picking
style to produce a similar, but distinctive effect.
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and ragtime
Ragtime
Ragtime is an original musical genre which enjoyed its peak popularity between 1897 and 1918. Its main characteristic trait is its syncopated, or "ragged," rhythm. It began as dance music in the red-light districts of American cities such as St. Louis and New Orleans years before being published...
with British traditional music
Traditional music
Traditional music is the term increasingly used for folk music that is not contemporary folk music. More on this is at the terminology section of the World music article...
to produce a new and elaborate form of accompaniment. It has been highly important in folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, folk rock
Folk rock
Folk rock is a musical genre combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
and electric folk
Electric folk
Electric folk is the name given to the form of folk rock pioneered in England from the late 1960s, and most significant in the 1970s, which then was taken up and developed in the surrounding Celtic cultures of Brittany, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Man, to produce Celtic rock and its...
playing, particularly in Britain, Ireland, North America and France.
Origins
Many of the English folk musicians who emerged in the early 1960s as part of the Second British folk revival began their careers in the short lived skiffleSkiffle
Skiffle is a type of popular music with jazz, blues, folk, roots and country influences, usually using homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a term in the United States in the first half of the twentieth century, it became popular again in the UK in the 1950s, where it was mainly...
craze of the later 1950s and as a result were familiar with American blues, folk and jazz styles. Initially they copied these styles, occasionally using open D and G tunings, but by the early 1960s a distinctive way of playing acoustic guitar began to emerge as performers like Davy Graham and Martin Carthy
Martin Carthy
Martin Carthy MBE is an English folk singer and guitarist who has remained one of the most influential figures in British traditional music, inspiring contemporaries such as Bob Dylan and Paul Simon and later artists such as Richard Thompson since he emerged as a young musician in the early days...
attempted to apply these styles to the playing of traditional English modal music. They were soon followed by artists such as Bert Jansch
Bert Jansch
Herbert "Bert" Jansch was a Scottish folk musician and founding member of the band Pentangle. He was born in Glasgow and came to prominence in London in the 1960s, as an acoustic guitarist, as well as a singer-songwriter...
and John Renbourn
John Renbourn
John Renbourn is an English guitarist and songwriter. He is possibly best known for his collaboration with guitarist Bert Jansch as well as his work with the folk group Pentangle, although he maintained a solo career before, during and after that band's existence .While most commonly labelled a...
, who further defined the style.
A landmark in this early period was the release, by Topic
Topic Records
Topic Records is a British folk music label, which played a major role in the second British folk revival. It began as an offshoot of the Workers' Music Association in 1939, making it the oldest independent record label in the world.-History:...
, of the EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
3/4 A.D by Alexis Korner
Alexis Korner
Alexis Korner was a blues musician and radio broadcaster, who has sometimes been referred to as "a Founding Father of British Blues"...
and Davy Graham in April 1962. This includes the instrumental "Angi" which was to become Graham's best-known composition, as well as the title track, 3/4 A.D., named after its time signature and the initials of the two performers. This instrumental piece took its inspiration from jazz sources such as Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
and Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus
Charles Mingus Jr. was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and civil rights activist.Mingus's compositions retained the hot and soulful feel of hard bop and drew heavily from black gospel music while sometimes drawing on elements of Third stream, free jazz, and classical music...
, but was in the form of an acoustic guitar duet by Korner and Graham—one of the earliest recordings of folk baroque. The sleeve notes by Korner struggled to classify the music but twice resort to the term "baroque".
Definition
Particularly notable in the folk baroque style was the adoption of DADGADDADGAD
DADGAD, D modal tuning or Celtic tuning is an alternative guitar tuning most associated with Celtic music, though it has also found use in rock and other genres. Instead of the standard EADGBE tuning, the six guitar strings are tuned, from low to high, DADGAD...
tuning (from lowest highest strings), which gave a form of suspended-fourth D chord, usefully neither major or minor, which could be employed as the basis for modal based folk songs. It is uncertain who first developed this tuning, as both Graham and Carthy attributed it to each other, but it has been speculated that Graham may have acquired it from the oud
Oud
The oud is a pear-shaped stringed instrument commonly used in North African and Middle Eastern music. The modern oud and the European lute both descend from a common ancestor via diverging paths...
while visiting north Africa. This was combined with a fingerstyle based on Travis picking and a focus on melody, that made it suitable as an accompaniment. Denselow, who popularized the phrase ‘folk baroque’, singled out Graham's recording of traditional English folk song ‘Seven Gypsies’ on Folk, Blues and Beyond
Folk, Blues and Beyond
Folk, Blues and Beyond is the second studio album by British musician Davey Graham, originally released in 1964.It has been considered Graham's most groundbreaking and consistent work and a defining record of the 20th century...
(1964) as the beginning of the style.
Development
While Graham mixed this with a swathe of Indian, African, American, Celtic and modern and traditional American influences, Carthy in particular used the tuning in order to replicate the drone of uilleann pipesUilleann pipes
The uilleann pipes or //; ) are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland, their current name, earlier known in English as "union pipes", is a part translation of the Irish-language term píobaí uilleann , from their method of inflation.The bag of the uilleann pipes is inflated by means of a...
, hurdy gurdy
Hurdy gurdy
The hurdy gurdy or hurdy-gurdy is a stringed musical instrument that produces sound by a crank-turned rosined wheel rubbing against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar to a violin...
or the fiddle
Fiddle
The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
found in British medieval and folk music, played by the thumb on the two lowest strings. The style was further developed by Jansch, who brought a more forceful style of picking and, indirectly, influences from Jazz and Ragtime, leading particularly to more complex baselines. Renbourn built on all these trends and was the artist whose repertoire was most influenced by medieval music.
In the early 1970s the next generation of British artists added new tunings and techniques, reflected in the work of artists like Nick Drake
Nick Drake
Nicholas Rodney "Nick" Drake was an English singer-songwriter and musician. Though he is best known for his sombre guitar based songs, Drake was also proficient at piano, clarinet and saxophone...
, Tim Buckley
Tim Buckley
Timothy Charles Buckley III was an American vocalist, and musician. His music and style changed considerably through the years; his first album was mostly folk oriented, but over time his music incorporated jazz, psychedelia, funk, soul, avant-garde and an evolving "voice as instrument," sound...
and particularly John Martyn
John Martyn
John Martyn, OBE , born Iain David McGeachy, was a British singer-songwriter and guitarist. Over a forty-year career he released twenty studio albums, working with artists such as Eric Clapton and David Gilmour...
, whose Solid Air
Solid Air
Solid Air is a folk jazz album released in 1973 by John Martyn on Island Records.Contemporary reviews were favourable with music paper Sounds declaring that Solid Air flows beautifully and shows the entire spectrum of music that John Martyn has at his fingertips." The album has continued to...
(1972) set the bar for subsequent British acoustic guitarists. Perhaps the most prominent exponent of recent years has been Martin Simpson
Martin Simpson
Martin Simpson is an English folk singer, guitarist and songwriter. His music reflects a wide variety of influences and styles, rooted in the British Isles, America and beyond.-Biography:...
, whose complex mix of traditional English and American material, together with innovative arrangements and techniques like the use of guitar slides, represents a deliberate attempt to create a unique and personal style.
Significance
As well as being a continuing influence in Britain the style had an impact elsewhere. Martin Carthy passed on his guitar style to French guitarist Pierre BensusanPierre Bensusan
Pierre Bensusan is a French-Algerian guitarist. As a sephardic Jew, his family came from Spain, Spanish Morocco and French Algeria. The genre of his acoustic guitar music is often characterized as Celtic, Folk, World music, New Age, or Chamber jazz. He has also published three books of music and...
who made it part of his own technique for playing French and Irish music. Perhaps from here it was taken up by in Scotland by Dick Gaughan
Dick Gaughan
Richard Peter Gaughan usually known as Dick Gaughan is a Scottish musician, singer, and songwriter, particularly of folk and social protest songs.-Early years:...
, but particularly by Irish musicians like Paul Brady
Paul Brady
Paul Joseph Brady is an Irish singer-songwriter, whose work straddles folk and pop. He was interested in a wide variety of music from an early age...
, Dónal Lunny
Dónal Lunny
Dónal Lunny is an Irish folk musician. Lunny has been at the forefront of the evolution of traditional Irish music for more than thirty-five years and has participated within the renaissance of traditional Irish music in that time period...
and Mick Moloney
Mick Moloney
Michael "Mick" Moloney is a traditional Irish musician and scholar. Born in Limerick, County Limerick, he was an important figure on the Dublin folk-song revival in the 1960s. In 1973, he moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
. Carthy also influenced Paul Simon
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
, particularly evident on ‘Scarborough Fair
Scarborough Fair
"Scarborough Fair" is a traditional ballad of the United Kingdom.The song tells the tale of a young man, who tells the listener to ask his former lover to perform for him a series of impossible tasks, such as making him a shirt without a seam and then washing it in a dry well, adding that if she...
’, which he taught to Simon, and a recording of Graham’s Anji that appears on Sounds of Silence
Sounds of Silence (album)
Sounds of Silence is the second album by Simon and Garfunkel, released on January 17, 1966. The album's title is a slight modification of the title of the duo's first major hit, "The Sound of Silence", which originally was released as "The Sounds of Silence"...
, and as a result was copied by many subsequent folk guitarists. By the 1970s Americans such as Duck Baker
Duck Baker
Duck Baker is an accomplished and influential American fingerstyle guitarist, who in his playing combines genres as varied as rags, blues, country, gospel, cajun, bluegrass, Celtic music, ballads and jazz, swing, New Orleans jazz and free jazz.-Biography and career:Baker grew up in Richmond,...
, Eric Schoenberg
Eric Schoenberg
Eric Schoenberg is an American guitarist known for his fingerstyle guitar playing, as well as a recording artist and designer of acoustic guitars....
were arranging solo guitar versions of Celtic dance tunes, slow airs, bagpipe music, and harp pieces by Turlough O'Carolan
Turlough O'Carolan
Turlough Carolan, also known as Turlough O'Carolan, was a blind, early Irish harper, composer and singer whose great fame is due to his gift for melodic composition. He was the last great Irish harper-composer and is considered by many to be Ireland's national composer...
and earlier harper-composers. Renbourn and Jansch’s complex sounds were also highly influential on Mike Oldfield
Mike Oldfield
Michael Gordon Oldfield is an English multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, working a style that blends progressive rock, folk, ethnic or world music, classical music, electronic music, New Age, and more recently, dance. His music is often elaborate and complex in nature...
’s early music. The style also had an impact within electric folk
Electric folk
Electric folk is the name given to the form of folk rock pioneered in England from the late 1960s, and most significant in the 1970s, which then was taken up and developed in the surrounding Celtic cultures of Brittany, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Man, to produce Celtic rock and its...
, where, particularly Richard Thompson used the DADGAD tuning, but with a hybrid picking
Hybrid picking
Hybrid picking is a guitar-playing technique that involves picking with a pick and one or more fingers alternately or simultaneously. Hybrid picking allows guitar players who use a pick to perform music which would normally require fingerstyle playing. It also facilitates wide string leaps Hybrid...
style to produce a similar, but distinctive effect.