Folk baroque or baroque guitar, is a distinctive and influential guitar
fingerstyle
Fingerstyle guitar is the technique of playing the guitar or bass guitar by plucking the strings directly with the fingertips, fingernails, or picks attached to fingers, as opposed to flatpicking (plucking individual notes with a single plect ...
developed in Britain in the 1960s, which combined elements of American folk,
blues,
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
and
ragtime
Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott J ...
with
British folk music
Throughout the history of the British Isles, the United Kingdom has been a major music producer, drawing inspiration from Church Music.
Traditional folk music, using instruments of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales. Each of the ...
to produce a new and elaborate form of accompaniment. It has been highly important in
folk music
Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...
,
folk rock
Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers s ...
and
British folk rock
British folk rock is a form of folk rock which developed in the United Kingdom from the mid 1960s, and was at its most significant in the 1970s. Though the merging of folk and rock music came from several sources, it is widely regarded that the ...
playing, particularly in Britain, Ireland, North America and France.
Definition
Particularly notable in the folk baroque style was the adoption of
DADGAD
, or Celtic tuning is an alternative guitar tuning most associated with Celtic music, though it has also found use in rock, folk, metal and several other genres. Instead of the Guitar tuning#Standard and alternatives, standard tuning () the six gui ...
tuning, 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.
[V. Coelho, '' The Cambridge Companion to the Guitar'' (Cambridge University Press, 2003), p. 39.] It is uncertain who first developed this tuning, as both
Davy Graham
David Michael Gordon "Davey" Graham (originally spelled Davy Graham) (26 November 1940 – 15 December 2008) was a British guitarist and one of the most influential figures in the 1960s British folk revival. He inspired many famous practitioners ...
and
Martin Carthy attributed it to each other, but it has been speculated that Graham may have acquired it from the
oud
, image=File:oud2.jpg
, image_capt=Syrian oud made by Abdo Nahat in 1921
, background=
, classification=
* String instruments
*Necked bowl lutes
, hornbostel_sachs=321.321-6
, hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded with a plectrum
, ...
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.
Robin Denselow
Robin Denselow is a British writer, journalist, and broadcaster.
Education
Denselow was educated at Leighton Park School, a boys' Quaker boarding independent school (now co-educational) in Reading, Berkshire
Reading ( ) is a town and borough ...
, 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'' is the second studio album by British musician Davey Graham, originally released in 1965. It has been considered Graham's most groundbreaking and consistent work and a defining record of the 20th century. It has also b ...
'' (1964) as the beginning of the style.
History
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
skiffle
Skiffle is a genre of folk music with influences from American folk music, blues, country, bluegrass, and jazz, generally performed with a mixture of manufactured and homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a form in the United State ...
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
David Michael Gordon "Davey" Graham (originally spelled Davy Graham) (26 November 1940 – 15 December 2008) was a British guitarist and one of the most influential figures in the 1960s British folk revival. He inspired many famous practitioners ...
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
Herbert Jansch (3 November 1943 – 5 October 2011) 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 and singer-songwriter ...
and
John Renbourn
John Renbourn (8 August 1944 – 26 March 2015) was an English guitarist and songwriter. He was best known for his collaboration with guitarist Bert Jansch as well as his work with the folk group Pentangle, although he maintained a solo care ...
, who further defined the style.
A landmark in this early period was the release, by
Topic
Topic, topics, TOPIC, topical, or topicality may refer to:
Topic / Topics
* Topić, a Slavic surname
* ''Topics'' (Aristotle), a work by Aristotle
* Topic (chocolate bar), a brand of confectionery bar
* Topic (DJ), German musician
* Topic (g ...
, of the
EP ''3/4 A.D'' by
Alexis Korner
Alexis Andrew Nicholas Koerner (19 April 1928 – 1 January 1984), known professionally as Alexis Korner, was a British blues musician and radio broadcaster, who has sometimes been referred to as "a founding father of British blues". A major in ...
and Davy Graham in April 1962. This includes the instrumental "
Angi
Angi (formerly Angie's List) is an American home services website owned by Angi Inc., a publicly-traded subsidiary of IAC. Founded in 1995 by Angie Hicks and William S. Oesterle, it allows users to search for contractors to provide paid hom ...
" 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 Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musi ...
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".
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 pipes
The uilleann pipes ( or , ) are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland. Earlier known in English as "union pipes", their current name is a partial translation of the Irish language terms (literally, "pipes of the elbow"), from thei ...
,
hurdy-gurdy
The hurdy-gurdy is a string instrument that produces sound by a hand-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 those of a vi ...
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 basslines. Renbourn built on all these trends and was the artist whose repertoire was most influenced by Medieval and Renaissance 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
Timothy Charles Buckley III (February 14, 1947 – June 29, 1975) was an American musician. His music and style changed considerably through the years. Buckley began his career based in folk music, but his subsequent albums experimented with ...
and particularly
John Martyn
Iain David McGeachy (11 September 1948 – 29 January 2009), known professionally as John Martyn, was a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Over a 40-year career, he released 23 studio albums, and received frequent critical acclaim. ...
, whose ''
Solid Air
''Solid Air'' is the fourth studio album by Scottish folk singer-songwriter John Martyn, released in February 1973 by Island Records.
Background
The album was recorded over eight days and features instrumental contributions by bassist Danny Th ...
'' (1972) set the bar for subsequent British acoustic guitarists. Perhaps the most prominent exponent of recent years has been
Martin Simpson
Martin Stewart Simpson (born 5 May 1953) is an English folk singer, guitarist and songwriter. His music reflects a wide variety of influences and styles, rooted in Britain, Ireland, America and beyond. He builds a purposeful, often upbeat voi ...
, 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 which created a network of underground folk clubs across the country, mostly in urban centres, the style had an impact elsewhere. Martin Carthy passed on his guitar style to French guitarist
Pierre Bensusan
Pierre Bensusan (born 30 October 1957) is a French-Algerian acoustic guitarist. As Sephardic Jews, his family came from Spain, Spanish Morocco, and French Algeria. His music has been characterized as Celtic, folk, world music, New-age, and ch ...
, 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
Richard Peter Gaughan (born 17 May 1948) is a Scottish musician, singer and songwriter, particularly of folk and social protest songs. He is regarded as one of Scotland's leading singer-songwriters.
Early years
Gaughan was born in Glasgow's Roy ...
, but particularly by Irish musicians like
Paul Brady
Paul Joseph Brady (born 19 May 1947) is an Irish singer-songwriter and musician from Strabane, Northern Ireland. His work straddles folk and pop. He was interested in a wide variety of music from an early age.
Initially popular for playing ...
,
Dónal Lunny
Dónal Lunny (born 10 March 1947) is an Irish folk musician and producer. He plays left-handed guitar and bouzouki, as well as keyboards and bodhrán. As a founding member of popular bands Planxty, The Bothy Band, Moving Hearts, Coolfin, Mozai ...
and
Mick Moloney
Michael Moloney (15 November 1944 – 27 July 2022) was an Irish-born American musician and scholar. He was the artistic director of several major arts tours and co-founded Green Fields of America.
Early life
Moloney was born in Limerick, Ire ...
.
[J. Henigan, ''Dadgad Tuning: Traditional Irish and Original Tunes and Songs'' (Mel Bay, 1999), p. 4.] 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
''Sounds of Silence'' is the second studio album by American folk rock duo Simon & 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 orig ...
'', and as a result was copied by many subsequent folk guitarists.
By the 1970s Americans such as
Duck Baker
Richard Royall "Duck" Baker IV (born July 30, 1949) is an American acoustic fingerstyle guitarist who plays in a variety of styles: jazz, blues, gospel, ragtime, folk, and Irish and Scottish music. He has written many instruction books for guitar ...
,
Eric Schoenberg were arranging solo guitar versions of Celtic dance tunes, slow airs, bagpipe music, and harp pieces by
Turlough O'Carolan
Turlough O'Carolan ( ga, Toirdhealbhach Ó Cearbhalláin ; 167025 March 1738) was a blind Celtic harper, composer and singer in Ireland whose great fame is due to his gift for melodic composition.
Although not a composer in the classical sense, ...
and earlier harper-composers. Renbourn and Jansch’s complex sounds were also highly influential on
Mike Oldfield
Mike may refer to:
Animals
* Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum
* Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off
* Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and document ...
’s early music.
[J. DeRogatis, ''Turn on Your Mind: Four Decades of Great Psychedelic Rock'' (Hal Leonard, 2003), p. 173.] The style also had an impact within
British folk rock
British folk rock is a form of folk rock which developed in the United Kingdom from the mid 1960s, and was at its most significant in the 1970s. Though the merging of folk and rock music came from several sources, it is widely regarded that the ...
, where, particularly
Richard Thompson used the DADGAD tuning, but with a
hybrid picking
Hybrid picking is a guitar-playing technique that involves picking with a pick (plectrum) and one or more fingers alternately or simultaneously. Hybrid picking allows guitar players who use a pick to perform music which would normally require ...
style to produce a similar, but distinctive effect.
See also
*
American primitive guitar
*
New Acoustic Music
*
Progressive folk
Progressive folk was originally a type of American folk music that pursued a progressive political agenda. More recently, the term has also been applied to a style of contemporary folk that draws from post-Bob Dylan folk music and adds new lay ...
References
{{Folk music
British music
baroque