The Mudcat Café is an
online discussion group and song and tune
database
In computing, a database is an organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically. Small databases can be stored on a file system, while large databases are hosted on computer clusters or cloud storage. The design of databases s ...
, which also includes many other features relating to
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 ...
.
History
The website was founded by Max Spiegel as a
Blues-oriented discussion site.
It was named after a
Mississippi Delta region catfish, capable of living in ''
muddy waters
McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago ...
''. The fish is locally known as a ''Mudcat,'' which is where the name of the website is derived from. This region was the birthplace of the American
Delta Blues style. ''Mudcat Café'' later transitioned from a Blues music forum to a Folk music forum.
The website was founded in October 1996 and incorporated the Digital Tradition song database (started in 1988) after the database lost its original home.
The song database is updated on a regular basis by members ("Mudcatters") and now contains the words to over 9,000
folk songs
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 be ...
, many with an accompanying
MIDI
MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and ...
file
and links to further information.
Content
The discussion group (the Forum) is divided into music-related and non-music-related topics:
*The music-related section hosts lively discussions on
American folk music
The term American folk music encompasses numerous music genres, variously known as ''traditional music'', ''traditional folk music'', ''contemporary folk music'', ''vernacular music,'' or ''roots music''. Many traditional songs have been sung ...
,
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 ...
and that of many other cultures, origins and lyrics of songs, folklore and related information. Information is provided and maintained on a large number of
folk clubs
A folk club is a regular event, permanent venue, or section of a venue devoted to folk music and traditional music. Folk clubs were primarily an urban phenomenon of 1960s and 1970s Great Britain and Ireland, and vital to the second British folk r ...
,
folk festival
A folk festival celebrates traditional folk crafts and folk music. This list includes folk festivals worldwide, except those with only a partial focus on folk music or arts. Folk festivals may also feature folk dance or ethnic foods.
Handicra ...
s, music
sessions and dances around the world. Requests for origins, lyrics and chords of songs are answered here. Many performing artists also contribute to the discussions from time to time.
*The non-music section contains discussion on everything unrelated to music.
The Links section of the site provides links to "Festivals and Venues", "Instruments", "Lyrics, Sheet Music & Tabs", "Performers and Composers", among other subjects dealing with folk music and blues.
The Mudcat Songbook on the site presents
MP3
MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany, with support from other digital scientists in the United States and elsewhere. Origin ...
recordings of songs written and recorded by Mudcatters.
Membership is free and the site is run by volunteers.
Mudgatherings
Mudcatters in different countries meet up regularly at "mudgatherings".
References
External links
The Mudcat CaféThe Folkopedia Project* Cited i
in ''Voices, The Journal of New York Folklore''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mudcat Cafe
Online music and lyrics databases
Folk music publications
Folk music organizations