“Tradition,” Vernacularism, and Learning to Be a Folk Musician With Social Media

Abstract

This chapter considers the role of social media (broadly conceived) in the learning experiences of folk musicians in the Anglophone West. The chapter draws on the findings of the Digital Folk project, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (UK), and begins by summarizing and problematizing the nature of learning as a concept in the folk music context. It briefly explicates the instructive, appropriative, and locative impacts of digital media for folk music learning before exploring in detail two case studies of folk-oriented social media: (1) the phenomenon of abc notation as a transmissive media and (2) the Mudcat Café website as an example of the folk-oriented discussion forum. These case studies are shown to exemplify and illuminate the constructs of traditional transmission and vernacularism as significant influences on the social shaping and deployment of folk-related media technologies. The chapter concludes by reflecting on the need to understand the musical learning process as a culturally performative act and to recognize online learning mechanisms as sites for the (re)negotiation of musical, cultural, local, and personal identities.

“It’s never too late”: Adult students and music learning in one online and offline convergent community music school

“…Participants accessed tunes in a variety of ways (e.g., hearing tunes during a concert performance, attending workshops, tune books, online videos, and/or online digital music services). Keegan-Phipps and Wright’s (in press) descriptions of how learners in IrTrad and folk music use various technologies and resources downloaded from the Internet were nearly identical to those reported by participants. For example, Ash recently began using Spotify instead of CDs, “mov[ing] over to just pretty much digital music [only].” Both Bill and Ian regularly access the OAIM online videos; Bill goes through the lessons to find a tune he likes and thinks is “worthwhile” to learn.…”

“…Keegan-Phipps and Wright’s (in press) discussion of the Web’s significance as a resource for traditional musicians aligned with the experiences of this study’s participants. For example, participants appeared to have come across the OAIM site when searching for specific instruction (e.g., correct execution of the ornaments, performance style) or looking for a performance of a specific tune.…”

“…Furthermore, all participants mentioned how important access to the Internet and the resources found there were for their continued music learning. Indeed, Keegan-Phipps and Wright (in press) contend thatThe great majority of “folk” and “traditional” musicians in the Anglophone West (and beyond) make use of a range of social media networks and digital resources when seeking out and learning repertory and skills. Instrumentalists look for or discover unfamiliar tunes and songs in online archives; attendees at pub “sessions” make recordings on their mobile phones of others singing or playing for future learning; singers identify Broadside ballads on sharing sites such as SoundCloud, to be committed to memory for performance at their local folk club; and folk musicians of all kinds request and dispense knowledge of such material’s provenance or significance via a range of specialist and public social media platforms.…”

Shifting from offline to online collaborative music-making, teaching and learning: perceptions of Ethno artistic mentors

“…When referencing Turino in the context of online communities, the literature has largely focused on demonstrating how they fall within the participatory music-making field as they are 'socially and culturally contextualised in a community', often relating this to Henry Jenkins (2006) and 'participatory culture' (Tobias 2020;Waldron 2016Waldron , 87, 2018. 4 There are a number of music communities that already engage in online learning (Keegan-Phipps and Wright 2020;Tobias 2020;Kenny 2016;Waldron 2016;2018;Waldron, Horsley, and Veblen 2020). Online music learning supports people in their practice, particularly in learning pieces on their own (Waldron 2016).…”

“…However, Waldron's research also found that 'access to an online participatory culture did not trump learning and playing in a participatory music making context like a session' (Waldron 2016, 106). With regard to online communities the importance of situating the learning within a larger context is highlighted (Keegan-Phipps and Wright 2020;Tobias 2020;Waldron 2012Waldron , 2016. Musicians engaging in online practices appear to be using the online context to reinforce their musical practice offline (Kenny 2016;Waldron 2012Waldron , 2016.…”