If you really want folk music to move your artistic soul, then listening to it live and in person is a must. There is no better way to spend your summer vacation than to take a road trip and see some of the best folk music festivals America has to offer. Yes, summer 2010 is over, but if you want to attend some of the best festivals in summer 2011, there is no time like the present to start planning and booking your accommodations.
We want to take you on a sneak peek tour of America’s top folk music festivals to whet your appetite and get you in the mood.
Music is a powerful element that contributes to and promotes the culture of a society. That is why if you take a look at the history of different countries, music will always be a part of its progress and advancement. There are probably hundreds or thousands of musical instruments in the world, and their use all depend on the culture and tradition of a certain group or place. But in most cases, the guitar, the drums, the harmonica, the flute among others, are used to accompany the human voice when a musical composition is built. More than the conventional musical instruments, there are strange instruments which we barely know about because of its rarity and unusualness:
The Tsabouna. Mostly used in African countries, the Tsabouna is an instrument made of goatskin and is inflated by blowing into the mouthpiece as the other end is played like a flute.
The Tesla Coils. The Tesla Coils are two identical high power solid state which generate sparks, which in turn produce the music. Amazingly, it involves no speakers. They are seven feet tall, each capable of putting out over 12 feet sparks. It does not look like a musical instrument though, and is not normally considered as one, but it is definitely the strangest music producing instrument the world has even seen.
The Hurdy Gurdy. It is actually a musical instrument which looks similar to the violin except that it is played with a rosined wheel.
The Wave Organ. Considered as one of the strangest musical instruments, the Wave Organ is the first musical instrument played by the sea. As waves move in and out of the tubes of the wave organ, the air is in turn pushed in and out of the tubes. The movement of the air creates the random sounds which are heard through openings on the surface.
The Aeolian Wind Harp. The Aeolian Wind Harp is a musical instrument played by the wind. It was originally designed to be played by the wind and not by humans.
The Didgeroo. This instrument is also known as the oldest wind instrument. Although it is somewhat popular to the whole world, it produces a strange sound, which is why it is considered strange.
The Ukelin. This musical instrument is a combination of two sets of strings, one group is composed of sixteen strings and the other group is composed of four strings. What makes this instrument so strange is that it is also combination of the ukulele and the violin.
The Stalacpipe Organ. It is considered to be one of the largest musical instruments in the world. It is also the world’s oldest natural lithophone.
The Theremin. It is considered as one of the first electronic musical instruments. It is also considered as the first instrument to be played without physical contact from humans. Controlled by two metal antennae, the position of the player’s hands are sensed and the sound produced is controlled. The electrical signals from the Theremin are amplified and sent to a loud speaker to be heard with a sufficient volume. The name
Surely, you have a lot of friends and relatives who like music. Be it talented or not, there are indeed many music lovers all around the world. It is one thing that different people from different countries approve and get along with. Music indeed is a universal language that every human being appreciates. People show talents and their love for music in so many different ways. And one of the many ways is celebrating music festivals. There are too many music festivals all around the world and the festivals also depend on the genre and season it is being held. The following are the top ten of the world’s music festivals held every summer:
The Sitka Summer Music Festival Extraordinaire. This festival started in 1972 and held in Alaska. It shows the talents of the Alaska state.
Rock al Parque festival. This festival is celebrated in the capital city of Colombia, a place called Bogot. It has been celebrated since the year 1995. Rock al Parque festival is actually the largest festival in the entire South American continent. Though the first festival only featured only rock music, the next editions featured genres like salsa, hip-hop, Zarzuela, and Colombian music, which is referred to as Colombia al parquet, featured.
People would indeed have a truly unique experience in this summer adventure. People could bring families along in this festival for there are no charges at the entrance. Attending the festival would be a great starting point for people who have interest in the South American culture. It is good to know that the Colombian government always puts it on the list of its priorities.
The World Sacred Music Festival. The festival is held in Los Angeles, California. It is celebrated for sixteen days. More than 1,000 artists celebrate the festival and show culture and their artistic talents through different music genres.
Fuji Rock Festival in Naeba, Japan. In Japan, the Fuji Rock festival takes place. The festival features as many as two hundred Japanese and even international musicians and performers. The summer festival is indeed the greatest social gathering in Japan and premiered in 1998. Not only Japanese people love it but also people from Europe and North America.
The Lollapalooza Summer Music Festival. Began as a tourist show in 1991, it became a dream of every person who loves summer fun. It made Chicago into one gathering place that people have fun during summer.
Glastonbury Festival in Somerset, England. This fun and exciting festival takes place in Europe. It brings the Somerset neighborhood to life with performances of arts and nonstop music for three days. It takes place in the main arena and other smaller tents. The largest tent in the world is shown in the festival and makes it the most awaited point.
The EXIT Festival. This festival takes place in Serbia. It was founded in the year 2000 by two university students. Political consciousness has been blended with the celebration and the genres rock, techno, electronica and techno were played. The festival is always held in Petrovaradin Fortress.
The Roskilde Festival in Denmark. The festival has music, culture and awareness on humanism as highlights. The spotlight has the Scandinavian origin as their focus.
The Austere Milwaukee Summerfest. According to the Guinness Book of Records, this festival is the largest music festival in the world. It lasts for eleven days and features more than seven hundred bands. It is always held in Milwaukee, USA and was held through the efforts of Henry Maier, Milwaukee mayor in 1960.
Central Park Summerstage Music Fest. This music festival happens in New York. At first it was held in at Avenue Park in 1986 but eight years later, it was then transferred and held at the City Park Foundation. The festival wishes to bring people close together on the same platform. The history and backgrounds of the participants makes the whole festival a more exciting one. Another thing that makes it good is that the festival is free and has high quality entertainment. National and even international composers and performers get to play on the same platform.
Finally, let’s not forget the two Musical Saw festivals held every year. One in San Jose, California and the other in New York. Both held in August.
There are different genres of music which serve different purposes. Some genres express love, some express hate, while some express the need for change in whatever perspective. Ethnic music, also called musics plural, is considered a larger term which represents music that in turn has the following objectives:
It states the historical differences in one or more cultures or places.
It build identities for a much modern and urban society which has different musical genres introduced compared to older societies.
Music has become a significant part of people’s lives. It has developed through centuries of progress in the society, and has given birth to so many instruments which are being used in different parts of the world. These instruments depend on its basic structure, as with the string instruments. But no matter what kind of musical instruments they may be, they all work with one purpose
As music is part of every known culture, and with this, a part of every human being, there are people who choose to make music as their profession. They are called musicians. They compose music with different orders of rhythms, tones and tempo. Most of them put these compositions on record and sell them in millions of copies all over the world. This makes musicians popular and wealthy. Too many musicians have gone to the hall of fame, and have become the most famous people who leave statements all over the world through their music. Some have even become famous Hollywood stars and made it to the big screen. Music became their stepping stone to fame and fortune. Yet some musicians make it big one moment, and the next thing they know, they are out of the picture. Some musicians, such as The Beatles, make it big and put into record and history the type of music that they produce.
Joshua Kerviv, the street musician
Yet what most people take for granted to put on record and cultural history are the musicians who opt to take the smaller stage. Joshua Kerviv, a street musician who plays the violin, is one of those who oddly take the streets as their stage for their live performance. Joshua Kerviv learned how to play the violin from his father who graduated from the Curtis Institute of Philadelphia. Ironically, despite Joshua’s mastery in playing the instrument, he prefers to make too little money by playing it on the streets. He gets out into the streets with probably the simplest clothes or outfits, and chooses to play his violin in a busy and noisy place. As he moves his bow across his violin and plays a recent composition called Nocturne X, the noises seem to fade away and his music sweeps across the place along with the air. Yet this does not mean the busy passers-by are amazed. They continue their errands, walk hurriedly and think of their daily routine. He is twenty six years old and said he had never expected to play his violin in the middle of a busy suburban train station where people get to hear his music without even paying attention to it. He dreams of playing at Carnegie Hall, but the dream, as he says, is actually a little high. Joshua is keeping his hopes high, but as of the present, he said he will be playing anywhere possible for the love of his passion and some money.
Joshua played for three straight hours and got five dollars from an onlooker as he played
The world is made up of different continents, and each continent is made up of various countries, which in turn are made up of cities, regions, states, or smaller localities. Each of them has their own history and traditions. Each of them has their own culture. Some even have their own language. Whatever their uniqueness are, there is still one thing that is common among all cultures known on Earth
