Scandinavian
Folk Music
|
Experimental
vs. Traditional.
|
Merryn
|
Traditionally
not being part of Scandinavia, Finland’s folk music is classed as being
Scandinavian, since it uses much of the same styles as Norway, Sweden and
Denmark, such as polkas. Harmonically there are similarities too, such as the
common use of pentatonic and modal scales. As well as having these shared
qualities, Finland does possess its own folk styles too. These were used as a
symbol of national identity and actively encouraged by the Czars who owned
Finland during the Romantic enlightenment period/ public enlightenment: Kansanvalistus. These native styles were
Kalevala which is a style of epic
song/ballad, round dances and set dances accompanied by a Pelimanni (accordion and fiddle). The west side of Finland’s music
is influenced by the rest of Scandinavia, with fiddlers from Finland learning
to play the Swedish Nyckelharpa and Norwegian Hardanger fiddle. The East side
is influenced by Balkan styles, due to the Ugric culture in Finland. Polkas,
Minuets and Mazurkas are examples of the styles brought to Finland by the Ugric
cultures. Contemporary Finnish folk groups are Värttinä, and Gjallarhorn (who
have Swedish members, proving the link between Scandinavian countries). There
are common stereotypes about the Scandinavian folk styles:
“Finland has the reputation of being the most
experimental, Norway has the stereotype of being the most traditional and
“purist” and Sweden is somewhere between these two extremes.”[1]
The statement that Finnish is experimental makes a lot of sense because of its past.
Being owned by Russia would have given opportunities for learning about their culture,
and the Finno-Ugric culture in the East make it very understandable for the
Finnish to be more experimental, since they have been exposed to more worldly
styles. In 1995 when Finland joined the EU, it meant that they were accepted
into European culture, giving them more options for transnational styles:
“It means not just being Finnish, but also
simultaneously Nordic, Finno-Ugric, European, Western, and Global.”[2]
This describes how broad Finnish folk is and
conveys their want to be accepted by the global folk community. Even so, the
Finnish traditional musical styles are still used to day, since music is a key
feature of Finnish national identity, but include influences from other
countries to convey their past.
In
Sweden, folk music is important, with many contemporary bands touring all over
the world to express to people the importance of their national identity. The
Swedes have a particular style and it is distinct among the other Nordic
countries sound. This is to do with the native instrument the Nyckelharpa. This instrument is a unique
type of violin which has 34 keys to press down the strings while your other
hand is bowing. The Nyckelharpa is a
traditional instrument originating from Uppland, in Sweden, dating back to
around the early 1700’s although there are paintings showing evidence that they
were around earlier than this. Traditionally made with spruce and steel strung,
it has one drone string, 3 melody strings, although the earliest instruments
only had 1 string. There are also 12 ‘sympathetic’ strings (one for each note
of the chromatic scale) which are used for resonance. Also, when played, you
can hear the keys clacking, which is a main distinction among Scandinavian
instruments. The resonant strings give this classic sound that old and
contemporary Swedish folk have, it is a very rough sound, and the drone strings
give perfect intervals that sound bare and conjure up images of extensive
landscapes. Modern bands use this instrument, such as Väsen, which has great
cultural importance as modern bands such as this help to make young people more
interested in their culture, and learn the instruments. Also Erik Olsson was
important since he was one of the main people responsible for reviving the
Nyckelharpa. There are now thousands of Nyckelharpa players all over Sweden,
proving that folk music is very important to the culture.
Traditional Swedish
songs are played by spelmän (meaning
folk musician). The main style the swedes are famous for is the Polska. This is
in three four time and is a fairly lively dance. The difference between a waltz
and a Polska is A) the speed is slower than a usual waltz B) the accented beats
of the bar are one and three instead of just one. This gives it a certain sound,
almost like a jig. Polskas can be played in several different ways. The three
beats in the bar can be divided into equal length; this type is called jämn polska this is most common in
southern Sweden. The next type is
called ojämn polska; this is where
the beats are grouped into three sets of triplets, common all over Sweden and
even Norway. The other two types of Polska are where either the first beat is
short and the other two are long, or the other way around. Other instruments
traditionally used with the Nyckelharpa along to these Polskas are the
accordion, whistle and fiddle, similar to Scottish folk. The swedes even have
their own type of bagpipes! A distinction though, is that fiddles are often
tuned to ADAE or AEAE. Modern instrumental arrangements expand to include
guitar, viola, and in some modern bands, drum kits are used. Vocal harmonies
often include a pedal/inverted pedal to accompany the melody and mirror the
drone string on the Nyckelharpa. Traditional tunes are still being played
today, passed down through time, and they are also evolving. Folk is an
exciting genre in Sweden since it has so much to do with old culture, and can
be adapted to be relevant today.
Whereas
both Swedish and Finnish folk music have both developed to involve
collaboration with artists from other countries, and different instruments,
Norwegian folk is probably the purest type of folk today. They have a pride in
keeping their music as it used to be:
“Our national music is and should remain
serious”[3]
One of the main aspects of keeping their folk
music traditional is by using old instruments. The main one of these is the
Hardanger fiddle. This instrument dates back to the mid 1600’s and comes from
the Hardanger region of Norway. It is basically a decorative violin that has
the normal four melody strings and also either four or five sympathetic
strings. It sounds similar to the Nyckelharpa in a way, but does not have the
sound of the keys. The sympathetic, resonating strings are placed lower down
the bridge than the melody strings, which explains the need for a higher bridge
than on a usual violin. The next type of unique instrument is the Langeleik, a
type of mediaeval dulcimer, which only has one melody string with frets. There
are also a number of other strings, possibly as many as 8 set tuned strings.
The strings are tuned to natural scales, and the instrument is plucked. Also in
the instrumental repertoire of Norwegian folk is the Jew’s harp, a small
plucked mouth instrument sounding like a didgeridoo, the fiddle, accordion and
the Lur and Bukkehorn, a rams horn with up to 8 holes in to get sound.
The
main styles of Norwegian folk, called slåttemusikk
and Gammeldans make use of the
modal scales, and minor pentatonic scales, because this is what the music was
traditionally written in centuries ago. The Langeleik and the Hardanger fiddle
with their drone strings make perfect chords, which with double stopping
technique on the fiddle reflect the harshness and beautiful nature of the
country. Similarly to Sweden, Norway’s folk music was revived in the late 19th
century. Before this, people considered fiddling to be satanic, which is
interesting, because other modern genres in Norway are now genuinely satanic,
such as Black metal. Gammeldans lost its popularity in the 19th
century, which meant more people played solo on the stage, which was the
beginning of modern Folkemusikk in
Norway. Folk music has great social and political importance. Events such as
the Vietnam War were responsible for the rise of nationalism, and therefore the
rise of folk music since Norway was a country of peace. More young people
started learning the music because of the political events happening:
“Poems conjoin fiddling with rural life or
untamed nature”[4]
This shows how important keeping folk music true
to its traditional form was, since it conveyed the beauty of a nation so well.
With
Sweden, Finland and Norway all having different but similar styles of Folk
Music, there is a very important type of music, unique to the Sami people
belonging to all three of these countries. Being the oldest population in north
Scandinavia, the Sami people also own the oldest type of European chant; Joik.
This is a style of singing or chanting that is used with a decorative drum,
which made people go into a trance like state. One brilliant example of modern
Joik is Trøllabundin by Eivør. The song name literally translates to “spell
bound”. Joik is a special part of all Sami rituals, sung about memories and
natural things, usually sing in minor pentatonic scales in times such as 4/8 or
3/8. The melodies used many 5th, 6th and octave
intervals:
“The most fundamental significant element in the
Joik was the melody/rhythm.”[5]
This is true, as it is common for one melody to
change over time to suit how a Joik singer feels. These days, Sami Joik has
political significance. The Sami feel forgotten by their governments, as they
are so far north. Mari Boine Person is a popular Norwegian Joik singer, and her
lyrics actually plead with the government in Oslo to take the Sami’s views into
account. Joik these days is used in a wider range of genres, including various
types of metal and rock. Wardruna is
an example of a Black Folk band, which includes traditional musicians, and
members of Black Metal bands. With the strong nationalism that goes with Folk,
there is also a trend for strong political views. Some of these are very racist
and with Joik combined with the aggressive Black Metal, opinions verge on being
Neo-Nazi. Commonly expressed on YouTube comments, views include a strong desire
for Arian purity among the Scandinavian countries. It seems if you are a Joik
singer with dark skin, you are in trouble, and this is the darker side of
nationalism, expressed the most through Folk Music.
It
seems then, that the statement that Finns are most inventive, Norwegians are
more traditional and Swedes are in-between is mostly true. Contemporary
Scandinavian folk shows that Finns and Swedes are more willing to be creative
and experiment with other genres, and world musicians. This develops the Folk
genre to give exciting new bands that young people can relate to and
subsequently get into the folk tradition. In contrast, although their
traditional styles are almost the same as Sweden and Finland, Norway seems
unmoving in its “serious” traditional music, desiring a pure historical folk
style. Sami Joik is really the part of Scandinavian folk that encompasses
everything, and marks the social importance of the music, since it remains
strictly traditional, while the melody changes all the time. Radical political
views are perhaps something that gets in the way of Folk Music, but overall,
there is so much potential exciting crossover, that in my view, it is one of
the most beautiful, enjoyable genres, that conveys the most dramatic, historic countries
in Europe.
Bibliography:
Hill Juniper,”Global Folk Music” Fusions: The
Reification of Transnational Relationships and the Ethics of Cross-Cultural
Appropriations in Finnish Contemporary Folk Music -
Yearbook for Traditional Music Vol.39’ University of Ljubljana,
Slovenia, International Council for Traditional Music, 2007
Goertzen Chris Ethnomusicology vol.42 no.1 “The
Norwegian Folk Revival and the Gammeldans Controversy” USA, University of
Illinois Press, 1998
Edström Olle
Studia Musicologica Academia Scientiarum Hungaricae “From Joik to Rock
& Joik: Some Remarks on the Process of Change and of the Socially
Constructed Meaning of Sami Music”, Budapest, Akademiai Kiado, 2003
Olov Johansson (personal communication)
Edinburgh Harp Festival
[1] ‘”Global
Folk Music” Fusions: The Reification of Transnational Relationships and the
Ethics of Cross-Cultural Appropriations in Finnish Contemporary Folk Music -
Yearbook for Traditional Music Vol.39’ Juniper Hill, International
Council for Traditional Music, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia 2007, page
57&58
[2]
Ibid, page 56
[3]
Ethnomusicology vol.42 no.1 “The Norwegian Folk Revival and the Gammeldans
Controversy”, Chris Goertzen University of Illinois Press, USA 1998 page 109.
[4]
Ibid page 103
[5]
Studia Musicologica Academia Scientiarum Hungaricae “From Joik to Rock &
Joik: Some Remarks on the Process of Change and of the Socially Constructed
Meaning of Sami Music” Olle Edström, Akademiai
Kiado, Budapest, 2003 page 272
