The Smithsonian Folk Music Collection

The Smithsonian Folk Music Collection is a compilation of field recordings made by musicologists and folklorists during the twentieth century.

Introduction to the Smithsonian Folk Music Collection

The Smithsonian Folk Music Collection is one of the largest and most significant folk music collections in the world. Housed at the Smithsonian Institution’s Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage in Washington, D.C., the collection includes more than 12,000 hours of commercial and field recordings of folk music from around the world, dating from the early 1900s to the present day. The collection is a rich resource for scholars, students, musicians, and music lovers alike, providing insight into the musical traditions of diverse cultures from across the globe.

The collection was launched in 1928 with a focus on American folk music. Over the years, it has expanded to include recordings from Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. In addition to traditional folk songs and dances, the collection includes recordings of religious music, children’s songs, work songs, protest songs, and more. Many of the recordings are accompanied by photographs, fieldnotes, and other documentation that provide context for understanding the music and its place in society.

The Smithsonian Folk Music Collection is open to researchers by appointment. To schedule an appointment or learn more about using the collection, please visit our website or contact us [email protected]

The Collection’s History

The Smithsonian Folk Music Collection began in the late 1940s as part of the Archive of American Folk Song in the Library of Congress. At that time, the Archive’s focus was on field recordings of traditional music made by song collectors such as Alan Lomax and Helen Hartness Flanders. The Smithsonian Folk Music Collection became its own entity in 1966, and over the years, it has continued to grow and evolve. Today, the Collection is

The Collection’s Beginnings

In the early 1900s, musicologist and folklorist Cecil Sharp began collecting and cataloguing folk songs in England. His work inspired many others to do the same, including Helen Hartness Flanders in Vermont and Maud Karpeles in New York. Flanders and Karpeles eventually met and began working together, which led to the formation of the Folk-Song Society of America in 1918.

The Society held its first meeting in December of that year, with Sharp in attendance. This meeting resulted in the formation of a Folk-Song Committee, whose primary goal was to collect and preserve folk songs from all over the United States. Over the next few years, the Committee collected songs from a variety of sources, including private individuals, institutions, and field workers.

In 1935, the Committee decided to donate its collection to the Library of Congress. The Folk-Song Committee officially became the Archive of American Folk Song (now part of the American Folklife Center) at the Library of Congress on January 1, 1937.

The Collection’s Growth

In 2001, the Smithsonian Archives of Folk Culture celebrated its 60th anniversary. Since its humble beginnings in the basement of the National Museum of American History (NMAH) in 1940, the Archives has amassed more than 3 million items documenting the contemporary and traditional cultures of the United States and other regions of the world. The collection includes audio and video recordings, photographs, manuscripts, fieldnotes, published materials, and ephemera.

The Collection Today

The Collection’s Contents

Today, the Folkways collection at the Smithsonian numbers some 24,000 titles representing every musical genre from countries all over the world. The collection includes commercial recordings, field and tape recordings, film soundtracks, and unpublished recordings, as well as manuscripts, notes, Correspondence, photographs, business records, and ephemera.

The Collection’s Significance

The Smithsonian Folk Music Collection reflects the immense diversity of music in the United States and around the world. The collection includes more than 10,000 hours of recordings, dating from the early 1900s to the present day. The collection also includes nearly 2,000 instruments, many of them handcrafted by folk musicians themselves.

The Folk Music Collection is one of the largest and most significant collections of folk music in the world. The collection captures the richness and variety of musical cultures around the globe, and provides an invaluable resource for scholars, musicians, and music lovers alike.

Conclusion

The Smithsonian Folk Music Collection is a comprehensive collection of folk music from around the world. The collection includes music from many different cultures and traditions, ranging from the traditional to the modern. The collection is open to the public for research and educational use.