REC.MUSIC.FOLK FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS version 0.1 INTRODUCTION This is very much a first draft of a proposed FAQ for RMF. I am sure that my information is incomplete; I welcome all contributions and constructive criticism and will gladly update this file. In particular, I have made the notation [?] where I feel uncertain or that the information could be more complete. Mail any additions or corrections to TDAWSON@DELPHI.COM. Please note: 1) How to use various features of the Internet or Usenet is beyond the scope of this document. Look elsewhere for instructions in using mailing lists, anonymous ftp, gopher, etc. 2) This list is meant to be useful, but no list can be compre- hensive. When in doubt, ASK. Net people are, as a rule, helpful, and asking questions is a sign of intelligence... 3) Net information is the opposite of being carved in stone. All information in this list is presented "as is". Given the nature of the medium, I expect this information to be outdated before it's written. C'est la vie virtuelle ;> 4) Many thanks to all the people who work so hard to gather and organize information. Especially helpful in this process have been Doug Henkle of Univ. of Wis.- Oshkosh who has contributed much to the folk music files at uwp.edu, Alan Rowoth of the Liverpool (NY) Public Library, the archives at NYSERNET and the folk_music list, and Leo Breebaart, the moderator of rec.music.info and poster of much useful information. Terry Dawson / tdawson@delphi.com / Dec. 7, 1993 CONTENTS Q1: What is folk music? Q2: What folk music information sources are available via Usenet? Q3: What other network resources, including musical FTP sites & archives, are available? Q4: What are the best sources for discographies? Q5: Where can I find lyrics/guitar chords/tablature for songs? Q6: What mailing lists are available for folk music? Q7: What computer bulletin boards contain useful folk info? Q8: What is _Rise Up Singing_? Q9: What other print sources have useful information? Q10: Where can I find places to play / see live folk music? Q11: Where can I find artists' schedules? Q12: What are some good or recommended artists or albums? Q13: Where can I find information about an artist? Q14: What's all this about Stan Rogers, then? Q15: Why worry about copyright? This is folk music. Q16: What are some good mail order sources for recordings, songbooks, or musical instruments? QUESTIONS & ANSWERS Q1: What is folk music? A1: It's what I mean when I point to it and say "that's it". _Dirty Linen_ magazine ads answer this with "Who cares?" Big Bill Broonzy once said "all songs is folk songs". There is no one single, objective and comprehensive universally accepted definition. With that caveat, folk music is traditional music from an oral rather than written tradition, plus modern music, usually acoustic, in the same spirit as the traditional. Folk tends to be a popular music of the common people, usually not requiring electricity, amplification, or large numbers of people. Folk music concerns itself (though not exclusively) with common cares and concerns, frequently through stortytelling. Q2: What folk music information sources are available via Usenet? A2: This question is answered in detail as part of the regular posting in rec.music.info and news.answers. Briefly: Newsgroups: rec.music.folk - the main source rec.music.dylan - related interests rec.music.celtic rec.music.country.western alt.banjo - other good stuff alt.guitar.tab alt.music.bela-fleck rec.arts.wobegon rec.music.info rec.music.makers.guitar.acoustic rec.music.makers.guitar.tablature This is not meant to be exclusive: interested persons should explore the whole rec.music.hierarchy and whatever portions of the alt. hierarchy that are relevant to personal tastes. Many periodic or FAQ articles are available for anonymous ftp on the archive site rtfm.mit.edu in the directory pub/usenet/news.answers. Useful files from rec.music.info include: List of Internet Musical FTP Sites List of Internet Musical Resources List of Usenet Musical Newsgroups Submission guidelines for rec.music.info Welcome to rec.music.info! Look for these in news.answers and rec.music.info as a good overview of Usenet music resources. Q3: What other network resources, including musical FTP sites & archives, are available? A3: Most of the online information is stored at a few sites which may be accessed via ftp, telnet or gopher. A recent exception is the Digital Tradition database of songs. This is accessible via World-Wide Web and is searchable via hypertext searching software. Telnet info.cern.ch A complete list of musical ftp sites is periodically posted in rec.music.info and news.answers. Those listed here are a folk music subset of that list. The two most wide-ranging are at NYSERNET in New York and University of Wisconsin-Parkside. casbah.acns.nwu.edu [129.105.113.52] Look in /pub/acoustic-guitar for issues of Acoustic Guitar Digest, maintained by Joe Germuska (j-germuska@nwu.edu) celtic.stanford.edu Has celtic music information and discographies via anonymous ftp. ftp.iastate.edu [129.186.150.150] daily mirror site for ftp.uwp.edu. ftp.maths.tcd.ie [134.226.81.10] pub/music/, maintained by John McDonagh (morpheus@maths.tcd.ie), is a relatively small archive site with some lyrics and guitar TABs. It is not as big as Nevada, and has only a few lyric files but it is more of a site for those who like 'Gothic' music or some of the more alternative music. ftp.nevada.edu [131.216.1.11] Guitar tablature, chords and lyrics to many songs for a wide range of musical tastes. Submissions copied from books are not allowed. Directories /pub/guitar and /pub/bass, maintained by James B. (jamesb@nevada.edu) ftp.uwp.edu [131.210.1.4] The directory /pub/music is maintained by David Datta (datta@cs.uwp.edu) and contains many useful information, not limited to folk music. The site is gopher-accessible. /pub/music/lists contains information on mailing lists related to many artists, some of which are not part of the Musical List of Lists (see Q6). The file /pub/music/folk/folk.music has an index to all the Folk Music, Bluegrass, Old-Time Music, Country Blues and Fingerstyle Acoustic Guitarist files. Available via anonymous ftp or gopher. Discographies, bibliographies, lyrics, guitar chords and more. ftp.vast.unsw.edu.au [149.171.224.9] /pub/guitar-lessons - archive for the guitar lessons mailing list, maintained by Kevin Elphinstone nysernet.org [192.77.173.2] Accessible via anonymous ftp, gopher, and telnet (by connecting to nysernet.org and typing "nysernet" as a login name, no password is necessary). Areas include: dirty_linen lyrics discographies artist_cals fanclubs Files are contained within the directory /folk_music. Check in the directory /folk_music/dirty_linen for the huge monthly tour calendars and the ASCII version of their excellent Guide to Folk/Roots/Acoustic Music Publications (GUIDE2.TXT). theory.lcs.mit.edu [18.52.0.92] pub/wald/concert-calendar, maintained by David Wald (wald@theory.lcs.mit.edu), is an online calendar of (mostly) folk music concert listings in New England. Q4: What are the best sources for discographies? A4: In addition to the ftp/gopher sites listed above in Q3, try _Phonolog Reports_, available in larger record stores and libraries -- this will list titles currently available. Mailing lists devoted to an artist are an excellent source as well. Q5: Where can I find lyrics/guitar chords/tablature for songs? A5: The ftp/gopher sites listed above in Q3. The newsgroups alt.guitar.tab and rec.music.makers.guitar.tablature are also good sources. Q6: What mailing lists are available for folk music? A6: There is no single source listing all the relevant lists available. Try the uwp.edu ftp site in the directory /pub/music/lists as well as the: Musical List of Lists-presented and updated by The Cleveland Free-Net Music SIG. Send corrections to mlol@wariat.org For the most recent MLoL mail mlol-request@wariat.org. For any problems, or to get an update made, mail mlol-owner@wariat.org. Entries are four lines: 1) the name or topic of the list; 2) the address for requests to join a list; 3) address of the list manager (only mail the manager with problems); 4) comments or special instructions. One interesting aspect of the lists is encountering some of the practicing musicians who participate. Some of the better known current examples include: Christine Lavin, Bob Franke, Andrew Ratshin, and Peter Berryman. Here are a few selected examples: BGRASS-L "Bluegrass and Old-Time Music Discussion" - listserv@ukcc.uky.edu (where else?) Mngr: UKAO16@UKCC.UKY.EDU: Frank Godbey Blues Newsletter - mojohand@shell.portal.com Leonard Cohen - lcohen-talk@unix.sri.com Enya - enya-request@boulder.colorado.edu Mngr: tim@boulder.colorado.edu : Tim Hunter folk and celtic harp - [?] Mngr: FOLKDJ-L "Folk and Bluegrass DJs" -listserv@psuvm.psu.edu Mngr: TMH1@PSUVM.PSU.EDU: Tina Hay