How Studying Folk Music Changed How I Understand RHYTHM

[@rrupt]

Korean traditionnal music is such a marvel. Would like to hear more with your own take on it :)

[@ChrisFarrell]

Yes!

[@danceswithdirt7197]

I love folk music for various reasons. I romanticized the life of ethnomusicologists when I was younger, imagining them trundling their recording devices in wheelbarrows up remote Appalachian hillsides to record both new folk songs and renditions of songs from hundreds of years beforehand. Folk songs from around the world are awesome too and they use interesting instruments. When I was a teenager I listened to this particular Istrian folk band called Vruja. The music immediately transports you to that place. I can still hear it in my head. The Istrian scale is unique as are the instruments used and I think it is an expression of the people as much as anything else. I love stuff like that, and I love that it is just one example of a folk tradition of which there are so many. There are unique musical traditions from all over and I'm sure there are some I don't know about. I think sampling them and otherwise incorporating those traditions in music serves to both honor those traditions and lets people get a peek into societies outside their own. Best wishes.

[@tezeta3725]

Hey Nahre! My sister does traditional Korean drum and dance, and she's been a part of really cool piece called 'Impressions of Cheonmachong' that combines traditional three drum dance with western classical music. I figured you might find it interesting, if you'd like to see it there's a recording of it on the Boston Landmark Orchestra's youtube channel!

[@nemogfr7029]

When you were composing your own folk piece I couldn't ignore the feeling of hearing a Steve Reich kind of style in the rhythmic of the piano! :DD

[@amiapsychopat]

as a european who has never heard pansori before, I really love how you introduce us to new and unknown kind of music which I would never know of otherwise

[@truecuckoo]

This is so cool Nahre!

[@jsc22]

Thank you for the much needed perspective.

[@austinworkman9967]

This is one of the things I love so dearly about Tigran Hamasyan. This meshing of jazz forms and occasionally "djazz" playing with Armenian folk, sometimes with Indian classical as well.

[@NahreSol]

Yes, me too!!

[@a11pu1poj]

as a French Canadian, I wasn't expecting this. Great video as always!!!! :)

[@NahreSol]

Thank you!! 😅

[@auriels1451]

thanks this was super helpful! Im working on a piece drawing inspo from my south indian traditional music background and pulling into a chamber group setting as well as other folky elements like chopping on strings. It was great hearing your approaches/thoughts and ideas behind it - thank you so much :)

[@willcarter8735]

I've also been getting REALLY fascinated and kind of obsessed with folk music, especially from the Middle-East and Eastern Europe, and the rhythms are one of the things that drew me in initially too! Eastern Europe has some REALLY cool uses ways of playing 7/8 and 9/8 that I really love. And the approaches to melody are really cool too

[@jsc22]

I like how you're always exposing yourself to new music as well as your heritage and challenging your creativity. You're an inspiration!

[@TheSilence1]

It's so fun that you're diving into this topic. I've been obsessed with the new pansori/pop fusion that's been happening in Korea (and I'm not even Korean).

[@thomasmcgill6918]

Wow, this speaks to me. The unpredictability from these traditional musicscapes, I find very exciting.

[@davidsummerville351]

I've been watching your channel for a number years, and besides the great music, you seem to be leading a very fulfilling life. Very inspiring. Thanks

[@michaellasfetto5810]

"I just broke my reed". That's probably the most relatable thing I have heard all day, hahahahaha

[@MCKretin]

After a childhood on Suzuki and lots of high pressure and expectations, it wasn't until i reached high school and met some pals who i got to play celtic, klezmer, breton, greek, and georgian folk music with that i started to love my violin. So much joy. I'll always be grateful.

[@NahreSol]

That's really interesting to hear!! And it makes sense :)

[@kevinmills3329]

Wow! That was really insightful!

[@88franko]

I love how you explore all types of music and incorporate them to your own musical knowledge. I never tire to say how inspiring that is. Love your videos.

[@shuasaladbar]

Your musical journey is really great to watch. Thanks Nahre!

[@franktaylor7978]

I saw San Francisco from the airplane. Would be cool if you performed here!

[@finalfrontierpro]

If you didn't run across it in your search you can look up Leenalchi, she takes Pansori and modernizes it. It's what I want to do with my HaeGeum and next time I'm in Korea I have some Pansori lessons lined up ^^

[@marcoixca]

Combining two different genres always end in very interesting pieces and let us realize just how much more music is left to compose.

[@guyb7005]

Wow Nahre! This one hits home. As a 14th generation French Canadian I marvel how you were able to merge two different music types. The mouth music ('turlutage') common in these reels may be part of the merging of old French Folk (sung by the 'coureur de bois') and Irish or Celtic Folk when these two cultures formed voyageur parties. The syncopated cadence is very (step) dance related. I hear it in your composition as well. My earlier days in Toronto were interesting as food and music were starting to take life and your contribution there seems special! You and your channel always bring a smile on face. keep inspiring!

[@NahreSol]

This is so interesting! I found it rather difficult to research this topic... which makes it even more interesting. Thanks for the additional insight!!

[@barnBR5-49]

Very good. Thank you for your years of quality content.

[@Nachtuil36]

Pansori is one style of music which touches me the deepest !

[@1feloniouspunk]

Wow! That was super cool!!!!!!!! Wish we could see the whole performance.

[@SiKedek]

The "rhythmic breaks" you discuss here are a hallmark of traditional Balinese gamelan music, which are called "angsel", especially in the semar pegulingan and gong kebyar ensemble types. And dance signals (also known as "angsel") are the direct inspiration for musical angsel. (Would love for you to explore Balinese gamelan some day, especially either Gamelan Salukat [an ensemble doing mostly contemporary compositions] or Sanggar Cudamani [who do both traditional and contemporary repertoire, but are dedicated to performance as devotional service known as "ngayah"].

[@west4coast77]

Fascinating and so well done! Kudos Nahre, the musicians and all involved.

[@refresh_tv6825]

I fell in love with Korean folk music back when I watched Sopyonje back in the early 2000's, but Koreans themselves have really done a great job of fusing Korean traditional music and instrumentation with different genres of contemporary music and some of my favorite contemporary Korean acts these days do exactly this.

[@famdamnly]

It's fantastic when people embrace their cultural heritage. This is so much more interesting than kpop which is just super-produced copy of whatever western song is popular in the moment.

[@refresh_tv6825]

@@famdamnly I think if you investigate the Korean pop music machine a little more, you'll find that there's a lot more going on there than simply copying Western trends. Yes, a lot of it has globalized (including hiring Western songwriters and producers), but there's also plenty going on that retains roots both in traditional music, as well as carrying on a legacy of Western pop influenced but still notabely Korean indigenous music development going back to the introduction of Western music during the Korean War as well as pop music developed during Japanese annexation.

[@rokko_fable]

@@refresh_tv6825 And I think you're giving it too much credit. kpop is mass produced soulless garbage for profit. High production value, yes. But that is the only notable characteristic.

[@refresh_tv6825]

​@@rokko_fable I respect that you feel this way, but I would hold that most overgeneralized statements are usually based on superficial understandings. Is there a lot of trend-chasing music being produced by the Korean music industry--yes--but that's true of just about every popular entertainment medium. And just like every other popular entertainment medium, there are also plenty of talented and genuine artists producing work worthy of recognizing both in and around the machine. But I think it's also quite important to distinguish what we even mean by using the word "Kpop", which could mean exclusively the Korean idol machine (the big four and several smaller labels), it could mean Korean pop music on the whole (as in the general genre of pop music produced by Korea), or it could mean the entirely of Korean popular music, which encompasses even the very folk music represented by Nahre in this video. I'm guessing we are talking about one of the former two, but even if we are discussing solely idol music, there is still interesting work being done in the space, even if most of it is drowned out by formula. Finally, while I don't listen to a ton of idol music, I'm not sure it's all that helpful to look down on the music of the masses. Whether we might find it soulless or not, if it connects with others and helps provide amusement, perspective, or challenge, isn't that still meaningful and worthwhile on some level? I often find the distinction between "high art" and "low art" to be a bit too much a product of elitism and the traditional folk music of long ago could have often been subject to the same criticism that mainstream popular music is facing now. I know that maybe I'm not going to convince anyone that's jaded to the popularity machine that is Korean idol pop music or pop music in general, but I'd rather focus on finding our own gems and sharing them more than disparaging the music we find is not for us. Much love. -refresh

[@rokko_fable]

@@refresh_tv6825 Fantastic comment. thank you for sharing. I mean that too. not trying to be snarky. If it interests you I'm glad to see you look into on a deeper level. Having lived in Korea for a number of years mayself, "jaded" is indeed the right word. regards.

[@dukeengine1339]

Brava Nahre! 🌞🙏🏻

[@disienna]

I’ve been watching this channel for a long time and I have to say this is my favorite episode so far and composed piece. You should definitely do more videos like this. There are so many interesting folk musics around the world that could be explored. Endless sources of inspiration. The British Isles, Okinawa, the South Pacific…. just so many. In truth, even the Americas! Perhaps especially the Americas. The Natives’ music is so rarely shared and appreciated and has one of the most interesting sounds. There’s no better way to explore a culture than through exploring its fine arts in my opinion. This content will be around for many years to come and could be a positive source of inspiration for generations. Please make this happen :)

[@MreenalMams]

Folk music certainly is a treasure trove of musical gems

[@MustafaAlmosawi]

Thanks for another excellent video, as always creative and explorative! Also I hope you enjoyed Toronto!

[@UltraLeetJ]

if this piece is on spotify it will definitely go to my favs

[@j.m.a.menocal1065]

As Mexican, I do really love the Korean group: "Ak Dan Gwang Chill aka ADG7; their improvisations with a plethora of really special musical instrumentation; although, I think yours, it is outsandingly inovative as well!!! I hope that this musical proposition may be out very soon, talent and ideas are there, great clip...

[@gauloises5843]

Really Cool Video ! I loved how you explained your own journey and learning process in this video. It is really inspiring. Especially how you mixed all these different influences into an original piece.

[@NahreSol]

Thank you!!

[@comebackfromnowhere7649]

50 YEAR MUSIC TEACHER. ----- YOUR ANALYSIS IS ON POINT. --- GOOD WORK, GREAT NOTIONS

[@Lightning4554]

This was a fantastic video, I enjoyed it a lot. It's really interesting, you have made me more curious about the tradition folk music of my country, along with other countries, and see how exactly can I incorporate them into my music. I love the piece you made as well, it was rhythmically interesting, and the fact that you were able to come up with changes to the harmony blows my mind, great work; keep up the great work and wish you the best.

[@NahreSol]

Thank you very much!

[@leif1075]

@@NahreSol Will you be writing more folk inspired piece in the future? And any rips on how to compose multi-genre works or pieces that sound more harmonically eclectic? Hope to hear from you.

[@Cericle]

@@leif1075 Check out Nahre's youtube channel -- it has an abundance of videos already dedicated to your query, Leif! Not tutorials per se, but definitely step-by-step masterclasses with brilliant comping and inspired fusion medleys and always "harmonically eclectic!"

[@DorothyOzmaLover]

You truly are on top of influential music that sounds so good so you're amazing for doing this video cuz I adore folk music from all kinds of countries which have been big influences on my channel's original music for the last five months so hearing what inspires your creation and knowing your thoughts on the various styles you share is so wonderful.

[@lin_leaf]

I always love performing folk music... second to last concert i performed Folk Songs for Orchestra (arr. Huang Ruo), and Dvoraks 8th Symphony. The rhythms in the Folk Songs were tricky at first, but when everything came together, it was super fun and energetic.

[@stuFF625]

Julia Wolfe rules!

[@goldensunwhiz92]

This is lovely! I've never heard pansori transformed like this before. It's quite beautiful.

[@ChrisToeFro]

Your graphical expression quips are on point #6:43

[@ChrisToeFro]

FYI I’m adhd combined type so this helps with attention to topics

[@martifingers]

Engaging and inspiring work from such a creative musician who knows no barriers. I can't wait till Nahre collaborates with some Irish folk musicians.

[@pianoman1857]

0:20 Maybe i’m wrong but it wouldn’t surprise me if this music was based on an old French Crusade song “Chevalier, Mult Estes Guariz” : kzbin.info/www/bejne/bJ7bdJx_jbeUjbs

[@fozzyfoster]

As a folk player I really appreciated this video! If you're getting into reinterpretations of traditional songs take a look at Davey Graham and Bert Jansch for their versions of English, Irish and Scottish folk songs. I would look at Davey Graham's version of 'She Moved Through the Fair' and Bert Jansch's version of 'Reynardine.' For an American example look at John Fahey's version of 'Poor Boy Long Ways From Home.' I can't find exactly what it's based on, but there is an old delta blues song called 'Poor Boy Blues' that is based on trad music from the Appalachian region. However, there is also a song called the 'Siege of Sevastopol' (a name that Joh Fahey also used for versions of the aforementioned song) which was recorded by Elizabeth Cotton and called just 'Vestapol'. Vestapol tuning is also and old name for open D tuning (DADF#AD) on the guitar. Would be really cool to see how you might interpret an old trad/folk song or track how songs can change over the years!

[@JimboTSoV]

Is there a full recording of the piece that sets in around 4:21 ? I really liked the somber vibe. And will there be a studio version of Chunhyang? II would love to here a nice studio mix

[@itisnotjeremy]

I would like to know this too, I really like it.

[@atruth257]

Oh to market to market, to play a great gig, oh to market to market to play a great gig (something to sing on the way to busking at the farmers market:) Thanks traveling troubadour of ideas. Like the way you explore new rhythms and earth sounds. I love how the happy dancing footsteps of life were translated with that Korean drum! Cool of Donner to support your adventures. And that's a really cool name..."The Happenstancers" sounds like good people from the music i hear. Thanks for sharing with folks all of the folks that live within your Chunhyang Folk piece known as "Chunhyang" Such a smorgasbord of knowledge, me brains is a "Reeling" :) Also Pansori sounds like an amazing addition to your gig bag of happiness. I hope all is well with your pup and that they are healing nicely. FOLK...F-amily O-f L-oving K-indness MUSIC... M-usicians U-nderstands S-ilence I-n C-haos Happy days always, living music your way, NahreSol 🎹🦸‍♀️🎹

[@dahlavibez5726]

Wow I love your passion and this was a side I had no idea about thank you ma’am

[@variousdispositions]

The final composition was fantastic, i thoroughly enjoyed it. Wonderful.

[@harveylam4294]

On the topic of folk music, Yann Tiersen used to make quite a lot of French and Breton folk music, most of it amazing. And I definitely thought I’d heard of the Happenstancers somewhere long ago; Nahre, I believe you were in the Happenstance trio with Brad Cherwin a while back?

[@TheSilence1]

The Amelie soundtrack is my favorite.

[@johnbenedicttorres249]

I've been watching this channel for like 3yrs now... And I'm really amazed by her talent, I really like your versatility Soo badd!!!

[@DavidRussell323]

I really loved listening to that excerpt of "Chunhyang"; it's such a happy track! I looked around for it online so I could listen to the full piece, but I didn't have any luck finding it. I hope you'll consider publishing the complete recording of it sometime

[@fjloma]

Incredible quality content!

[@ckj632000]

I first learned that the positions of the major and minor scales are symmetrical. This is very surprising. Thank you!

[@percussiveseer415]

Now that's some French Canadian folk stuff I never heard before. And I'm from there! Where did you start your investigation?

[@HollywoodRecordingStudio]

This is so cool!

[@ulengrau6357]

If you haven't already, you should check out Guaguancó rhythms on piano. I've seen duo pianists give a performance of guaguancó music, and while it's nothing like a performance by an Afro-Cuban band, the rhythms are so complex and beautiful.

[@zhuan5050]

7:56 to better understand Pansori, just take a look at the shapes of the nature such as mountains, rivers, and roads, as they are parts of the music.

[@ChannelSettingsTvcode]

LOVE these videos

[@johncargille7722]

This is really inspiring! The explanation for rhythm and community intermingled in folk music especially got my composer gears going :D

[@awhaleandadeer8785]

Very interesting rhythmic stuff!!! Great Video!!!

[@christophergetchell6490]

Thank you for sharing your wonderful inspiration! I actually like the honest sounding recording in the hall you were playing in! I was thinking about recording some of my acoustic guitar pieces in live locations to get the overall timbre and Spaciousness of the venue! Your piece "Chunhyang" is awesome, I look forward to hearing more like this!

[@jcortese3300]

Italian folk music does the same sort of thing -- easier to envision as poetry than music, where you have a two 4/4 measures, then one 3/4, then two 4/4s, then one 3/4 etc. It's like two long lines of poetry, then a shorter one, then two long lines ... you'll find some beautiful stuff if you listen to organetto music. For rhythm, you'll find tamburello players that will make your head spin.

[@NahreSol]

Maybe I will study Italian folk music in the future ! :)

[@jcortese3300]

@@NahreSol You might find this interesting -- dude is talking about a particular organetto that can swap from major to minor, and he plays a bit to demonstrate: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iITcloNrj8Zpp9k

[@GeoffLiMusic]

Great piece, Nahre! Korean folk music is a big interest of mine, as well. Excited to hear where you take this sound in your future works!

[@retto1155]

Aw heck yeah a dive into my cultural music! I never hear abt French-canadian stuff so it's nice to have someone very well versed in music dissecting something that's so close to my growing-up :)

[@MikeSalopek]

Absolutely love this, reminds me so much of Irish Celtic reels

[@NahreSol]

Thank you!!

[@Iyashikei-t4u]

Very cool. Your style just gets more distinct with every piece you write. Sadly I don't like my own folk music but I would like to study other traditions in the future with Japanese and Scandinavian folk in particular.

[@LeRainbow]

I find it incredible ingenious how you can compose just about anything from anywhere with anyone.

[@chazstewart4865]

Excellent content... still kinda trying to get my head round it

[@NahreSol]

😁 thank you

[@artistlovepeace]

Miss Nahre Sol, have you ever read the book Arrow to the Sun by Gerald McDermott?

[@donaldaxel]

Wow! And I like your description (honest recommendation) of the DEP keyboard!

[@Stick-a-fork-in-Gmorks-tort]

That came together wonderfully.

[@NahreSol]

Thank you!!

[@joacodr]

Excelent video Nahre, as always!

[@LeHeartly]

It was awesome to see Chang Giha in this video! Love him and the band he's in, such fun stuff!!

[@gwengoodwin3992]

Brilliant! I love this.

[@aprendendoguita2119]

Obrigado pelo vídeo

[@Skyverb]

This is great! Thanks for the breakdown of things as you went along.

[@NahreSol]

Thank you!

[@mori-patte]

Fascinating 😍

[@claesvanoldenphatt9972]

Have you heard Henry Cow’s Balkan-inspired tunes from the 1970s? Fred Frith is an amazing guitar player with a great ear. I saw the Bang on a Can image at the head and it reminded me of Henry Cow. I’m a big fan of the Korean band Lee Nalchi who are essentially a Pansuri outfit with a hip avant-garde rhythm section. I wish Korea would take over the world because they rock! The rhythms of the singers are so fascinating and their timbre is arresting. What a hip band. Actually Fred Frith is into Korean music too but focuses on shamanic music. He did records with a group called Invite the Spirit, decades ago.

[@TartempionLampion]

Myanmar traditional music is amazing and fantastic and completely unknown! It includes free jazz, psychedelic pop, african music, and many others. They have an incredible percussion instrument that looks more like an organ (dozens of drums made in all sorts of materials) and sounds like a wind orchestra...

[@salernolake]

Great video Nahre! Happy to see you've discovered the great Celtic musical heritage. I highly recommend you continue your journey by visiting Newfoundland - one of the friendliest places on the planet. It's time for you to drink screech and kiss the cod!

[@NahreSol]

Thank you!!

[@MusicFillsTheQuiet]

This is such a great video! So interesting and cool from start to finish. Sad I missed your performance in Toronto :(

[@matthodek]

That was wonderful! I love mixing things together that might not always be expected. I recently tried a bit of folk inspiration on my modular synth, but now I have a whole bunch of new ideas.

[@NahreSol]

Thank you!!

[@jeffbrehove2614]

This warms my heart. I went to piano classes where all we learned was off of classical music. I got shat on a lot by my classmates because I was an open fan of American folk. They always called it "too simple"

[@jeremystig98]

Check out A.G.A Trio. They play a mix of traditional Armenian, Georgian and Turkish folk music. Ive been obsessed with two pieces on their album, one called Tamzara which is an Armenian folk dance in 9/8.

[@rblcoles]

What's truly inspiring is your own openness and curiosity. You learn to love the world (though music) more and more everyday, and that's a quality I respect and admire!

[@MysticMuttering]

Great video! Check out my boys The King’s Busketeers for some seriously fun party folk

[@LePetitVicomte]

Hey, I've been obsessed with Korean folk music fusion lately. I call it 조선팝 :D. There are a few bands and singers you could check out: 이날치 (mostly 판소리) probably is the most popular one, but there's also 악단광칠 (영정거리 and 노자 are really cool), 씽씽, and my favorite, 추다혜 (she mixes traditional shamanic music with modern styles like reggae, blues...). Her band is 추다혜차지스, but she also has some solo songs that are amazing. If you see this comment, hope you have fun with those!

[@za_wavbit]

I never in a million years thought I might hear 춘향가 sampled and reinterpreted like this, it's so cool!

[@alicey.c.7316]

Nahre I LOVE Russian Falk music. Could U do an episode on that?

[@louangedewan]

I believe you met Korean tradition of music with your trained classical music background. As Chopin introduced Polish tradition to the classical music scene that I guess, I'm certain that you will definitely make traditional Korean music more popular than now.

[@L.M1792]

I love seeing this artist growing. She looks happy and alive when she is touring. It is a great style of music and her composition was wonderful. As is the problem with our development the critical response is never far off. I think the measure would have worked better if it was not a clear 4/4 but instead had no set measure. It would have blended from end to end better and suited the style better. Only an opinion. I am a non professional musician but for some reason have no regard with regards to this. Great to see another update in the life of N. Sol. ☯️

[@superblondeDotOrg]

the music would always have some type of meter. "no set measure" there is no such thing.

[@superblondeDotOrg]

@@L.M1792 do you compose music? have you successfully studied music theory?

[@superblondeDotOrg]

@@L.M1792 look up these terms and contrast them, measure, meter, pulse, beat, time signature, cadenza, and the notational requirement differences between a music composition score vs. a jazz chart.

[@superblondeDotOrg]

@@L.M1792 if you have to ask "why?"... you'll never know

[@thalys235]

Amazing video!

[@NahreSol]

Thank you!!

[@pablovilla7539]

Yesss nahre go🔥

[@beamer81]

Chunhyang has a very Steve Reich vibe to it. Reminds me a bit of a work of his called City Life, especially the moving bass lines under a static harmonic canopy of samples & instruments.

[@Allthewrongkeys821]

HOLY FOLK!!

[@Hagarack]

Oh my god, I LOVE Chunhyang. I'd love to listen if there's a recording available online somewhere.

[@pappysheart6710]

I know this ain't the time or place but Nahre is gorgeous!