Negro Folk Music U.S.A. Cover Image

Negro Folk Music U.S.A.: Book

$14.95 USD
$14.95 USD
Skip to product information
Negro Folk Music U.S.A. Cover Image
Negro Folk Music U.S.A.: Book

Negro Folk Music U.S.A.: Book

By Harold Courlander

Item: 06-836495
$14.95
Shipped

One moment…

Description
This thorough, well-researched exploration of the origins and development of a rich and varied African American musical tradition features authentic versions of over 40 folk songs. These include such time-honored selections as "Wake Up Jonah," "Rock Chariot," "Wonder Where Is My Brother Gone," "Traveling Shoes," "It's Getting Late in the Evening," "Dark Was the Night," "I'm Crossing Jordan River," "Russia, Let That Moon Alone," "Long John," "Rosie," "Motherless Children," three versions of "John Henry," and many others.

One of the first and best surveys in its field, Negro Folk Music, U.S.A. has long been admired for its perceptive history and analysis of the origins and musical qualities of typical forms, ranging from simple cries and calls to anthems and spirituals, ballads, and the blues. Traditional dances and musical instruments are examined as well. The author---a well-known novelist, folklorist, journalist, and specialist in African and African American cultures---offers a discerning study of the influence of this genre on popular music, with particular focus on how jazz developed out of folk traditions.

Negro Folk Music U.S.A.: Book isn't in MakeMusic Cloud just yet...but it could be. Let us know you'd like to see it, and you'll help shape what comes next. In the meantime, start a free trial and dive into thousands of interactive titles your students can play along with today.

Request This Title

Tell us you want it.

Start Your Free Trial

Explore everything that's ready to play right now.
Sample Pages

Sample Audio
No sample audio found.
Sample Video
No sample videos found.
Additional Details
Publisher: Dover Publications
ISBN10: 0-486-83649-5
ISBN13: 978-0-486-83649-2
UPC: 800759836499
SKU: 06-836495

More about this title

About the Composer: Harold Courlander

Harold Courlander (1908, 1996) was a pioneering ethnomusicologist whose work documented African American musical traditions with scholarly rigor and deep respect. Beyond his research, he was a accomplished novelist and journalist whose writing bridged academic and popular audiences, making complex cultural history accessible to general readers.

Why we love this

This book remains one of the most authoritative and musician-friendly surveys of African American folk music available. Courlander moves beyond simple song collections to trace how specific musical forms developed and influenced later genres, giving your students and musicians genuine cultural and historical grounding rather than decontextualized melodies.

What to expect

These songs carry the weight of lived experience: work songs that powered labor, spirituals that held communities together through impossible circumstances, blues that give voice to hardship and resilience. The collection spans from simple field calls to fully developed ballads, showing how expressive power emerges across many forms.

Who it's for

Music history teachers, directors preparing spirituals or folk-based repertoire, students researching African American musical contributions, and any ensemble exploring the roots of American popular music and jazz.

How to get the most out of it

  • Reference the historical notes when rehearsing spirituals; understanding the context of coded language in songs like 'Wade in the Water' deepens interpretive choices.
  • Use the variants and multiple versions provided (such as the three versions of 'John Henry') to explore how folk tradition accommodates regional and personal interpretation.
  • Study the descriptions of traditional instruments and performance practices to inform how you shape phrasing and ornamentation in arrangements.

How to use it

Pair this book with spirituals or folk arrangements your choir or ensemble is performing to provide singers with authentic historical context and performance insight. It also serves as essential supplementary material for any unit on American music history or the development of jazz and blues.

Skills your students will build

  • Understanding how folk music functions as cultural documentation and memory
  • Recognizing the structural and lyrical features that distinguish spirituals, ballads, work songs, and blues
  • Tracing musical lineages from African American folk traditions into jazz and popular music
  • Analyzing how variants of a single song reflect regional and individual interpretation

You May Also Like