June 26th, 2008 3:40 pm
Frank asked:
Okay, so Polka isn’t very German, I would like it if people could actually tell me some traditional German music… Names of types of German music, names of popular folk bands/singers or songs… etc…
common folk dance
Okay, so Polka isn’t very German, I would like it if people could actually tell me some traditional German music… Names of types of German music, names of popular folk bands/singers or songs… etc…
common folk dance
Tags: Folk Bands, German Folk Music, Music Types, Polka, Traditional Music
June 28, 2008 at 12:41 pm
not sure about German folk music.. germany is full of classical, punk, industrial, eurotrash techno and
Rammstein
Rammstein are probably Germany’s most wanted and most hated band at the same time.
Their combination of brutal guitars and techno sounds, shocking lyrics and live shows reminiscent of Alice Cooper and Marilyn Manson without a visible trace of irony divide critics and audience alike.
Still, an extensive and largely sold-out tour through the States speaks for itself.
June 29, 2008 at 11:59 am
There are many kinds of German Folk Music, because there are many different “folk” in Germany. Remember it was not a united country until the last half of the 19th century.
You might be thinking of the oom-pah bands in Bavaria, but there are a lot of other folk traditions. I’m quite aware of the folk traditions in the Harz mountains, including yodeling.
June 30, 2008 at 8:26 pm
lots of yodeling, mostly in the mountain regions. oompah bands, lots of hunting songs. they also have some rennaissance traditions based around a lute, recorders, brass, and some accordion like instrument, and some percussion. the old music inspired many ancient lutheran hymns.
July 2, 2008 at 10:11 pm
I am German and I was looking for a good explanation for you, because Polka is not German folk music, but a type of dance with a Polish origin. Polka is a type of dance, and also a genre of dance music. It originated in the middle of the 19th century in Bohemia, and is still a common genre of Czech, Polish and Slovenian folk music; it is common both in Europe and in the Americas. In classical music, many polkas were composed by both Johann Strauss I and his son Johann Strauss II; a couple of well-known ones were composed by Bed?ich Smetana and Jaromír Vejvoda, the author of Škoda lásky (”Roll Out the Barrel”).
The name comes from the German word Polka[1], meaning “Bohemian Dance” which comes from the Czech word polka, also meaning “Bohemian dance”, which itself is lent from the Polish polka, literally meaning “Polish woman”, fem. of Polak. The word may also be an German-originating alteration of Czech pulka, meaning “half.”
As for folk music: Germany has many unique regions with their own folk traditions of music and dance. Much of the 20th century saw German culture appropriated for the ruling powers (who fought “foreign” music at the same time), and thus it remained decidedly “un-hip” until later in the century. Most recently, the East German regime promoted folk music as long as it was what they saw as an expression of pure German tradition, and a tool for spreading party propaganda.
In both East and West Germany, folk songs called volkslieder were taught to children; these were popular, sunny and optimistic, and had little relation to authentic German folk traditions. Inspired by American and English roots revivals, Germany underwent many of the same changes following the 1968 student revolution in West Germany, and new songs, featuring political activism and realistic joy, sadness and passion, were written and performed on the burgeoning folk scene. In East Germany, the same process did not begin until the mid-70s, when folk musicians began incorporating revolutionary ideas in coded songs.
Oh, and the thumb-down trolls need to get a life!
July 4, 2008 at 11:54 am
Polka is NOT German, it’s Czech.
July 7, 2008 at 11:09 am
German folk music goes in different directions.
The music played at the Oktoberfest is the oompah band stuff, called Blasmusik.
But many more examples:
July 10, 2008 at 10:20 pm
There are a ton of types of different folk music.
Blasmusik, or ‘oompaa’ music, is one type.
The real traditional stuff usually isn’t commercialized in Oktoberfest or other such events.
If you want to listen to really good volksmusik go to:
its a wonderful website filled with authentic german music.
if you are interested in more information about the German, or more specifically Bavarian culture, try going to:
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