Folk on the web

There are many websites dedicated to folk and traditional music. This is a selection of some of the most useful and interesting.

SONG TEXTS AND BROADSIDES

Ancient Poems, Ballads And Songs Of The Peasantry Of England Edited by Robert Bell (1857).
Bodleian Library Broadside Ballads Huge and invaluable online collection of facsimiles of broadsides, with basic publishing information.
The English And Scottish Popular Ballads (1884-1898) Edited by Francis J. Child, placed online by Cathy Lynn Preston and David Stampe of the University of Hawaii.
Glasgow Broadside Ballads A collection of more than 350 19th-century broadside ballads published in Glasgow. Page images without transcriptions.
The Oxford Book Of Ballads (1910) Edited by Arthur Quiller-Couch.
The Pepys Ballads The Early Modern Center at the University of California at Santa Barbara has catalogued and placed online the 1,800 printed ballads collected by Samuel Pepys. They are available as page images and transcriptions and there are also commentaries on the material.
Popular Music Of The Olden Times Edited by William Chappell. Online edition of Dover Publications’ 1965 facsimile of the 1859 original. Requires free DjVu browser plug-in. More manageable if downloaded.
The Word On The Street A collection of 1,800 broadsides placed online by the Library of Scotland as page images with transcriptions and commentary.

English folk and traditional music on the Internet Martin Nail’s comprehensive guide to English folk resources online.
Folk Network Internet Resources Guide Useful directory compiled by Malcolm Douglas of the South Riding Folk Network.
Song resources on the web Compiled by the Traditional Song Forum.

Folk Music Index: An Index to Recorded Releases A discography of 55,000 songs and 22,000 performers, compiled by Jane Keefer in Portland, Oregon. Includes British, Irish and (mostly) American recordings.
The Traditional Ballad Index Index of ballads and traditional songs of the English-speaking world. Includes basic reference information but no texts.
Vaughan Williams Memorial Library Online Includes the Roud Folk Song Index and individual collectors’ indexes.

English Folk Dance And Song Society The home of English traditional music for more than a century.
Folk Archive Resource of the North-East Impressive site for an organisation dedicated to Northumbrian traditional music.
Traditional Song Forum UK organisation fostering study, collection, and performance of traditional song. Site includes useful texts and resources. www.tradsong.org

The Contemplator’s Folk Music Site Texts and midis for a wide range of songs from Britain, Ireland, and America.
Digital Tradition Includes a database of 9000 songs, with texts and midi tunes, and a lively discussion forum. Many of the songs are not from traditional singers.
Folksongs Of Various Countries Site by Frank Petersohn, including texts of many songs, not all of them traditional. Some MIDI tunes. No commentary or sources.

Dirty Linen Website for US print magazine dealing with traditional music.
English Dance And Song Quarterly Magazine, first published in 1936.
Folk And Roots Online magazine published in UK.
Folking Online magazine and discussion forum.
Folk Music Journal Scholarly journal of the English Folk Dance and Song Society. Published annually.
FolkWorld Online traditional music magazine published in Germany.
fRoots magazine (formerly Folk Roots) Site for print magazine and online discussion forum.
Musical Traditions Rod Stradling’s excellent online traditional music magazine, with news, reviews, and scholarly articles.