"Folk Music"

It's said this before but this seems to be an appropriate time to say it again

Because the term "Folk Music" is not univocal, I generally avoid using it.

However, I sometimes use the term because it is not univocal in just the right way.

For example, it sometimes comes up in the course of idle conversation with people who do not know me very well that I am an amateur musician. The invariable question is "What kind of music do you do?" I have two answers depending upon my mood.

If I am not in the mood to begin an extended discussion, I answer "folk music". The invariable response is "Oh, you mean the kind of music that [insert name of any artist or group who has ever been characterized as 'folk'] does?" To which I respond, "Yes", no matter what artist or group has been named. At which point the questioner moves to another topic. You see, in the States the nice thing about 'folk music' is that everybody thinks they have at least some notion what I am talking about. And almost everybody thinks they know enough about 'folk music' to know that they are not very interested in that particular genre. Thus 'folk music' serves as a nice, polite 'conversation stopper'. I get the impression from the English contributors to mudcat that the situation might be similar there.

If, on the other hand, I am in a garrulous mood I respond, "old time music". In the States almost nobody has a clue what "old time music" is unless they are members of the relatively small community that performs it. So the invariable response is "What's that?" At which point I kick into my didactic mode and begin a lengthy explanation.