dumb question..what is laws

Subject: dumb question..what is laws
From: brianbanjos
Date: 20 Feb 11 - 04:46 PM

I grasp that Laws is a directory or index of traditional music, or at least I assume it is. . I've been doing some creative but ineffectual searching online and find all sorts of info on intellectual property but not what I'm actually looking for. Can someone help a newbie with the who what where of "laws".

Subject: RE: dumb question..what is laws
From: GUEST,folkiedave
Date: 20 Feb 11 - 05:09 PM

Try Laws+Balladry.

Subject: RE: dumb question..what is laws
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 20 Feb 11 - 05:15 PM

George Malcolm Laws was a student of American Ballads who published American Balladry from British Broadsides," and devised a system for coding folk songs.

I have never used it. I am dumb on the subject.

Subject: RE: dumb question..what is laws
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 20 Feb 11 - 06:05 PM

As Q wrote Laws is an numbering index for American Ballads.
Volume one is an index of Native American Ballads; volume volume two, American Balladry from British Broadsides.
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: dumb question..what is laws
From: brianbanjos
Date: 20 Feb 11 - 06:32 PM

Thanks everyone. This is Exactly what I needed.

Subject: RE: dumb question..what is laws
From: Susan of DT
Date: 20 Feb 11 - 06:45 PM

Laws made categories from A Battles, ie A1 Brave Wolfe to Q Humorous and Miscellaneous songs, ie Q38 Building Solomon's Temple with 20 or 30 songs in each category. He did not give the words to the songs - just the reference. But you can find at least one example of each of Laws songs in the Digital Tradition (that project took me a couple of years to track them all down). One problem with Laws scheme was that a song must be put into only one category, while its content might fall under two or three, say a murder ballad involving a Black sailor, that could have fit into F (murder), I (Negro songs), or K (sailor).

Subject: RE: dumb question..what is laws
From: Art Thieme
Date: 20 Feb 11 - 09:10 PM

In-laws beat out-laws any day!

Art

Subject: RE: dumb question..what is laws
From: bradfordian
Date: 28 Mar 11 - 01:17 PM

Just out of interest, Professor G.Malcolm Laws is preumably still with us at the age of 92. Can't we make him an honorary member of Mudcat?

OK, perhaps not.
I had not previously heard of his work. Perhaps he is better known in USA than in UK.
His collections & publications certainly looks to be of highly significant value to scholars of our art.

Subject: RE: dumb question..what is laws
From: Steve Gardham
Date: 28 Mar 11 - 01:54 PM

If you scroll down the thread list about 14 items it gives the full list of titles with numbers.

Subject: RE: dumb question..what is laws
From: Noreen
Date: 28 Mar 11 - 05:16 PM

thread list, Steve?

Full list of titles with numbers is in the following thread:

Laws index of numbers online?

Subject: RE: dumb question..what is laws
From: Noreen
Date: 28 Mar 11 - 05:22 PM

George Malcolm Laws at Wikipedia