The elements of folklore music in the songs by The Beatles

Abstract

In the mid-20th century, the expansion of popular music led to an increase in the number of amateur vocal-instrumental ensembles, primarily in the English speaking countries. One of these ensembles was also the music group The Beatles, who during their discography career presented extensive knowledge of a large number of music subgenres, especially folklore, which is shown in this paper through the melodicoharmonic, rhythmic, and organological analysis of selected musical examples. Since traditional music from different folklore areas is also considered in the paper, the need for defining each subgenre from a music, but also from the anthropological point of view, has been created. Subgenres are then presented through the analysis of melodic lines, instrumentation, and rhythmic motifs in The Beatles' songs and certain conclusions are formed by a comparative method of research.