List of folk music traditions

Folk music is one of the major divisions of music, now often divided into traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. There are many styles of folk music, all of which can be classified into various traditions, generally based around some combination of ethnic, religious, tribal, political or geographic boundaries.

• North, Central, South American and the Caribbean
• Asia: East, Southeast, Northern, Central, Caucasus and South Asia
• Europe: Northern, Eastern, Southeastern, Western and Southern Europe
• Middle East and North Africa: Southwest Asia, North Africa
• Oceania and Australia: Polynesia, Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia
• Sub-Saharan Africa: East, Southern, Central and West Africa

As well as dividing songs according to geography, it is possible to categorise them by subject matter:

• War song
• Anti-war song
• Tamang Selo
• Sea songs, including sea shanties
• Drinking song
• Epic song
• Work song
• Love song
• Child Ballads (tragic ballads)
• Children's song
• Protest song
• Murder ballad
• Sporting song

Other folk music relates to social events:

• Christmas carol
• Pub session

See also

• Category:Contemporary folk subgenres

1. List of Asian folk music traditions
2. List of European folk music traditions
3. List of Caribbean folk music traditions
4. List of South American folk music traditions
5. List of Central American folk music traditions
6. List of North American folk music traditions
7. List of Oceanic and Australian folk music traditions
8. List of musical instruments
9. Russian folk music
10. Folk music
11. Traditional music (disambiguation)
12. Contemporary folk music
13. Middle Eastern and North African music traditions
14. American folk music
15. English folk music
16. Swedish folk music
17. Philippine folk music
18. Nordic folk music
19. List of music genres and styles
20. Folklore