1. Different definitions
Ballad: popular folk songs that are given national colors are called ballads or folk songs. Ballads have a long history, so their authors are mostly unknown. The content of ballads is rich, there are religious, love, war, work, but also drinking, dancing, music, ceremonies and so on.
Folk song: a nation in ancient times or modern times with their own national style of song creation, refers to the traditional songs of each nation, each nation's forefathers have their songs since ancient times have been, the vast majority of these songs do not know who is the author, and oral transmission, a pass ten ten pass a hundred, the generation of the next generation to pass on.
Today, most of what we call folk songs refer to the folk songs of the pop era, which are mainly sung with acoustic guitars as accompaniment, in a natural and frank way, and the kind of songs that express the feelings of the pure and simple life of everyone.
2, different classifications
Folk music: the British national music, until the late 19th century was resurrected. At that time, there was a man named Cecil Sharp (cecil sharp) who collected nearly 3,000 folk songs, of which more than 1,600, spread to North America along the Appalachian Mountains.
Strange as it may seem, more genuine English traditional music has been preserved in the United States than in England itself. The main feature of English traditional music is that it is a kind of folk song that tells a story with folk music, set to popular music.
French ballads are usually full of debauchery and worldly humor. From their ballads, you can not only understand the habits of the French people, but also taste their wines and food, as if to see their light and wonderful dance.
The German folk music is not only spread in Germany, but, in fact, is also prevalent in several countries near the North Sea. Holland is one of them, mainly because the countries neighboring Germany to the north, their language and customs are similar to those of Germany, therefore, German folk music is naturally accepted by them.
Folk Songs: Hakka folk songs mainly include Hakka mountain songs and Hakka nursery rhymes. They are popular in Meixian District, Xingning City, Wuhua County and Zijin County in the eastern part of Guangdong, Shanghang, Ninghua, Qingliu and Yongding in the western part of Fujian, Xingguo, Ruijin and Yongxin in the southern part of Jiangxi, and in Taoyuan, Hsinchu and Miaoli in the northern part of Taiwan, where Hakka people live. It is sung in the Hakka dialect.
North Shaanxi Province is a place of folk songs, many types of folk songs, commonly known as "mountain song" or "sour song".
There are many kinds of folk songs in northern Shaanxi, and some representative Yunnan folk songs are "Orchid Flower" and "Thirty Mile Shop" sung by Zhu Fengbo, among which there are four seasons songs, five shifts of the season, the Rangong seasonal, wine songs, rice-planting songs, labor horns, songs and dance songs, Yulin Xiaoqu, Weibei folk songs, Shaanbei suites, the two-people stage, custom songs, religious songs and family visits, etc., with Xiaoqu and Xintiyou being the main ones.
Yunnan is the province with the largest number of ethnic minorities in China, including Yi, Bai, Dai, Hani, Zhuang, Miao, Lisu, Wa, Hui, Naxi, Lahu, Jingpo, Yao, Tibetan, Brown, Achang, Mongolian, Benglong, Dulong and Pumi.
In the life of people of all ethnic groups, folk singing activities occupy a particularly important position, penetrating into almost all areas of life. Some of the more representative Yunnan folk songs include "The River Runs Through It" and "Embroidered Lotus Bags" sung by Zhu Fengbo.
3, different characteristics
Folk songs: folk songs express the feelings and habits of a nation, so each has its own unique scale and mood style. Such as the French ballad of vigorous, Italian ballad of passion, English ballad of simplicity, Japanese ballad of grief and anger, Spanish ballad of unrestrained, Chinese ballad of lingering sentimental, all show a strong national temperament and color.
Folk song: folk song is the people's song, is the masses of people in the practice of social life, through a wide range of oral form of gradual development, and the people's life is closely linked to the art of song, long and deep historical traditions, complex and varied natural environments, the vast cultural background, the many ethnic groups and the population is the biggest reason for the creation of national music.
Baidu Encyclopedia - Ballad
Baidu Encyclopedia - Folk Song