A consistent definition of traditional Folk music is elusive. The terms Folk music, Folk song, and Folk dance are comparatively recent expressions. They are extensions of the term folklore, which was coined in 1846 by the English antiquarian William Thoms to describe "the traditions, customs and superstitions of the uncultured classes." The term further derives from the German expression Volk, in the sense of "the people as a whole" as applied to popular and national music by Johann Gottfried Herder and the German Romantics over half a century earlier. Traditional Folk music also includes most indigenous music.
However, despite the assembly of an enormous body of work over some two centuries, there is still no certain definition of what Folk music is. Some do not even agree that the term Folk Music should be used. Folk music may tend to have certain characteristics but it cannot be differentiated in purely musical terms.
From a historical perspective, traditional Folk music had many characteristics. Firstly, it was transmitted through an oral tradition. Before the 20th century, ordinary farm workers and factory workers were usually illiterate. They acquired songs by memorising them. Primarily, this was not mediated by books, recorded or transmitted media. Singers may extend their repertoire using broadsheets, songbooks or CDs, but these secondary enhancements are of the same character as the primary songs experienced in the flesh. Secondly, the music was often related to national culture. In the context of an immigrant group, Folk music acquires an extra dimension for social cohesion. Thirdly, they commemorate historical and personal events. On certain days of the year, such as Easter, May Day and Christmas, particular songs celebrate the yearly cycle. Weddings, birthdays and funerals may also be noted with songs, dances and special costumes. Religious festivals often have a Folk music component. Choral music at these events brings children and non-professional singers to participate in a public arena, giving an emotional bonding that is unrelated to the aesthetic qualities of the music. And lastly, the songs have been performed – by custom – over a long period, usually several generations.
Throughout most of human history, listening to recorded music was not possible. Music was made by common people during both their work and leisure, as well as during religious activities. The work of economic production was often manual and communal. Manual labour often included singing by the workers, which served several practical purposes. It reduced the boredom of repetitive tasks, it kept the rhythm during synchronised pushes and pulls, and it set the pace of many activities such as planting, weeding, reaping, threshing, weaving and milling. In leisure time, singing and playing musical instruments were common forms of entertainment and history-telling – even more common than today, when electrically enabled technologies and widespread literacy make other forms of entertainment and information-sharing competitive.
Some believe that Folk music originated as art music that was changed and probably debased by oral transmission while reflecting the character of the society that produced it. In many societies, especially preliterate ones, the cultural transmission of Folk music requires learning by ear, although notation has evolved in some cultures. Different cultures may have different notions concerning a division between "folk" music on the one hand and of "art" and "court" music on the other. In the proliferation of popular music genres, some traditional Folk music became also referred to "World music" or "Roots music".