This is a list of folk music traditions, with styles, dances, instruments, and other related topics. The term folk music cannot be easily defined in a precise manner. It is used with widely varying definitions depending on the author, intended audience and context within a work. Similarly, the term traditions in this context does not connote any strictly-defined criteria. Music scholars, journalists, audiences, record industry individuals, politicians, nationalists, and demagogues may often have occasion to address which fields of folk music are distinct traditions based along racial, geographic, linguistic, religious, tribal, or ethnic lines, and all such peoples will likely use different criteria to decide what constitutes a "folk music tradition". This list uses the same general categories used by mainstream, primarily English-language, scholarly sources, as determined by relevant statements of fact and the internal structure of works.
These traditions may coincide entirely, partially or not at all with geographic, political, linguistic, or cultural boundaries. Very few, if any, music scholars would claim that there are any folk music traditions that can be considered specific to a distinct group of people and with characteristics undiluted by contact with the music of other peoples; thus, the folk music traditions described herein overlap in varying degrees with each other.
Fujie, Linda; James T. Koetting; David P. McAllester; David B. Reck; John M. Schechter; Mark Slobin; R. Anderson Sutton (1992). Jeff Todd Titan (ed.). Worlds of Music: An Introduction to the Music of the World's Peoples (Second ed.). New York: Schirmer Books. ISBN0-02-872602-2.
The Rough Guide to Music (various editions and volumes):
Chapters from Volume 2 of – Simon Broughton; Mark Ellingham; James McConnachie; Orla Duane, eds. (2000). Rough Guide to World Music. Vol. 2. Latin and North America, Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacific (2nd ed.). London: Rough Guides. ISBN1-85828-636-0. cited:
Broughton, Simon (2000). "Georgia: A Feast of Songs". Rough Guide to World Music. Vol. 2. Latin and North America, Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacific (2nd ed.). London: Rough Guides. pp. 347–350.
Doubleday, Veronica (2000). "Afghanistan: Red Light at the Crossroads". Rough Guide to World Music. Vol. 2. Latin and North America, Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacific (2nd ed.). London: Rough Guides. pp. 3–7.
Chapters from Volume 1 of – Simon Broughton; Mark Ellingham; Richard Trillo, eds. (February 2000). Rough Guide to World Music. Vol. 1: Africa, Europe & The Middle East (2nd ed.). London: Rough Guides. pp. 413–716. ISBN978-1-85828-635-8. cited:
Badley, Bill (2000). "Gulf & Yemen: Sounds of the Arabian Peninsula". Rough Guide to World Music. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). pp. 351–354.
Badley, Bill; Jundi, Zein al- (2000). "Syria, Lebanon & the Levant: Europe Meets Asia". Rough Guide to World Music. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). pp. 391–395.
Bensignor, François (2000). "Niger: Sounds of Sahel". Rough Guide to World Music. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). pp. 585–587.
Cohen, Judith (2000). "Jewish Music — Sephardic: Ladino Romance". Rough Guide to World Music. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). pp. 370–377.
Graham, Ronnie (2000). "Nigeria: From Hausa to Highlife". Rough Guide to World Music. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). pp. 588–600.
Lodge, David; Badley, Bill (2000). "Egypt — Popular / Street Music: Cairo Hit Factory". Rough Guide to World Music. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). pp. 338–346.
Morgan, Andy (2000). "Algeria — Rai: Music Under Fire". Rough Guide to World Music. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). pp. 413–424.
Morgan, Andy; Mu'tasem, Adilah (2000). "Palestinian Music: The Sounds of Struggle". Rough Guide to World Music. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). pp. 385–390.
Muddyman, Dave (2000). "Morocco: A Basic Expression of Life". Rough Guide to World Music. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). pp. 585–587.
Muddyman, Dave; Trillo, Richard (2000). "Mauritania & Western Sahara: The Ways of the Moors". Rough Guide to World Music. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). pp. 563–566.
Skalla, Eva; Amiri, Jemima (2000). "Kurdish Music: Songs of the Stateless". Rough Guide to World Music. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). pp. 378–384.
Verney, Peter (2000). "Sudan: Yearning to Dance". Rough Guide to World Music. Vol. 1. With contributions by: Helen Jerome and Moawia Yassin (2nd ed.). pp. 672–680.
Nooshin, Laudan (2006). "Iran: The Art of Ornament". In Simon Broughton; Mark Ellingham; Jon Lusk (eds.). The Rough Guide to World Music. Vol. 1: Africa, Europe and the Middle East (3rd ed.). London; New York: Rough Guides; Dorling Kindersley. pp. 519–532. ISBN978-1843535515.