ballads

Ballads are a specialty of Judith Gibson. Ballads are light, simple songs, that are often sentimental or romantic, and have two or more stanzas that are sung to the same melody. They are stories that are told in song, most often having a refrain or some other type of repetition. Normally they have four line stanzas. The traditional (otherwise know as popular) ballads are ones that have been passed along in an oral tradition for a long time, sometimes even centuries.

Ballads often include a chorus that can be sung in between verses or attached to the beginning or end of each verse. They tell a story in a peculiar way. Instead of just describing occurances like a normal story would, a ballad will often jump around in the story. Sometimes, it will start telling the story from one person's perspective and then change. Often, these stories are very formal in their usage of common motifs, situations, and phrases, to name a few examples.

There are different types of ballads. One style, know as "border ballads" were primarily found in rural areas along the Scottish border. They are originally of oral descent, as can be discerned through their form. They use different forms of repetition as well as formalized phrases to make it easier for a singer to remember the song. There could be a large variety of versions for the same song, which stems from the oral tradition of these pieces. The song that was eventually recorded was not the same as the song that was sung because every singer had a tendency to slightly change the piece, whether by adding or changing a word every now and again or making very small, sometimes even unconscious, alterations to the tune.

They are completely different than the broadside ballads which were popular in the late 1500s and into the 1600s. The broadside ones were songs that had new lyrics added to already popular tunes that were passed on in a written form (not orally). They were primarily of urban popularity.

Overall, this type of song has a unique style that sets it apart from folk styles. They tell a story in what can be seen as a cold and factual manner, which has little emotion and characterization. For example, love, death, and even betrayal are only briskly described. They can also be characterized by their lack of detail. For example, people, places, and events are barely described. Essentially, this style only gives the listener the essential details, allowing each person to create his or her own details.

Despite the lack of details, there are some very intriguing plot lines that can be found in this style including dealth by treachery and betrayal, enchanted princesses, a scruffy looking minstrel who ends up being royalty, etc. This style of music makes for a very fun reception.