order to do so, it must interact with the listeners and change with the times.

Italy’s musical landscape is a perfect example of this. This is seen in the

transition from peasant folk songs to commercial pop music during the early

nineteenth century to the Nineteen-Nineties. The decline of traditional folk

music, not its total disappearance however, and the rise of commercial pop can

be culturally linked to the changes in Italian society. This movement can be

contributed with the help of technology, musical influence from America and the

ascent of the combined singer and songwriter.

The beginnings of Italian folk music echo the sounds of the Balkans,

Eastern Europe, North Africa and so forth. All these cultural influences have

gathered and meet in Italy, “the cultural crossroads of the Mediterranean”(Stone

1). Folk music was the raw, and natural music of Italy. It captured “work chants

of fishermen and peasants, love songs, courting and wedding tunes, tarantellas

(dances of possession), religious and pastoral songs, and lullabies”(3). Italian

folk instruments include the accordion, zampogna, which is similar to a b

second world war brought Italian music closer to commercial success. The allies

The influence of the American allies presence in Italy during and after the

has always been a forum to express one’s feelings, emotions, concerns etc.

singer/songwriter phenomena exploded. By the 1990’s, different groups of

rap, reggae, dancehall, acid jazz, trip hop, and other world styles with local

Americans. While Fascists banned blues and jazz from entering the country,

Some topics in this essay:
Naples Alps, Jazz Musicians”, , Italian Folk, North Africa, Television Internet, Piave Legend”, Antagonistic Movement, Italy Italian, Alan Lomax, folk music, italian rap, commercial pop, singer songwriter, italian folk, blues jazz, popular music, world war, italy’s musical landscape, traditional folk, rise commercial, combined singer songwriter, allies presence italy, italian rap artists, italian folk music,