The article tells about what a ditty is, when a similar form of folk art appeared, and what types of ditties are.
Art
It has long been proven that without art the development of a normal society is simply impossible, and people have always attached great importance to it. The craving for some of its manifestations is probably inherent in us at the genetic level, and apart from humans, it is inherent in all highly developed animals. Well, we all remember the rock paintings that our anthropoid ancestors painted back then.
Over time, such an art form as folk art, which is also called folklore, arose. Its distinctive feature is that songs, poems, fairy tales, etc. are created by a team of writers, pass from generation to generation and eventually lose mention of the original authors. And another feature of it is that such art is transmitted orally. Ditties also apply to him. But what is a ditty, when did it arise and what are its types? We'll figure it out.
Definition
According to the encyclopedia, a ditty is one of the genres of Russian folklore, which was finally formed around the second half of the 19th century. And myselfthis term was first introduced into use by the writer Uspensky when he was compiling a description of folk verses. If we talk about the roots of ditties, then most likely they are dance and game choruses, collective round dance songs, jokes of buffoons, children's teasers and short humorous songs. Now we know what a ditty is. Consider its main characteristic features.
As a rule, ditties are characterized by topical themes, some aphoristic features, unusual rhymes with metaphors and, most importantly, recitative humming, which is often accompanied by improvisation on various musical instruments. So now we know what a ditty is.
According to one of the versions, the name comes from the verb "part". And if you listen to any of the ditties, then this option seems to be not devoid of logic. Now let's take a closer look at the characteristics of ditties.
Features
Most often, ditties were created by rural youth, who performed them to one repeatedly repeated melody on different instruments during festivities. The main emotional component of ditties is major. Also, mainly, folk ditties were distinguished by love-everyday, playful themes. Simply put, these were short funny songs on simple, close and familiar topics to everyone, which was the reason for their popularity. But in the same years of the existence of the USSR, the subject of ditties increased sharply, and some of them had political meaning.
Being a kind of poetic response tosome events, the ditty often appeared as a spontaneous improvisation. It also differs in directness, expression, appeal to a specific person or group of people, or some social class.
Most often folk ditties were written in trochee, in which the 2nd and 4th lines of the work rhymed. Also, ditties are characterized by a rich language, colorful images, comparisons, which sometimes went beyond the literary language (simply speaking, they were obscene).
History
There are some facts and references to short topical or just funny songs back in the 18th century. True, they are all rather unconvincing. That is why it is generally accepted that the ditty as a genre of folk art originated in the middle of the 19th century and developed especially intensively in the first decades of the formation of Soviet power.
Initially, many believed that ditties are something that cannot be accepted as folk art, and such a genre can destroy folk songs, distort their meaning and generally gives Russian folklore a frivolous, foolish shade. By the way, Fyodor Chaliapin himself and many other artists of the early 20th century spoke out against ditties, considering them too vulgar and stupid. True, over time, everything changed, and many composers began to use the sharpness and originality of this genre. And in our time, ditties occupy an important place among the genres of folk art. So we sorted out what ditties are, the definition of this genre and its history.
And interesting by the wayfact: there have never been ditties on the Don, except for those imported from other regions. This was due to the fact that the Don Cossacks treated this genre of folk art very contemptuously, considering it stupid and shameful.
Now let's look at the most common types.
Types of ditties
The following types exist:
- Lyric. They differ in that they have only 4 lines and are composed on very different topics, not necessarily funny and simple.
- Dance. They also contain 4 lines, but they have a special rhythm, under which, as the name implies, it is convenient to dance and dance. For example, the famous ditty "Apple" belongs to this type.
- Suffering. Usually the main theme of such ditties was love, unhappy or unrequited. They sing slowly, viscous. They were distributed throughout Russia, except for Siberia.
- Matanya. Using this word, those who sang such ditties addressed their grooms or brides. The genre itself was named so because the word was found in the text very often. They were also compiled using the four-foot trochaic.
So we have analyzed the meaning of the word "chastushki", the definition of this folk art and its most common varieties.
Theme
As in any other genre, the theme of ditties is very diverse. But still, love and everyday themes have always been one of the main ones. And in the early years of the USSR, the topic of ditties often became activepolitical propaganda of the new system. Thus, their compilers expressed indifference to political currents. True, over time it became dangerous to sing songs with such semantic content.
Well, during the collapse of the USSR and the so-called perestroika, ditties appeared that used foreign words. The theme itself has also changed. Nowadays, this genre is no longer as popular as it used to be.
