"I created a song": author, community, creative freedom and tradition

ENThe object examined in this chapter is the amateur-written songs that are currently spreading throughout Lithuania (although the phenomenon seems to be on a much greater scale). The authors of melodies, often without even thinking about it, create music drawn from their environment reusing well-known musical motifs, hence such works are easy to recognise and learn. They spread rapidly and begin to vary because the melodies are often learned orally. Such songs are very closely related to various modern cultural and sub-cultural communities, and become a key component of modern traditions and rituals. Therefore, they are charged with a symbolic meaning that they then convey. Due to these features and functions, as well as their tendency to lose authorship, amateur-written songs can easily be placed in the category of modern folklore. In addition, they have very much in common with naïve literature and art, as well as having features of pop culture, from which they draw inspiration. Therefore, the modern writing of amateur songs is hybrid in nature, although we shouldn’t doubt that at the same time they are also a continuation of local song traditions. Nevertheless, the issue of the theoretical definition of amateur songwriting is problematic. In this chapter, we focus on four specific examples and analyse the melodies of songs, as well as the circumstances of their creation and dissemination. These cases show that the song tradition still thrives spontaneously and is a well-integrated and perfectly adapted part of modern culture. In other words, contemporary amateurwritten (or naïve, or popular, or folk) songs show us how people think through (in/ with) tradition. This is a different part of song tradition, alongside the traditional song heritage, institutionally entrenched and supported through deliberate efforts.

• Arkivyskupas Mečislovas Reinys tautų atmintyje: piligrimų kelias. Soter 2014, 51 (79), 43-73.
• Asmenybės ugdymo horizontai pagal arkivyskupą Mečislovą Reinį: ugdytinio ir ugdytojo sąveika. Soter 2024, 89 (117), 69-79.