What Does "The Folk Process" Mean In The Context Of Children's Recreational Rhymes?

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post presents a definition of the phrase "folk process".

This post also presents information about "folk processing" as it relates to children's recreational rhymes.

The content of this post is presented for folkloric information.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.

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WHAT DOES THE "FOLK PROCESS" MEAN?
SOURCE #1
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folk_process
"Folk process

In the study of folklore, the folk process is the way folk material, especially stories, music, and other art, is transformed and re-adapted in the process of its transmission from person to person and from generation to generation. ,,,

History

The phrase was originally coined by musicologist Charles Seeger, father of the folk singer Pete Seeger,[2] but the underlying concept goes back to 1907, when Cecil Sharp[3] observed that the transmission of folk songs and the forms they took when they were collected and attested was the result of three factors: continuity, variation, and selection.[4] These factors were expanded on in 1954 by the International Folk Music Council, which wrote that:

Folk music is the product of a musical tradition that has been evolved through the process of oral transmission. The factors that shape the tradition are: (i) continuity which links the present with the past; (ii) variation which springs from the creative impulse of the individual or the group; and (iii) selection by the community, which determines the form or forms in which the music survives.

[…]

Mass culture and the folk process

Through the folk process, the subjects of folk song and narrative are adapted to better suit the times; lyrics can be added, or removed; parts that are no longer understood can be re-interpreted or discarded. The result is a new bit of folklore that the next generation will continue to preserve in its new form. The folk process started to become problematic, first, when it began to operate on the copyrighted and commercial products of mass culture, and the appropriation and commercialization by mass culture of folk narrative and music which, being distributed by the mass media, become the newly canonical versions of the tradition.

[…]

The Internet and digital media, enabling consumers of culture to copy, alter, and select bits of both folk and mass culture, has tended to accelerate the folk process.[2][10]”…

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SOURCE #2
AI Overview [retrieved online via Google Search on Oct 23, 2025]
"The "folk process" is the way a community or "folk" transforms traditional material, especially songs, over time through a process of transmission, variation, and selection. It involves individuals and groups creatively reinterpreting and adapting folklore, leading to new versions that reflect regional differences, new technologies, and the changing tastes of the community. This process is central to the evolution of folk music and other forms of folklore, where songs and stories are not static but are continually shaped by the people who keep them alive.

Key aspects of the folk process

Transmission: Folklore is passed from person to person and generation to generation, often through oral tradition.

Variation: Individuals and groups creatively change the material. This can include altering lyrics, tunes, or the story's focus, sometimes due to mishearing lyrics (e.g., "mondegreen") or adapting to new circumstances.

Selection: The community determines which variants of a song or story survive and are passed on, and which fall out of use.

Adaptation: Folklore adapts to local conditions and new contexts. A classic example is the song "Streets of Laredo," which evolved from a sailor's lament to a cowboy's song as it moved across regions.

Continuity: The folk process connects the past with the present by constantly reinterpreting existing traditions, rather than creating completely new, standalone works.

Examples

A song originally written for a fiddle might be adapted for a banjo, changing the instrumentation.

Lyrics are often changed to be more relevant to the local community. A song about a specific historical event might be adapted to be about a teacher or a local landmark.

Musicians like Bob Dylan have used the folk process by taking traditional melodies and creating new, original songs based on them, which then become part of the ongoing tradition themselves."

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VERSIONS OF HAND CLAP RHYMES
From "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clapping_game
"A clapping game (subset of hand games) is a type of usually cooperative (i.e., non-competitive) game which is generally played by two players and involves clapping as a rhythmic accompaniment to a singing game or reciting of a rhyme, often nursery rhymes. Clapping games are found throughout the world and similar games may be known throughout large areas with regional variation.

Nature of the games

Due to the communication skills and coordination required, simple clapping games are age appropriate for children age 24 months and above.[1] In many cultures clapping games are played by all sexes and ages, but in many European and European-influenced cultures, they are largely the preserve of girls.[2]

Claps commonly included in patterns are clapping one's own hands, clapping both hands of a partner, and clapping one hand of a partner, generally across such as the right hand of each player. The clapping may include other activities such as thigh slapping, or a final move such as touching the ground and freezing.[3] Sara Bernstein describes seventy-nine "basic hand-claps".[4]

Clapping patterns may be used with only specific rhymes, generically with most rhymes, or improvised. Children in different areas may be more or less strict about which claps accompany which rhymes but generally different clapping patterns may be used to accompany different rhymes. The rhymes are generally very similar to a jump-rope rhymes. Some games are played without a rhyme, such as 'Slide', and not all require the players to clap each other's hands, such as 'Sevens.'

Clapping games are a part of oral tradition. As such there are a variety of distinct clapping games or families of games. A game may be performed or played in various versions found in different areas and times and often according to ethnicity. For example, "Hello, Operator" may be called "Miss Susie" or "Miss Lucy" and may contain, omit, or vary verses or specific lines. Clapping patterns and actions may also vary. There is no canonical version of any game though children often fight over whose version is "right" or "real"."...
-snip-
I added italics to highlight this paragraph.

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AN EXAMPLE OF A LIGHTLY FOLK PROCESSED RECREATION RHYME AND AN EXAMPLE OF A HEAVILY FOLK PROCESSED RECREATION RHYME

"Miss Mary Mack" is an example of a lightly folk processed children's recreational rhyme. There's hardily any divergence from the stand words to that rhyme.

In contrast, "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" is an example of a heavily folk processed rhyme. It's rare to find any versions of that rhyme that are the same.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2025/10/part-i-down-by-banks-of-hanky-panky.html for a pancocojams post that presents multiple versions of "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" which documents how examples of these rhymes celebrate being different from each other.  

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QUESTIONS
What examples of folk processed "Down By The Banks of The Hanky Panky" rhymes do you know and have you noticed any changes in those rhymes?

What other children's recreational rhymes can you think of that are lightly folk processed and which children's recreational rhymes are hwavily folk processed? 

And what are the societal implications of performing folk processed rhymes? 

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