How many categories can folk songs be divided into?

According to its genre, it can be divided into three categories: chant (labor chant), folk song and ditty.

1. chanting is a folk song that people create and sing in the process of physical labor and directly serve it. Its music is solid and powerful, rough and heroic, and has a very close relationship with workers. Chanting has both practical and expressive functions for labor.

2. Folk songs are produced in Shan Ye's working life. They are high-pitched, loud and free folk songs with the characteristics of straightforward and free expression of feelings. Folk songs are produced in the vast natural environment. They are improvised when people go up the mountain to cut firewood, work in the fields, graze in Shan Ye or take a nap, and are used to express their inner feelings or convey affection to people far away.

3. Minor is a folk song produced on occasions of rest, entertainment and celebration in people's daily life. It is the most extensive and universal, with regular forms, diverse expression methods and tortuous and meticulous characteristics. Minor is produced in people's spare time.

Extended data:

Folk songs are songs of working people, which are gradually developed by the broad masses of people through extensive oral singing in social life practice and are closely related to people's lives. The long and profound historical tradition, complex and diverse natural environment, broad cultural background and numerous nationalities and populations are the biggest reasons for creating national music.

The folk songs of all ethnic groups in China are extremely rich, from the "national style" in the Book of Songs to various folk song anthologies collected and published after liberation. As for the traditional folk songs and Xinmin songs still circulating among the people, there are countless more.

As far as the forms of these folk songs are concerned, in addition to folk songs, children's songs, four folk songs and various labor songs, there are also "believing in heaven", "flapping mountain songs", "four seasons songs" and "five tones" among the Han people. As for the Tibetan "Lu" and "Xie", the Zhuang "Huan" and the Bai "Bai" and "Hui".