Folk music
Further information: European Classical Composers Noted for Use of Folk Music

Composers of classical music have often made use of folk music (music created by musicians who are commonly not classically trained, often from a purely oral tradition). Some composers, like Dvořák and Smetana,[31] have used folk themes to impart a nationalist flavor to their work, while others (like Bartók) have used specific themes, lifted whole from their folk-music origins.