Shanxi folk songs can be traced back to the remote past. Striking the Earth, as one of the oldest songs, goes, “We toil from sunrise to sunset. For drinking water we dig a well；for food we plough fields. As for the so-called mighty God, who cares?” Nineteen of The classic Three-hundred Verses are from Shanxi Province. With 100-odd counties under its jurisdiction, the province boasts the same variety of folk songs. Its total collection of folk songs totals over 20,000.
Shanxi-flavored folk songs fall into four categories: songs sung in the mountains and fields；labor chants；ditties；operatic songs. The first genre has different names in different areas, such as “mountain songs,”, “kaihua ditty”, juanxipian, to name just a few. In northern Shanxi the folk songs are called xintianyou, which is interpreted as a free-wheeling tune.
Labor chants are mainly specific to ramming laborers or boatmen. The former feature two tunes while the latter have a greater variety. The boatmen switch to different chants as they punt, haul the boat or put up awnings.
Shanxi ditties cover a wide spectrum of genres. As for the lyrical style, “Embroidered Bag”, “Embroidered Lanterns”, “Jasmine” and “Ten Vistas”are most popular. Some are lively tunes about the odds and ends of daily life, such as “Sister and Sister-in-law Carry Vegetables”, or ballads recounting a story, such as “Qiuxiang Weeps over the Death of Mother-in-law”. Ditties for jubilant occasions are plentiful. Among them, “Visiting the Lantern Show”, “Celebrating the Lantern Festival” and “Playing on a Swing” enjoy an enduring popularity. Some of the ditties are full of humor and wits；some lash out at the vile practice of the society.
Shanxi ditties generally follow a regular two-line or four-line structure with an elastic tonal pattern.
The operative folk songs derive from rhymes of the Ming and Qing dynasties or some local ditties. They feature a compact and regular structure, mostly involving some personages and legends in history. Such unique folk songs are typified by “Big Tune”, “Kung Opera”, and “Singing to the Back-up of Stringed Instruments”.
The variety in terms of geographical features, economic conditions, culture and traditions in Shanxi Province has given rise to multiple styles of musical scale, tune and tempo of the folk songs. The folk songs endemic in eastern Shanxi are of unsophisticated simplicity. In North Shanxi the resonance of the folk songs is akin to that in the Northern plateau. The songs in South Shanxi are overflowing with emotions while those in the hinterland show a free style.
The sweet melody of Shanxi folk songs conveys deep emotions. They possess an unusual artistic style and distinct characteristics. The local folk songs are imbued with a strong rustic flavor. Some of the folk songs have outlived generations, but their popularity has never waned.
山西民歌，于尧天舜日之时就有传录的，如《击壤歌》：“日出而作，日入而息，凿井而饮，耕田而食，帝力于我何有哉”；《南风歌》：“南风之熏兮，可以解吾民之愠兮！南风之时兮，可以阜吾民之财兮！”《诗三百》中所收集的《魏风》、《唐风》共十九篇，大部分采自山西。山西一百多个县，几乎每个县都有自己的民歌。据有关方面统计，现在已经收集起来的民歌达两万余首。
山西各地民歌品种繁多，大致可归纳为四大类：一、山歌；二、号子；三、小调；四、套曲。
山西的山歌有“山曲”、“开花调”、“卷席片”（也叫“烂席片”）等因地而异不同名称。“山曲”主要分布在晋西北高原或者称西山（吕梁山）地区，其中以“河曲山曲”最为出色。“开花调”是流行在太行山区（或称东山区）的一种山歌形式。主要分布于左权、和顺、武乡、襄垣各县。其中以“左权开花调”最为出色。“卷席片”（烂席片）是五台县、定襄县、忻县、原平县一带对山歌的叫法。其含意是信口即唱无所拘束，如陕北人称山歌为“信天游”内蒙叫“爬山调”一样。
山西的号子主要有两大类：一类是夯硪号子，其中又分为“打夯号子”和“打硪号子”两种；二是黄河船工们唱的船工号子。主要分布在黄河沿岸的河曲、河津、芮城等县。船工号子中又根据不同情况的劳动，分为“拨船号子”、“行船号子”、“拉篷号子”、“爬山虎号子”、“推船号子”等。
山西小调的体裁形式是丰富多彩的，有优美秀丽的抒情歌，如《绣荷包》、《绣花灯》、《茉莉花》、《十样景》等，也有轻松愉快表现日常家庭生活的俚俗小曲，如《卢狗亲上寿》、《永不能生娘家》、《姑嫂挑菜》等；有咏人述事的叙事歌，如《下柳林》、《秋香哭婆婆》、《苦伶仃》等；有热烈欢快适于节日或喜庆场合演唱的娱乐性歌曲，如《观灯》、《闹元宵》、《对花》、《打秋千》等；也有幽默、风趣的诙谐歌，如《热菜汤》、《高高山上一骨嘟蒜》等；也有贬斥谗懒或其他丑恶现象的讽刺歌，如《花儿开》、《抓跳蚤》、《不相配》等。小调的结构一股比较规整，以二句式（如《交城山》）、四句式（如临县《绣荷包》）乐段结构为其基本形式，体现着“起、承、转、合”的规律，而这种乐段结构的变化形态又是多种多样的。
在山西民歌中，还有一些叙事性很强、形式较大的民间声乐套曲。这些套曲的曲调，大部分也是在明清俗曲或当地小调的基础上，根据内容的需要，经过加工后发展变化组合而成的，其结构比较严密，组合方式也有一定规律。其内容多系歌唱历史人物或历史传说故事，比较突出的有：左权的“大腔”，兴县的“昆曲”，离石的“弹唱”。
山西民歌具有自己独特的艺术风格和鲜明的地方特色，由于全省各个地区的地理环境、经济状况、文化传统（尤其是音乐传统）以及人民的语言、风俗习惯和所邻近省区的影响等均不相同，因而各地民歌在音阶调式、调式骨干音和旋律特征等方面都具有不同的特点，呈现着各自的风格色彩。晋东南壶关、晋城、阳城、沁水一带的民歌，调式古朴；晋北河曲、保德、偏关的民歌，高亢辽阔，有塞上高原特有的雄浑憨直；晋南的民歌感情热烈；晋中祁县、太谷、寿阳、太原地区的民歌，则灵活自由、富于变化。
山西的民歌，曲调优美，易于传唱，感情真挚，情真意切，具有自己独特的艺术风格和鲜明的地方特色。尤其是山西民歌的歌词，极其生动，富有浓郁的乡土气息，这种来源于生活的生动歌词令专业作者都赞叹不已，许多音乐工作者都不辞劳苦地来山西采风，经过他们的挖掘整理，《走西口》、《看秧歌》、《绣荷包》、《想亲亲》等民歌广为流传。