Lighter,

I didn't mean to suggest they sang; I was just providing one example of music being used by the RN to encourage the men in one particular instance.

It doesn't mean all ships would have done the same.

The Articles of War of 1661 & 1749 didn't proscribe singing. I don't have a copy of the Naval Discipline Act of 1866 but I'd be surprised if that did either.

Each ship's Standing Orders would be different; Royal Naval captains were an individual bunch and the way their ships were run would have been equally individual. All the reports I've read support the notion that work would have been conducted as silently as possible so that voiced or piped orders would be heard.

There are many reports of singing and dancing below decks when RN sailors were off watch.

This thread does seem to have drifted away from "Chanteys in the Royal Navy?" towards another general discussion of "chanteys".