Some fascinating thoughts from you all. it seems to me that we have a lot to learn. I guess my own feeling is that whatever sounds good has to be right, I suppose many songs were passed down aurally and so there are likely to be as any versions as there are people singing them. We feel we should pick songs we like and suit our voices. I see now the difference between a shanty and a sea song and i get the feeling we will move more towards the sea song

last time we met we tried singing alternate lines and also tried 'copying' some of the harmony lines on some tracks we downloaded featuring fishermen's friends and Port Isaac. everyone is very keen to experiment which is good. we are also picking songs so that everyone takes turns in singing the lead whilst the rest join in with the chorus.

We also sing in a community choir and we are thinking of introducing some shanties or sea songs to the choir as a whole. Could be fun! We will also be tracking down some of the songs suggested.