The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #98949 Message #1967788
Posted By: Barry Finn
14-Feb-07 - 04:40 PM
Thread Name: unaccompanied and accompanied singing
Subject: RE: unaccompanied and accompanied singing
I'd have to say that over here in the Northeast US there are very few singing sessions, except the 7 shanty sings that I know of. The Irish sessions that I know of (unless they're a house session) are mostly instrumental & sing is frowned upon & some of these sessions have some good singers attending that play. I don't know why, maybe it's become an unwritten rule that even the singers are discouraged to sing, I don't attend enough anymore to know. The Press Room in NH is the exception. I haven't been to the UK & last I was in Ireland was 20 + yrs ago but I can fully understand the no instrument policies. When I was in Ireland there was singing at sessions but I can see why all the singer's clubs started cropping up, I wish it would happen here (aside from the shanty sings).
I sing mostly unaccompanied, (I only play a bodhran though I do at times use it to back up some of my songs) so I'm stuck there but I don't mind a sensitive accompaniment on soft, sweet or slow stuff, on rough, rowdy or raunchy stuff I don't care if the house joins in. I do find that because I normally focus my treatment of a song & how to use my voice to put it over that when others join in I sometimes have to block them out if they're not sensitive to how I'm phrasing, my timing, where I'm putting my emphasis on ornamentation, etc. & I do feel like I'm losing a bit in my treatment of the song as a trade off for the accompaniment. Granted if I could play an instrument well I probably could get past that with a lot of practice.
As for listening to unaccompanied singing I could relish in it for days on end depending who's doing it. To me there's nothing like a voice alone. It can vary far more that any instrument IMHO. The variety in voices is an inexhaustible resource for musical sound. I can also listen to the likes of the Watersons the Voice Squad, Finest Kind (Canadian) the Copper Family, Dave & Annie & other of that ilk non stop for months. On the other hand I could sit in ecstasy listening to some singer/songwriters accompany themselves or have a group backing them up like George Papavgeris, Duncan MacFairlane (sp), Jez Lowe, etc. Now some of these folks don't need instrumentation to put their songs over but if they feel that an accompanymentwell give it a bit extra, then by all means they should & I'd have to say that they'd be right about it too.
What I enjoy most is a great singing session where all voices are heard together, swapping leads, the various harmonies, the same melodies being done by different voices or just a step above the other, even those that couldn't carry a note if they had a bucket joining in. I had a friend tell me yrs ago that at sea (1915's-1930's) they'd all join in on the chorus & a good portion of those couldn't hold a note but it all came out as a sort of natural harmony.
What it boils down to is personnel taste & personnel opinion & in my case the voice is by far my musical choice & it is first & will be the last instrument we will use to make music. This doesn't make me a singing snob it's just what I like, I wouldn't go around putting other types or styles of music down but I definitely would ignore one type of workshop for another.
And Villan if I do ever get your way I'd love to drop in on your club, it sounds to me like the balls. Someday I do hope to visit some of the Irish singing clubs too.
Barry