Strong Scottish Accent - Does It Matter?

Subject: RE: Strong Scottish Accent - Does It Matter?
From: kendall
Date: 14 Mar 09 - 08:02 AM

Maybe that's because in folk music, the lyrics are important.

Subject: RE: Strong Scottish Accent - Does It Matter?
From: GUEST,mauvepink
Date: 14 Mar 09 - 09:09 AM

Dave Gibb has a really strong Scottish accent but his wordsmith ways with lyrics and the quality of his tunes add to the song and never detract. So many Scottish singers are the same as other singers with different accents... George Papavgaris has quite a strong Greek accent, Tom Bliss an almost quintessential English accent, etc. etc.. There are many more examples

The thing I think they all have in common is that they are just being themselves when they sing and write - with nothing added or taken away - and it is THAT which makes each unique. I think it is only when people try to be something they are not, by trying to invent the accent of the songwriter or the dialect of the place it is meant to be being sung in, that it goes wrong. Few can carry that off successfully. I am sure it is meant to be flattering to the original singer, as mimicry often is, and there is no harm trying but to be inimitable has to be a sign of greatness in any singer/songwriter.

To Thine Own Self Be True. Sing as YOU sing and enjoy it. Be yourself. For every one that may not like the accent I am sure there will be many more who do :-)

I just envy anyone with a good voice and as long as they can sing then everything they bring to that song adds interest and uniqueness.

mp

Subject: RE: Strong Scottish Accent - Does It Matter?
From: BobKnight
Date: 16 Mar 09 - 04:01 PM

"Guest: Sounds a bit like Paul Brady."

Believe it or not I only discovered Paul Brady about a year ago, by which time my own singing style was well and truly established. However, he's a singer I admire very much, so thanks for that.

Subject: RE: Strong Scottish Accent - Does It Matter?
From: GUEST,Joe Simes
Date: 20 May 10 - 04:24 PM

@Peter the Squeezer

"Oop them stairs an' ton reet at 'top, mi duck".

I was chatting with a friend from Yorkshire about my family tree leading me from York to Leicester and he sent me a song called "Aye up mi Duck."

I have no problem with Doric or any other Scots dialect but the Leicester accent/words were totally unintelligible to me.

Great stuff Bob, by the way! If you are ever over in New Hampshire and are looking for a gig check out my folk club in Rollinsford!

Joe

Subject: RE: Strong Scottish Accent - Does It Matter?
From: MudGuard
Date: 20 May 10 - 04:39 PM

Listening to the songs, I do not have problems understanding the words - and I am not even a native speaker of English, I am German (or more exactly Bavarian).

I like the songs!

Andy a/k/a MudGuard

Subject: RE: Strong Scottish Accent - Does It Matter?
From: DonMeixner
Date: 21 May 10 - 02:39 PM

Hearing a Scottish singer has always been a treat to me. The dialect and accent adds a color and flavor to a Scottish song that is often lost otherwise. Hearing Jean Redpath sing Rothsea Bay for the first time was almost sensual. Jim Reid doing The Wild Geese(Norland Wind) made me feel the heart and soul of the singer.

How hard is it to understand the lyric? I have no problems with accents on songs that are English to start with. I perform a lot of songs that have dialectics that I have to English up a bit for my audience. And it is difficult to pick the songs that can stand this kind of arranging.   This is only an effort to make the song understandable. Just because I know what Dinna Ken means doesn't mean old Mrs. Barfington does and she just paid $5.00 to hear me. Singing is an act of communication and if Mrs. B doesn't understand what I am singing, no matter how well or clearly I sing it, I have failed in my job.

I won't sing in an accent not my own except to burlesque a comical tune. I just isn't honest. This is an argument I have had with the others in my band for twenty years. I am only now beginning to win out.

D