Why do we sing unaccompanied?

Subject: RE: Why do we sing unaccompanied?
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 11 Sep 09 - 03:22 PM

Depends on the song for some of us. Mostly, I accompany myself on an instrument because I like the second "voice" in harmony or counterpoint. On some songs I want the words to stand alone, and on others, I like the freedom to phrase a song as I am feeling it without the meter of accompaniment. In gospel, I've become comfortable changing the meter to support my phrasing, rather than having my phrasing fit the meter.

Subject: RE: Why do we sing unaccompanied?
From: Rasener
Date: 11 Sep 09 - 03:21 PM

>>unaccompanied singing can have a much greater impact<<

Unfortunately it hasn't for me. Much prefer singers being accompanied. In all forms of music, i have always listened and bought music with instruments in.

Subject: RE: Why do we sing unaccompanied?
From: Santa
Date: 11 Sep 09 - 03:02 PM

One point my wife has made is that verses in songs are often not simple repeats of the music, and this can cause problems with an inexpert accompanist. This is presumably linked to Jim's comment above about narrative, if not quite as far as Marje's free-flowing rythm that actually defies accompanyment.

I initially typed "deified", certainly not what was intended!

Subject: RE: Why do we sing unaccompanied?
From: Jim Carroll
Date: 11 Sep 09 - 02:38 PM

The British tradition, with a tiny handful of exceptions, is an unnaccomanied one, because, I believe, it is a strictly narrative one.
There is no reason whatever why accompaniment shouldn't be used for folk songs - as long as that is what it does - accompany.
Too often the instrument is either too loud, so the words are lost to the listener, or too intrusive and distracts the attention.
There is an argument (Netl, I think) that a combination of song and crude instrumentation (even the sound of the work itself) accompanied some work songs; believable if you listen to Lomax's recording of convicts chopping wood.
Jim Carroll

Subject: RE: Why do we sing unaccompanied?
From: Marje
Date: 11 Sep 09 - 02:35 PM

There are all sorts of reasons why singing has been unaccompanied in the past - unavailability of instruments or people to play them, communal singing or activities (work, marching) making accompaniment unnecessary, singing seen as an extension of story-telling, the need to focus on the words of a song (which can be undermined by an accompaniment), the fact that the voice is portable and always available wherever you go, to list just a few.

Today, people are much more likely to have the option of accompaniment - if you can't afford or can't play an instrument, you can probably find someone to accompany you if that's what you want. But many people still choose not to have an accompaniment, for some of the other reasons given above. If the song has an important story to tell and you really want people to listen to the words, unaccompanied singing can have a much greater impact. Also, some songs are best sung in a loose, flowing rhythm that defies accompaniment.

I think you'll find that in relgious observance, the voice, using singing to carry the words, is sometimes seen as a pure expression of the soul, whereas instrumental music and accompaniment can be seen as a dangerous distraction from worship. In the UK, the "higher" the church is (taking RC as the high point), the more likely it is to use lavish musical arrangments, sung masses etc, whereas the "lower" churches (e.g. Methodism, Baptists) will tend to use just a simple organ accompanimentexcept for special occasions, and try not to distract from the words being sung. Unaccompanied singing is just a step further in this direction.

That's a bit of a generalisaion, and just an idea to start you off, not a fully-fledged theory.

Marje

Subject: RE: Why do we sing unaccompanied?
From: Crow Sister (off with the fairies)
Date: 11 Sep 09 - 02:27 PM

For me it was a combo of wanting to sing, not being able to play an instrument, and discovering err 'traditional' unaccompanied singing.. Doubt I'd get up and just sing solo in front of people, unless there was already an existing recognised convention for doing so.

Subject: RE: Why do we sing unaccompanied?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 11 Sep 09 - 01:42 PM

Life isn't all work, and not all songs are work songs.

Often enough in a song session I'll sing without an instrumental accompaniment, even if I've got an instrument handy. Sometimes it's to save the bother of taking it out and making sure it's in tune, but often enough it's because I think it works better without an accompaniment. Or sometimes, if most other people are singing unaccomnpanied, it can seem more in keeping, and better manners.

The only reason to play an accompaniment is if it means you sound better, and do the song more justice.

All too often an accompaniment can take the edge off the singing and smooth out the variation in the notes.   You need to know a song very well and have sung it a good few times before it's likely that you will sing it as well with an accompaniment, even though you might find it easier keeping in tune with the accompaniment, if that's a problem.

Singing is a natural thing to do, there's no need to make a performance out it, as the saying goes.

Subject: RE: Why do we sing unaccompanied?
From: Tug the Cox
Date: 11 Sep 09 - 01:29 PM

They were never 'unaccompanied'. The earliest rhythms were work rhythms (3/4 being the rhythm of scything...see RVW for more info)and the work rhythm was vital to the singing, whether on the farm or on the ship, and singers would move in accordance with the rhythms to which the songs were attached. If you mean 'without instrumental backing' , then that's because its difficult to play and work at the same time. When the song's moved indoors, the musicians, who normally already played for dancing, would sometimes accompany, but it wasn't necessary. Revival singers, such as martin carthy, took old songs and put wonderful guitar accompaniments on them...because he could!
   The Copper repertoire includes songs that may have had an organ accompaniment if the songs were learned in church, but at home,or the pub, unaccompanied was the only option, not a shibbloeth.

Subject: RE: Why do we sing unaccompanied?
From: MGM·Lion
Date: 11 Sep 09 - 01:09 PM

But the Coppers never made a fetish of it and certainly got more relaxed about it — Bob learned the English concertina and accompanied himself on it on solo tracks on his later records.

I once asked Ewan MacColl in the bar at the Princess Louise why he sometimes sang Eppie Morrie unaccompanied, as he had the previous week, and sometimes with Peggy Seeger's banjo for accompaniment, as he had just done before the interval - was it just a mater of the mood he was in? He replied that, yes, that was all there was to it.

Subject: RE: Why do we sing unaccompanied?
From: Rasener
Date: 11 Sep 09 - 01:03 PM

My first thoughts are that a lot of the people that sing unaccompanied are unable to play an instrument or not able to play and sing at the same time.

Subject: RE: Why do we sing unaccompanied?
From: Rapparee
Date: 11 Sep 09 - 01:01 PM

Well, I can't sing and play the trumpet at the same time.

But I suspect that it started because people wanted to sing (for any reason) and just decided to do so. My family has always sang or whistled as they worked, and I'm sure that others did the same. We did it in the Army and it helped shorten the miles we walked. Shanties were sung for a variety of reasons, and lightening the task was one of them. Ditto for working the farm fields.

Music, like laughter, kills lonesome.

Subject: RE: Why do we sing unaccompanied?
From: GUEST,Noreen
Date: 11 Sep 09 - 01:01 PM

Do a search here on Mudcat and you will find several discussion threads on the subject.

Subject: RE: Why do we sing unaccompanied?
From: Bill D
Date: 11 Sep 09 - 01:00 PM

" WHY the singing tradition has such a special place for unaccompanied performance or indeed how this evolved. "

Ummm...gee....singing started way before most people had any idea of using instruments to accompany themselves.

Look at The Copper Family...they sang at work and at pubs....probably few folks they knew could even afford any instrument.

And, for many the song is what is important.

Subject: Why do we sing unaccompanied?
From: seamasmac
Date: 11 Sep 09 - 12:51 PM

I'm doing some research on the 'sacredness' of unaccompanied singing. I'm looking at a number of religious traditions such as Qur'anic singing/call to prayer and Christian chant. My main focus is on the singing traditions of Britain and Ireland though and I was wondering if anybody had any thoughts or pointers to research and writing done on WHY the singing tradition has such a special place for unaccompanied performance or indeed how this evolved. Any similar examples from other cultures would be of interest too. Thanks.