Living collectors

23 Nov 05 - 01:02 PM (#1612048)
Subject: Living collectors
From: GUEST,Fay

Hello,

I'm looking for people who collect songs to answer a few questions for a paper I'm writing for my PhD. Anyone out there know of any collectors, or are one yourself? I can pm or email the sheet out to anyone interested.

Thanks, Fay.

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23 Nov 05 - 01:08 PM (#1612056)
Subject: RE: Living collectors
From: Folkiedave

The only one (who used to work full time not sure if he does now) is Tom Munnelly who works in Ireland and lives near Miltown Malbay.

Steve Gardham - Hull, John and Katie Howson at the East Anglia Traditional Music Trust......Mike Yates, nr. Berwick on Tweed. Ian Russell at Elphinstone Institute Aberdeen.

Best suggestion I can give is join Tradsong www.tradsong.org and post to their group.

Loads about really.

Dave

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23 Nov 05 - 01:20 PM (#1612071)
Subject: RE: Living collectors
From: Wesley S

Fay - A few more details might be helpful. What songs or collectors are you interested in ?

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23 Nov 05 - 01:33 PM (#1612082)
Subject: RE: Living collectors
From: Fay

Thanks folkie dave, I'll chase some of those ideas up.

Wesley - I am trying not to be prescriptive about either the material or type of collector. Basically anyone who activly collects vocal, musical data for some purpose. There was the big revival boom at the turn of the last century and splatters of collection of 'traditional' song since. There is currently a focus in Cultural Musicology on activity, context and performance and meanings rather than gathering material as the earlier collectors were focused on. I am hoping to build a picture of any changes of approach, reasons and outcomes of different types of collections since the 1900's.

Hope that helps
Fay.

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23 Nov 05 - 01:45 PM (#1612098)
Subject: RE: Living collectors
From: Little Robyn

If you're anywhere near Newcastle, try Johnny Handle.
Robyn

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23 Nov 05 - 02:25 PM (#1612152)
Subject: RE: Living collectors
From: katlaughing

Also contact our own Dick Greenhaus and Susan of the DT, as they are the ones who have collected and built the Digital Tradition, accessed right here at the Mudcat. Dick's been doing it for a long time and, I believe, it is accurate to say he's one of the first to make use of new technology to do so. You may reach him at Camsco Music.

Sandy and Caroline Paton are also Mudcat members who have done some collecting. You will find them at Folk Legacy Records.

kat

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23 Nov 05 - 02:34 PM (#1612159)
Subject: RE: Living collectors
From: BB

Gwilym Davies, Gloucestershire

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23 Nov 05 - 02:40 PM (#1612164)
Subject: RE: Living collectors
From: GUEST

Pete Shepheard of Springthyme Records in Fife.

Jack Beck

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23 Nov 05 - 02:40 PM (#1612166)
Subject: RE: Living collectors
From: JohnB

Peter Kennedy nuff said.
JohnB

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23 Nov 05 - 03:51 PM (#1612236)
Subject: RE: Living collectors
From: Barbara Shaw

Karen K of the mudcat collects songbooks and is working on indexing the collection. Roger Sprung, legendary banjoist from Sandy Hook, CT unofficially collects songs and knows hundreds. For bluegrass, try Upstate NY: Bill Knowlton's "Bluegrass Ramble", Sunday 9 PM to midnight, WXNY 91.3 Syracuse; WUNY 89.5 Utica; WJNY 90.9, Watertown.

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23 Nov 05 - 04:13 PM (#1612262)
Subject: RE: Living collectors
From: Joybell

Hello Fay. We are hunters and gatherers as well as performers. Cheers, Joy

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24 Nov 05 - 05:41 AM (#1612668)
Subject: RE: Living collectors
From: GUEST,padgett

I think I am reading the thread correctly when I say that Fay is looking for any collector and not restricting to traditional folk song source singers (however defined).

I think many of us are collectors in our own way ~ Fay appears to be looking at changes perhaps in style and content as to what people have been singing and thus collectors collecting over the last X number of years.

It doesnt even from the look thats he is confining herself to folk song necessarily but she needs to define what she is looking for herself, perhaps, particularly if I have it all wrong.

Ray Padgett, TSF member, collector (at work)

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24 Nov 05 - 05:56 AM (#1612675)
Subject: RE: Living collectors
From: greg stephens

PM me your questionnairee and I'll gladly fill it in, Fay.
    I am delighted you are joining the ranks of those interested in the singers as opposed to the songs. There is so much more to folk music than the tunes and the words. (THis is actually a bit of self-promotion. I have just finished writing the life and times of William irwin, the English folk fiddler, and I hope lots of people will be interested in reading it!).

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24 Nov 05 - 08:18 AM (#1612734)
Subject: RE: Living collectors
From: GUEST

Dr Price here at Mudcat used to collect songs in South Wales

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24 Nov 05 - 11:35 AM (#1612867)
Subject: RE: Living collectors
From: Fay

Hello all,

As there seems to be confussion as to who or what I'm looking for I thought I might as well post the questions here for anyone who feels themselves interested and relevant to copy into a word document, fill out and email back to me at the address below. It is basically to get an overview of what work is going on - I ask at the bottom if I may contact you in the furure if your work is particually relevant to what I'm looking into and I want further info.
Hope this helps,
Fay xx

Collectors' Questions

I am a PhD student at Sheffield University writing a short paper about collectors and collections of songs and would greatly appreciate an overview of your approach and attitudes to collection of this material. I recommend you quickly skim through the questions to get a feel of the sort of information I am looking for and avoid duplicating answers. Completed sheets can be emailed back to me at the address found at the bottom of this sheet. Thanks very much for taking the time to look through this.

Name:                         Contact Details:

How do you record material?

How do you store material?

How do you present material?

Whom do you record?

How do you find these people?

What kind of material do you record?

What contexts do you record in?

Do you instigate performance? How do you do this? or Why don't you do this?

Do you seek permission to record? What method do you use for this?

How do you limit the scope of your area of interest in terms of:
Performer:
Material:
Context:


What information do you record and why do you find this important?

What motivates you to make these recordings?

What purpose do you see you collection having for the future?

What other collections or collectors have influenced the way you work?

Can you recommend anyone else it would be appropriate for me to send these questions to? (Contact details appreciated)

Are you happy for me to contact you to expand on areas of these answers in the future? Yes/No

Thank you very much for taking the time to complete these questions.

Fay Hield
[e-mail]

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24 Nov 05 - 01:48 PM (#1612972)
Subject: RE: Living collectors
From: GUEST,DB

I notice that no one seems to have mentioned the amazing Doc Rowe, yet.
There's some recent details on the Musical Traditions website.

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25 Nov 05 - 10:14 AM (#1613550)
Subject: RE: Living collectors
From: dick greenhaus

john Cohen--a prolific and important collector.

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25 Nov 05 - 07:08 PM (#1613847)
Subject: RE: Living collectors
From: Matthew Edwards

Fay, I think it would also be valuable to ask collectors how they handle matters such as payment and rights.

Do collectors offer payment? or do they feel awkward at raising money questions? Are informants sometimes left with expectations of fame or material success?

Do collectors explain how informants may be entitled to any rights from publication of their recordings? I would hope that as a matter of courtesy that informants would be given copies of the material collected, but this has not always been the case.

It would be another Ph.D perhaps to look at how informants (what an awkward term that is!) have responded to collectors.

Seeing that you've managed to land in God's county of Yorkshire might I suggest a trip to Bridlington to have a chat with Jim Eldon?

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25 Nov 05 - 08:22 PM (#1613876)
Subject: RE: Living collectors
From: dick greenhaus

I'm not sure what "feable" means, but I don't think I am.

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26 Nov 05 - 06:41 PM (#1614333)
Subject: RE: Living collectors
From: GUEST

A short phone call to Malcolm Taylor would have delivered all the names above and more besides. I find it rather shocking that a researcher seems to be unaware of basic resources such as the VWML.

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27 Nov 05 - 04:01 AM (#1614532)
Subject: RE: Living collectors
From: greg stephens

I find it rather shocking that someone could be so stupid as to read this thread and imagine that Fay is unaware of the existence of the VWML

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27 Nov 05 - 04:45 AM (#1614552)
Subject: RE: Living collectors
From: Tradsinger

Fay,

I have been recording tradition source singers in England, Wales and the States for about 35 years. PM me.

There are still a number of people doing the same as me, but very few. To name a few: Paul Marsh in Hampshire, Bob and Jackie Patten in Devon, Roy Palmer (currently in Worcestershire but from Birmingham), John Howson of Veteran tapes, of course. Others have been mentioned in the above thread. In addition there must be hundreds of people who have the odd recording of traditional singers, i.e. a tape of grandad singing at a Christmas party.

Good luck in your work. Can I reinforce the above advice to get a complete list from the VWML.

Gwilym

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27 Nov 05 - 05:14 AM (#1614560)
Subject: RE: Living collectors
From: Matthew Edwards

I think Fay can be trusted to be aware of the VWML, so our Guest's shock is rather misplaced!

There are a lot of people who probably don't even think of themselves as "collectors", but who have made tapes or recordings of singers and musicians or have noted down songs and tunes for their own personal interests. I hope that Fay can discover a few people who have collected on such an amateur basis by issuing this broad appeal.

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