OK..up front...I'm a fiddle player of only mediocre talent who was raised on Bluegrass and Gospel in the Southeastern part of the U.S. I can't sing worth a flip and I'm utterly pathetic at rendering a tune by ear. If I have the dots and the tune I can generally get it worked out. OH..and I'm drawn to Irish Trad because of the connection to the music I grew up listening to...I'm a geeky amateur musicologist. So, now that that's out of the way...
I just discovered Sacred Harp singing and Shape Note singing...WOW!!! The connection to Sean Nos is absolutely unmistakeable.
What I thought was shape note singing wasn't...sorry. I was listening to Tim Eriksen and his style of singing is an acopella (how do you spell that word anyway?) style of bluegrass/gospel that is very reminiscent of Sean Nos singing. He is also an enthusiastic supporter of Shape Note (also called Sacred Harp) singing which is something entirely different and has little to no resemblance to any form of Irish trad. sorry....
Did I mention I'm a geeky amateur musicologist and that I have mediocre talent on my best day???
Similar insofar as both styles are unaccompanied, but the use of the voice and the style of ornamentation is quite different. The full voice of shape note and Appalachian ballad singing has a different power and use of the vocal cords than the more delicate sean nos singing. The Anglo-American use of passing notes is not the same as the rolls used in Irish singing. The two styles are about as similar as Tommy Jarrell and Michael Coleman. Both have their charms, and both were fiddlers, but they are distinct.
Half the fun of shape-note singing is that it is a communal activity, plus you do it a full throttle with no ( volume ) expression, unlike most other choral work. So, after three hours of this, you really feel the endorphins surging round your bloodstream. And then there's the strange harmonies they go for; have you sung New Britain ( Amazing Grace ) ? It has a completely different sound to the modern saccharine arrangements.
Unlike, say, swimming with Fungi the dolphin off Dingle, where you feel the endolphins surging round your bloodstream. ( Sorry )
Shape Note Singing
Shape Note Singing
OK..up front...I'm a fiddle player of only mediocre talent who was raised on Bluegrass and Gospel in the Southeastern part of the U.S. I can't sing worth a flip and I'm utterly pathetic at rendering a tune by ear. If I have the dots and the tune I can generally get it worked out. OH..and I'm drawn to Irish Trad because of the connection to the music I grew up listening to...I'm a geeky amateur musicologist. So, now that that's out of the way...
I just discovered Sacred Harp singing and Shape Note singing...WOW!!! The connection to Sean Nos is absolutely unmistakeable.
Sorry...had to get it off my chest.
# Posted on July 8th 2009 by ceolgaelach
Re: Shape Note Singing
Ummmm.....a slight retraction....
What I thought was shape note singing wasn't...sorry. I was listening to Tim Eriksen and his style of singing is an acopella (how do you spell that word anyway?) style of bluegrass/gospel that is very reminiscent of Sean Nos singing. He is also an enthusiastic supporter of Shape Note (also called Sacred Harp) singing which is something entirely different and has little to no resemblance to any form of Irish trad. sorry....
Did I mention I'm a geeky amateur musicologist and that I have mediocre talent on my best day???
# Posted on July 8th 2009 by ceolgaelach
Re: Shape Note Singing
I see (hear) what you mean
http://www.timeriksenmusic.com/everysoundbelow/
# Posted on July 8th 2009 by greg n'sheils
Re: Shape Note Singing
"a capella" I think is the word you want.
# Posted on July 8th 2009 by lazyhound
Re: Shape Note Singing
.....but that's two words, T.
# Posted on July 8th 2009 by domnull
Re: Shape Note Singing
Similar insofar as both styles are unaccompanied, but the use of the voice and the style of ornamentation is quite different. The full voice of shape note and Appalachian ballad singing has a different power and use of the vocal cords than the more delicate sean nos singing. The Anglo-American use of passing notes is not the same as the rolls used in Irish singing. The two styles are about as similar as Tommy Jarrell and Michael Coleman. Both have their charms, and both were fiddlers, but they are distinct.
# Posted on July 9th 2009 by dwdeacon
Re: Shape Note Singing
Sure, they are not the same, but the similarities seem stronger than the differences.
# Posted on July 9th 2009 by greg n'sheils
Re: Shape Note Singing
Half the fun of shape-note singing is that it is a communal activity, plus you do it a full throttle with no ( volume ) expression, unlike most other choral work. So, after three hours of this, you really feel the endorphins surging round your bloodstream. And then there's the strange harmonies they go for; have you sung New Britain ( Amazing Grace ) ? It has a completely different sound to the modern saccharine arrangements.
Unlike, say, swimming with Fungi the dolphin off Dingle, where you feel the endolphins surging round your bloodstream. ( Sorry )
# Posted on July 10th 2009 by Guernsey Pete