Thinking about singing

Not long ago, Shannon Heaton, who makes her living playing and singing music, wrote a post in which she considered looking at music structurally, analytically, in preparation for performance, and then getting into the fearless moment of peforming, and came up with a memorable image about that, too.

I've found myself thinking about singing in the same way but from a different place . I was at a pair of good singing sessions recently and really wanted to offer a song, but didn't, stayed with singing harmonies. That was fine, but I really wanted to join the conversation by sharing a song or two. Not sure where that will lead, but as that sort of welcoming situation usually occurs for me when I'm in Ireland and Scotland, maybe I have a bit of time to sort that out. Or not.



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thinking about sessions

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thinking about sessions

What is there in other sorts of music, or in other sorts of communities, that offers the same atmosphere as a really good session? I’m thinking about Irish and Scottish and Cape Breton ones, but I’ve also been to good sessions in bluegrass, and when songwriters get together. Both of those have been a bit different from the sort of community and sharing that goes on at a really good kitchen party or pub session though. When it’s really good, there's welcome for music new and familiar, recognition and connection when somebody else joins in and adds a part to what you are doing. Everybody is welcome to share a song, a tune, a story, a dance, or just to listen, and to change their minds about how they’ll participate at any moment. Like a good conversation, I suppose...which is why I’ve chosen to suggest the two recordings below to go along with this idea. They don’t have to to with sessions, but have a lot to do with conversation. Both are from Carrie Newcomer.



Betty's Diner

Regulars & Refugees


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sean nos, days of awe, and tradition

“The text is the same every year, but we are different.”

That’s Rabbi Sharon Brous speaking, She was talking with Krista Tippett of the American Public Media radio program Speaking of Faith about how and why the observance of the Days of Awe, a time of reflection, repentance, and renewal in the Jewish calendar, are connected to daily life today. Rosh Hashanah, the first day of this observance, begins on Monday.

Her comment sent me off thinking about sean nos. The words mean old style in Irish, and the term refers to a largely unaccompanied style of singing where the story is told, and the emotion is conveyed, only through the singer’s voice. It’s an oral tradition, and one which, while being a tradition, allows and encourages the singer to express his or her own understanding of the stories told through the way of using the voice. Stories they are, too, some sad, some funny, some tales of history. some tales of family. Traditional sean nos takes a bit of getting onto, sometimes, to listen, and it’s a style of music sung mostly in Irish too. The expressive qualities and connection of singer to song have influenced many singers in the Celtic world. Liam Ó Maonlaí, Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh, Cathie Ryan, Sean Keane, Mairéad Ni Mhaonaigh, and Dolores Keane are among those who continue to make ideas from this tradition live in their work today.

Speaking of Faith is an interesting show altogether, and it’s broadcast over the internet as well the air, and there are pod casts you can download and transcripts to read as well. Several years back host Krista Tippett participated in an online chat and I asked her about the music used on the show. “It’s not just background,” she said at the time, “it’s part of the context.” There’s no sean nos on this show about the Days of Awe, of course, but there is some fine and thought provoking music to go along with the ideas. Here’s another of those ideas from Brous: “The tradition isn’t perfect, “ and of her struggle to understand and accept that “My tears are part of the conversation.” Powerful thoughts, and ones that could apply equally to aspects of the musical traditions we explore here along the music road.


TG4, the Irish language television station, has put together a page of videos of sean nos which you can see here

Speaking of Faith website


Music Road: join her for a song: muireann nic amhlaoibh

Music Road: Cathie Ryan: Irish and American

creative practice: a hundred years ago

A hundred years ago, it was still true that most of the music people heard was live. They made themselves, their neighbors did, in parlor or front porch or church or kitchen, they went out to see someone play music, they listening and sang and played in pub or club or school room, at work and at home. A recent study shows that now, less than one per cent of the music most people hear is heard live. That’s unlikely to apply to may who travel with me along the music road. But still it’s an idea to think about regarding creative practice.


Music to go along with this: neither of these are direct references to the point above, but I think you may see connections, and I’d be interested if you'd leave a comment about what those are, if you do.


Beth Nielsen Chapman Prism: The Human Family Songbook

Cathie Ryan The Music of What Happens



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