English Folk Singing and the Construction of Community Qualification: Phd

Access to Electronic Thesis Author: Fay Hield Thesis title: English Folk Singing And The Construction Of Community Qualification: PhD This electronic thesis is protected by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. No reproduction is permitted without consent of the author. It is also protected by the Creative Commons Licence allowing Attributions-Non-commercial-No derivatives. If this electronic thesis has been edited by the author it will be indicated as such on the title page and in the text. Abstract This thesis presents the ways contemporary English folk singers construct and enact community though their musical participation. To complement my existing knowledge from a 30 year long participation in folk singing, I use a combined approach of sociological methods including participant observation, diary, interview and focus group to obtain naturally occurring and elicited data. This information was collected following an adaptation of the Grounded Theory method and coded using the Atlas.ti programme. This process established various themes pertaining to the experience of community within folk singing environments arranged here in four chapters: the development of a folk repertoire and conceptions of tradition, the physical and temporal structures of folk events, the social environment, and the ways the sounds of folk singing are produced. A variety of theoretical approaches to the concept of „community‟ are applied to these phenomena, including imagined community, symbolic community, moral community, communities of practice, communitas and the role of individualism within the group. This research shows that, although „community‟ is not a term routinely applied by folk singers to their activities, interpretations of the term are evident in their behaviours. I have found the boundary of community within this context to be a fluid concept and the core of community to be based on individual perception. The ideological, organisational and social environments found in folk singing events suggest the capacity for open access and inclusivity, however, a relatively stable group of practitioners has developed and the resulting tacit behavioural norms creates a considerable barrier to participation for newcomers. Attaining the knowledge to fully engage, however, provides participants with a heightened sense of belonging and community is strongly felt precisely because it is difficult to achieve. i Contents Abstract i Contents ii Figures iv Contents of the audio CD vi Acknowledgements vii 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Introduction to the field and theoretical perspective 4 1.2 Overview of the thesis 8 1.3 The context for the research 10 1.3.1 Identifying community 10 1.3.2 The fields of music 12 1.3.3 Understanding folk music 16 2 Methodological and ethical considerations 21 2.1 Epistemological stance 21 2.2 Participant recruitment and consents 22 2.3 Data retrieval 25 2.4 Data analysis and presentation 31 2.5 Issues arising from the methodology 36 2.6 Conclusions on the methodology 39 3 The construction of repertoires and tradition 40 3.1 The construction of repertoires 40 3.1.1 The genre of folk 41 3.1.2 Defining the group and individual (through) repertoire 44 3.1.3 The ownership of material 55 3.2 The tradition and the community 58 3.2.1 Definitions of tradition 59 3.2.2 Preserving songs and practices 60 3.3 Absorbing new material into a traditional repertoire 66 3.4 Conclusions 69 4 Physical and temporal constructions of the English folk singing scene 70 4.1 The locations of folk singing 71 ii 4.2 Managing space and creating territories 83 4.3 Managing time 92 4.3.1 Timings within the event 92 4.3.2 Repeating events 98 4.4 Conclusions 107 5 The social interaction of folk singers 108 5.1 Having a role 108 5.1.1 Available Roles 109 5.1.2 Levels of role interaction and progression 114 5.1.3 The impacts of fulfilling roles 122 5.2 Communicative interactions 134 5.2.1 Spoken interactions 134 5.2.2 Non-verbal interactions 146 5.2.3 The regulation of behavioural norms 151 5.3 Relationships 157 5.3.1 Types of relationship 157 5.3.2 Depth and breadth of relationships 163 5.4 Conclusions 172 6 Producing the sounds of folk singing 174 6.1 The sound structures of folk singing 174 6.2 Issues of tolerance concerning ability and effort 190 6.3 Methods of learning 199 6.3.1 Learning away from the event and in situ 199 6.3.2 Repetition: prediction, memorisation and meaning 208 6.4 The individual and the group 218 6.5 Conclusions 230 7 Conclusion:How contemporary English folk singers construct community 231 References 236 Appendix 1 – Participants by data retrieval method 247 Appendix 2 – The diary model 248 Appendix 3 – The interview frame 249 Appendix 4 – The focus group model 250 Appendix 5 – Event repertoire lists 251 iii Figures Figure ‎3:1 Event advertisements in Stirrings Magazine for Royal Traditions (issue 140) and Raise the Roof (issue 131) showing the use of descriptive terms in promotional material. 48 Figure ‎4:1 Four maps showing the locations of events attended by participants during the diary project. 74 Figure ‎4:2 Two adverts appearing on the back pages of Stirrings magazine demonstrating the name change of „The Rockingham Arms‟ (issue ) to „The Rock‟ (issue 141). 78 Figure ‎4:3 Examples of staging arrangements a) Nancy Kerr and James Fagan at Bright Phoebus, 15 April 2010 b) Scuppered at The Hollybush Folk Club (photograph by Pete Shaw), circa October 2007 c) Judy Dalton at Anston Folk Club (photograph by Bob Butler), circa October 2007 d) Kelham Island Singing Session, 24 June 2007. 87 Figure ‎4:4 A calendar displaying the events attended by participants during the diary project highlighting their overlapping nature and repetitive structures. 103 Figure ‎4:5 A network of activity showing the top 12 attended events from the diary project. 106 Figure ‎5:1 An advertisement appearing in Tykes News (issue Autumn 2009) by Ryburn Folk Club featuring a list of their residents. 111 Figure ‎5:2 An example of house rules as displayed by Baca Pipes Folk Club circa 1998. 152 Figure ‎6:1 The keys of seven songs showing pitch alteration (the pitch ranges of these songs are displayed in figure 6:2) 176 Figure ‎6:2 Pitch ranges for male and female lead and harmony singers for the seven songs as detailed in figure 6:1. 178 Figure ‎6:3: Three examples of harmonies remaining on the tonic. 181 Figure ‎6:4: Three examples of harmonies descending to the 3rd. 181 Figure ‎6:5 Carol Schofield using printed lyrics as a prompt at the Kelham Island Singing Session, 24 February 2008. 197 iv Figure ‎6:6 Five examples of lyric repetition (group participation shown in bold type). 209 Figure ‎6:7 Errors in group participation during „The Cutty Wren‟ as sung by Jess Arrowsmith at Kelham Island Singing Session, 24 February 2008. 211 Figure ‎6:8 Lyrical and musical repetition in „The Little Tailor‟ as sung by Jeff (surname unknown) at Raise the Roof, 13 March 2008. 211 Figure ‎6:9 A sonographic representation of the effects of chorus repetition on volume on „Watch the War‟ as sung by Jess Arrowsmith at Kelham Island Singing Session 24 February 2008. 213 Figure ‎6:10 An example of lead singer and massed singer overlaps on 'Old Carpenter's Song' as sung by Jerry Simon at Raise the Roof, 13 March 2008. 224 v Contents of the audio CD 1. Paul Davenport, „Forward my Brave Boys‟. Kelham Island Singing Session, 24 February 2008. 2. Vikki Fielden, „Sing this Song‟. Raise the Roof, 13 March 2008. 3. Gordon Hoyland, „A Few Jovial Sportsmen‟. Folk at Home, 28 February 2008. 4. Raymond Greenoaken, „Poor Old Horse‟. Raise the Roof, 13 March 2008. 5. Jess Arrowsmith, „Watch the Wall‟. Kelham Island Singing Session, 24 February 2008. 6. Pete Garratt and Ken Atkinson, „You are the Night‟. Raise the Roof, 13 March 2008. 7. Fay Hield, „The Keeper‟. Raise the Roof, 13 March 2008. 8. Jerry Simon, „Old Carpenters Song‟. Raise the Roof, 13 March 2008. 9. Carol Schofield, „Polish Pilot‟. Kelham Island Singing Session, 24 February 2008. 10. Rob Slow and his dad (name unknown), „Just to Keep Life In‟. Raise the Roof, 13 March 2008. 11. Jess Arrowsmith, „The Cutty Wren‟. Kelham Island Singing Session, 24 February 2008. 12. Dave Staves, „Byker Hill‟. Kelham Island Singing Session, 24 February 2008. 13. Jeff [surname unknown], „The Little Tailor‟. Raise the Roof, 13 March 2008. 14. Jerry Simon, „It was Pleasant and Delightful‟. Raise the Roof, 13 March 2008. 15. Bob Butler, „Master of the Sheepfold Bin‟. Kelham Island Singing Session, 24 February 2008. 16. Peter Burnett, „Green Man‟. Raise the Roof, 13 March 2008. 17. Vikki Fielden, „The Grey Flannel Line‟. Raise the Roof, 13 March 2008. 18. Ron and Jenny Day, „Rolling Home‟. Raise the Roof, 13 March 2008. vi Acknowledgements I gratefully acknowledge the financial assistance of The University of Sheffield without whom this research would not have been possible. Sincere thanks are due to my supervisors, Joan Beal and Andrew Killick, who enabled me to explore my own avenues of investigation while providing useful suggestions for exploration. They have also been invaluable for providing encouragement at all stages throughout the process and cheerfully accommodating my mounting family responsibilities. I would not have been able to produce the thesis without the aid of all the participants of the study. Particular thanks go to the Sheffield-based singers who undertook tasks for me in addition to their singing activity, and especially to Bob Butler who provided information, assistance and encouragement far beyond that requested.

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