Song: Saturday Folk Music Workshops

Study Singing at Cecil Sharp House, at the heart of English folk.

Britain contains a large and highly evolved repertoire of traditional song covering a variety of genres - from ballads and comic songs to work songs and ceremonial songs - as well as a wealth of singing styles. This class aims to introduce these extraordinary traditions through a practical workshop, through the learning and exploration of these songs and listening in to the voice of our cultural ancestors.

The song class is open to all: songs are learnt by ear without musical notation and field recordings are often used for source material. Lyrics will be available after initially learning a song by, both in the form of handouts and also on the online groupsite, along with sound recordings of all material. We focus on learning a new song by ear each week and then often break into smaller groups to work on specific techniques such as ornamentation, harmony singing and interpretation. We cover techniques applicable to solo singing, but most singing is done in groups. However, there are opportunities for solo singing for those who wish.

The class is for everyone over the age of 16. Young people aged 12 to 16 are welcome when accompanied by a paying responsible adult.