Discover the age-old English tradition of pub song sessions to our camp. The week-long class will hold forth at the Festival on Saturday, singing, appropriately, at the beer and wine garden. The session is an opportunity to connect with others through shared singing and music making, to explore the English culture of pub singing. Many songs will be sung unaccompanied. Old English ballads, traditional songs, protest and union songs will be included.
Bring your voice, some songs, your ears, an instrument if you wish and a desire to take part in this ageless aural tradition.
Students will learn simple refrains and are encouraged to sing along ‘off the cuff’, either feeling out the melody or making up harmonies on the spot. This will be a chance to test your ear and create improvised backing accompaniment to the musicians in the room. Some songs will be explored in the ‘unaccompanied style’ so be ready to join in with singing, or sit back and enjoy the music around you for when your instrument isn’t needed. There will also be a chance for you to lead the group in a group singing activity, so if you’d like to, bring along a folk song with a strong and easy chorus we can all have a go at.
This session is open to absolute beginners up to expert and intermediate players. The session is an opportunity to connect to others through shared singing and music making and is a way to explore the English culture of pub singing.
