Pam Swan           mouth music

What is Mouth Music?

    There's a kind of singing found in every culture-- rhythmic, traditional a cappella songs used

during work, play, social gatherings, or for dancing when there are no instruments.  The most

widely used term for this rhythmic traditional a cappella singing is Mouth Music.       

    Many types of Mouth Music are associated with particular cultures,

here are a few examples:

                Puirt-a-beul

                        Literally "tune from the mouth" in Scottish Gaelic, this combination of

                Gaelic words and syllable fragments (vocables) creates such a strong rhythm

                that it can be sung to familiar tunes and used for dancing without instruments.  

                Waulking Songs   Sample: Heman Dubh (2:01)   Pam Swan & Christine Primrose

                        Waulking wool is the traditional process of rhythmically beating wet fabric

                on a table to tighten the weave.   Traditional songs are sung by the waulking

                group to pass time and to keep all the workers moving the cloth in a uniform way.  

                Kan Ha Diskan 

                        In Brittany, the Celtic region in western France, this means "call and respond".

                Primarily sung for dance, two singers overlap their voices in a way that allows for

                a steady stream of music for the dancer, with small intervals of rest for the singer. 

                Diddling

                        Irish diddling, lilting, dandling, and other terms all refer to the singing of a

                for a dancer instead of playing it on a fiddle or other instrument.  Instead of words

                a series of syllable fragments (vocables) are used to accent the tune's rhythm.

                Xoomei 

                        In Central Asia, the people of Tannu Tuva is one culture that specializes in

                throat-singing.  Xoomei is one of many types of this traditional art, in which the

                singer holds a fundamental tone AND harmonizes in overtones at the same time.

                Katajjaq

                        In the Inuit culture,  from Greenland through the Arctic islands of Nunavut

                and down through Southern Canada, this is a joyful tradition of throat-singing

                in which two women face each other, trading intricate vocal sounds and laughter.

                Caoine  

                    A cross between a musical lament and a plaintive wail, keening (or caoine)

                has been part of many cultures for centuries, unaccompanied by instruments.

                Rarely heard outside a funeral, it has been found in Ireland, Asia, and Africa. 

                Reel-a-bouche 

                    From the Acadian and French Canadian culture comes a tradition of singing

                dance tunes by vocables (and sometimes verses) accompanied with rhythmic

                foot percussion.   Reel-a-bouche, literally means "reel from the mouth". 

                Play Songs

                   Children around the world have always made up songs to sing while playing.

                Counting songs, choosing songs, clapping songs, and ring or circle songs are

                just a few examples.  Nonsense songs also exist in most known languages. 

                Work Songs 

                    Around the world rhythmic traditional songs have been used to pass the time

                and help bring structure to repetitive labor.  Specific mouth music has evolved

                for rowing, milking, sailing, hammering, sawing, stonecutting, flax-beating, etc.

               Lullabies

                   The first mouth music we all hear are the instinctive rhythmic traditional songs

                used by mothers rocking their babies to sleep.  In each culture there are sounds

                and vocables from its language woven into the songs that rock us to sleep.

                Chin Music

                     The Appalachian tradition of singing words (and nonsense syllables) to fiddle

                tunes is often referred to as  chin music.  Closely related to Scottish puirt-a-beul

                and Irish diddling, silly words are often chosen for their rhythmic value.

                Epenthetic Songs

                      Epenthesis is inserting a sound in the body of a word.  Examples include the

                Pig Latin word "ook-Bay" for Book, or the Yiddish-influenced phrase "Book schmook". 

                Some Southern songs are built on repetitive use of epenthetic sounds.   

                African Chants

                      Call and response is a very strong tradition in the folk music of many African

                cultures.  Greeting chants, harvest chants, and many other songs include a strong

                harmonic overlap of one singer's call and another's answer.  

To book a class, workshop or presentation on mouth music, call (510) 530-7826

or e-mail pamswan@pamswan.com