A singing space: re-contextualizing tradition

Traditional singers in Ireland today gather in singing sessions to share traditional songs. A significant number of individuals involved in traditional singing in Ireland have expressed concern about the sustainability of the social life of traditional singing. For these individuals, the act of getting together to sing is deeply meaningful to their senses of identity and community. Therefore, this work investigates the vitality of social singing and its significance to modern life. This thesis problematizes the sustainability of tradition in a modern world based on its practice in singing sessions. By exploring the social life of Irish traditional singing in the context of song sessions, this thesis demonstrates what individuals within the singing community are doing to ensure its sustainability. To fully understand the sociality which can emerge from traditional singing, research was conducted as an autoethnography. Critical themes that emerged include identity, participation, and community. This thesis looks at repertoire to understand the connection singers make with each other through songs. Through a series of case studies, this work reveals that singing sessions are a response to the perceived need for safe and inclusive spaces to sing, which in turn fulfills a need for a safe space in which to develop a feeling of community. This thesis challenges the common assumption that traditional singing must be approached primarily as something to be safeguarded. Instead, it focuses on how and why individuals engender singing—creating and encouraging spaces for singing to take place. Stemming from this transition of approaches, ethnographic fieldword reveals that social singing communities work to re-contextualize spaces in which to sing to ensure the integrity of the singing while making it relevant today. Through this study, this thesis illustrates proven strategies that continue to make tradition relevant to twenty-first century social life.