Critical Review 8: Miller

Questions for Kiri:

You discuss how individuals feel specific connections to certain songs, and even claim them, whether openly or in a way that is mutually understood by group members. Do you find this phenomenon within the Sacred Harp group here at Brown? You mentioned that there are members of Brown's group that don't follow the music's religious affiliation, and in fact the majority are not Baptist Christians. How are certain idiosyncrasies different or similar in the specifically religiously-affiliated Sacred Harp groups you’ve studied versus the groups that are not specifically affiliated with the religion?

You write about the controversies and connotations of oral tradition versus written tradition in Sacred Harp singing. Sometimes, it seems, people who have learned primarily through oral tradition take offence at such stereotypes as that they cannot read music, while other times this method of passing down tradition is seen as superior and evidence of insider status. In your experience, how do/have most people responded to the social associations with these two kinds of learning? Do people feel the need to prove their music-reading abilities, or is it more valued to simply be a part of the oral tradition? If the answer to this is completely based on the individual, are there any specific aspects of an individual’s background that stand out that might determine her sentiments about the issue?


Question for discussion:

Kiri’s article notes that Sacred Harp singers will sometimes, knowingly or unknowingly, sing a different harmony than what is written for their parts, and occasionally a music writer for this genre will hear these changes and think they fit better than what was originally written. Who has authority to make such changes? If an outsider comes into a group and internally hears something she feels might sound better, should she change it when singing? Or should she, as an outsider, make a special effort to follow along with everyone else? Where should a line be drawn of who can make changes, if there is a line?