Regional Accents

[Bigsby]

He's right you know. I'd say myself and the majority of my close friends are lacking in an accent that can readily be identified with the north-east because our middle-class upbringing discourages it. I don't think there's any kind of singing equivalent of it, so whether I was to sing in a stronger regional accent or one of these more "generic" voices it makes little difference to the authenticity of the voice.

Not just Scotland either, Sting once said "I realised very young that the guy reading the news wasn't speaking Geordie"

[GirlsBike2]

Some people do talk very broad and why should they have to sing in a way that is completely unlike how they talk?

I didn't have a scooby that Bullet for my Valentine were welsh, I thought they were American until I was skipping through music channels and the Kerrang awards were on (not that watching Kerrang is a habit...)

I don't think Glasvegas sound as though the accent is put on, it sounds natural. But I have some very broad Glaswegian friends and family.

My grandfather used to sing around Aberdeen (in the olden days) and there was always a hint of his accent.

What is so wrong with having an accent or would you prefer everyone sounded the same?

[Larsen B]

Some people do talk very broad and why should they have to sing in a way that is completely unlike how they talk?

I didn't have a scooby that Bullet for my Valentine were welsh, I thought they were American until I was skipping through music channels and the Kerrang awards were on (not that watching Kerrang is a habit...)

I don't think Glasvegas sound as though the accent is put on, it sounds natural. But I have some very broad Glaswegian friends and family.

My grandfather used to sing around Aberdeen (in the olden days) and there was always a hint of his accent.

What is so wrong with having an accent or would you prefer everyone sounded the same?

The danger in Scotland seems to be that everyone does sound the same, because there's a tendency for all "Scottish" accents to sound Glaswegian when sung.

[GirlsBike2]

I stay in Aberdeenshire, and there is no way in hell that the teuchters who sing sound Glasgwegian.

I can understand Glasgwegians, but I can't even understand half of my neighbours (I stay in a glen). When they sing, it's a garbled mix of ayes and ohs. And that isn't a generalisation!

To Aberdonians (well, everyone I know and have asked) agree that "een" is "one". Where I am they think "een" means "eye"...

[Bigsby]

The danger in Scotland seems to be that everyone does sound the same, because there's a tendency for all "Scottish" accents to sound Glaswegian when sung.

The Kitchen Cynics don't sound Glaswegian.

[Larsen B]

The Kitchen Cynics don't sound Glaswegian.

I didn't mean literally all! Nor is it a massive problem for me, I'm just summing up one of the main thrusts of argument in this thread.

[Alan Cynic]

The Kitchen Cynics don't sound Glaswegian.

Aw ra best,'n 'at bigman!!!!

[Bigsby]

Aw ra best,'n 'at bigman!!!!

Just because you are literally a soap-dodger, doesn't mean you have to talk like one.

[Guest treader.]

i listened to the glasvegas album today...fuck me, it's bloody awful.

[Guest idol_wild]

He's right you know. I'd say myself and the majority of my close friends are lacking in an accent that can readily be identified with the north-east because our middle-class upbringing discourages it.

Discourages it in what way?

[Larsen B]

Discourages it in what way?

In my experience it just encourages a more anglified pronounciation of words in order to speak "proper english", and doric was also out of bounds for me at least. Also I think middle class areas tend to have a higher concentration of people from different areas of the UK and so you don't pick up the local accent so well and instead develop a more non-descript accent (as opposed to, in my case, a cross-breed of weegie and Norfolk).

[Guest idol_wild]

In my experience it just encourages a more anglified pronounciation of words in order to speak "proper english", and doric was also out of bounds for me at least. Also I think middle class areas tend to have a higher concentration of people from different areas of the UK and so you don't pick up the local accent so well and instead develop a more non-descript accent (as opposed to, in my case, a cross-breed of weegie and Norfolk).

I can accept that. I was just clueless and curious.

I was the opposite - from a distinctly lower working class background, encouraged to adopt the local dialect, but actively chose to speak in a more general Scottish tongue because of how repugnant I find doric.

[Swingin' Ryan]

Singing is something that tends to bring out your accent more a lot of the time, I tend to talk in a fairly non-descript accent as I make the effort to do that because I tend to talk very quickly so if I have any kind of accent on top of that, I'm pretty much incomprehensible.

There's some situations where my accent is more noticable though, like when I sing, when I'm drunk or when I'm annoyed about something, then I tend to naturally lilt into it. The more west of Scotland part of my accent I've lightly grown from my Mum's side tends to come out a bit more when I sing or get worked up in anyway, particularly in the rolling R's. I generally have no real noticable accent at all though.

I find the whole singing in an extreme Scottish accent a la Glasvegas or Twilight Sad quite endearing to listen to, but because I don't say things like 'Ma' and 'Shouldnae' in day to day speech, I obviously wouldn't start using them when I sing. The guy from Glasvegas does talk like that though, to the point I'd imagine he literally couldn't sing anyother way without serious concentration.

[KimyReizeger]

Doric is a relatively nice accent when spoken properly. Much better than Weegie.

[Alan Cynic]

Just because you are literally a soap-dodger, doesn't mean you have to talk like one.

I should give you an Imperial Leathering for that, but I've Camay-ed down:swearing:

[Guest idol_wild]

Doric is much better than Weegie.

I will agree entirely with you on that score.

[Huw]

the guy who sings for copy haho has a pleasant scottish accent. i don't know wha it is though.

toby who was in meet me in st louis had a pretty nasty londonish accent, but it worked.

[lovers_spit]

the guy who sings for copy haho has a pleasant scottish accent. i don't know wha it is though.

Stonehaven, the greatest town in the greatest country in the world.

[KimyReizeger]

On Americanisms, Rock n Roll is an American genre in origin, and it is inevitable that strands of that meme will be eternally present in its derivations, Jagger on 'Exile..' is an example that I enjoy, while fully acknowledging that it is ridiculous. Ridiculous can be good.

.

That's what I think it comes down to. Just a shame it takes shallow marketing gimmicks to change this.

British 70s rock bands define the generic voice for me - fundamentally American, but slipping into English for ease of pronunciation every now and then.

I've also heard German bands rattling off sly 'aww yeah's

[-matthEw-]

Doric in proper Bothy Ballad style is one of the most breath-taking things to see. anyone know Geordie Murrison? thought he was semi-famous round these parts but can't find much about him on the net. anyway, his voice is absolutely majestic and completely natural and Aberdonian through and through.

can only see this poor quality youtube video but you'll get the idea

Geordie on mandolin and the other guy Joe Aitken seems pretty shit-hot too.

[all_his_engines]

He's right you know. I'd say myself and the majority of my close friends are lacking in an accent that can readily be identified with the north-east because our middle-class upbringing discourages it. I don't think there's any kind of singing equivalent of it, so whether I was to sing in a stronger regional accent or one of these more "generic" voices it makes little difference to the authenticity of the voice.

Personally, I don't think area or upbringing has as much to do with accent formation as the tendancies of the person themselves. For example, I had a tutor at Uni who was Swedish, but you'd never have guessed it because the during his three years in Aberdeen he'd developed a flawless Scottish accent. I've lived in Scotland more than half my life and I still talk with an English accent. Everybody's different in terms of how they respond to external stimuli. Plus, increased social mobility during the latter part of the last century means that accents are no longer the guaranteed symbols of class that they used to be. I've met many middle-class individuals with very strong regional accents.

The point I was trying to get across earlier was that people should just sing in the way that's natural to them. If that's in their own accent or something different, then that's fine. There isn't one way for everyone. But it's suspicious when artists change their singing style to an approach which just happens to be in line with the current popular zeitgeist.