HEAVE HO! MUSIC THAT WORKS

Lesson 1: Write your shanty during repetitive tasks and daily routines

Thanks to our busy modern lifestyles, most of us think of music as an added pleasure in our lives, but somehow separate from what we do. Music is recreation! While some sea shanties (known as forebitters) are intended for entertainment, songs about missing loved ones, tributes to the fallen and hope for better times (e.g. Leave Her, Johnny, and Don’t Forget Your Old Shipmate), most emerged to accompany maritime tasks. They were led by one trusted leader (the ‘shantyman’) who acted as both musical and workforce director. In short, the music was necessary in the coordination, physical exertion, signalling, and to keep up spirits. Writing a shanty of your own? Put your guitar down – authentic melodic ideas will come if you sing, hum or whistle while you work.