A singing game is an activity based on a particular verse or rhyme, usually associated with a set of actions and movements. As a collection, they have been studied by folklorists, ethnologists, and psychologists and are seen as important part of childhood culture. The same term is also used for a form of video game that involves singing.
Singing games began to be recorded and studied seriously in the nineteenth century as part of the wider folklore movement. Joseph Strutt's Sports and Pastimes of the People of England (1801), Robert Chambers’s Popular Rhymes of Scotland (1826), James Orchard Halliwell's The Nursery Rhymes of England (1842) and Popular Rhymes and Nursery Tales (1849), and G. F. Northal's English Folk Rhymes (1892) all included singing games. [1] However, the first studies to focus solely on this area were William Wells Newell's Games and Songs of American Children (1883) and Alice Gomme's The Traditional Games of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1894-8). Both were considered landmark works in studies conducted on respective sides of the Atlantic. [1] Naturally, these studies tended to include many of the faults associated with the gathering of folklore and folk song examples in the eras studied. They have been criticised for focusing on rural society at the expense of urban, and an obsession with recovering what they considered “authentic” and original, but “disappearing,” verse from adults while disregarding contemporary practice by children. [1] Some of these problems were rectified by the work of Norman Douglas, who produced London Street Games in 1916, focusing on the urban working classes. [1]
Perhaps still the most significant works in the field are that of Iona and Peter Opie, who departed from previous practice in Britain; following work by Dorothy Howard in America and Brian Sutton-Smith in New Zealand, they relied on detailed observation of children for their evidence. This resulted in the couples’ works The Language and Lore of Schoolchildren (1959), Children's Games in Street and Playground (1969), and The Singing Game (1985). [1] Their extensive studies refuted the idea that the traditions of singing games were disappearing in the face of social and media change, and instead suggested adaptation as well as primary development. [1] Their work was highly influential, and efforts were made to replicate it in a number of locations, including America, where Herbert and Mary Knapp produced One Potato, Two Potato: the Secret Education of American Children (1976) and Finland which saw Leea Virtanen 's Children's Lore (1978). Wider anthropological-based studies include Helen Schwartzman's Transformations: The Anthropology of Children's Play (1978). [2]
As investigational evidence changed, so did the methods of recording. Early folklorists like Lady Gomme tended to provide written descriptions of games, lyrics, and occasionally musical notation of tunes. In time, complex symbols were developed to choreograph the body’s movements within the games, but from the late 1970s on there was increasing use of ethnographic film to record the actual practice of games, providing a record of the links between movement and music. [2]
Early folklorists tended to reflect contemporary theories and beliefs, including the view that singing games were a form of pagan survivalism, which led Alice Gomme to conclude that "London Bridge Is Broken Down" reflected a memory of child sacrifice, or 'devolution', which assumed that children's songs must have devolved down to children from adult culture and did not allow for innovation by children themselves. [2] The origins of most are obscure and have been evolved by children over many generations.
The Opies divided singing games into a number of categories, including:
Many other children's games, that do not themselves involve singing are prefaced by a song. Traditionally there were many calling rhymes, used to assemble players of a game, which is probably the origin of the nursery rhyme "Girls and Boys Come Out To Play". Singing games are often used as counting out or 'dipping' games, a means of starting a game by choosing special roles, usually by eliminating all but one player, most famously in rhymes like "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe" and "One potato, two potato". [3]
Some children's singing games may have their origins in circle dances, including "Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush". The simplest, and perhaps the best known, circle dance is "Ring a Ring o' Roses".
A number of singing games deal with elements of courtship and marriage, like "Skip to My Lou", which remained also an adult courtship song, and "Green Grass" and "Three Dukes", which was largely retained only by children. [4] Perhaps the best known of wedding ring games, where players are chosen for various roles in married life, from a circle is "The Farmer in the Dell".
A clapping game is usually played by two players and involves clapping as accompaniment to a rhyme. Clapping games are found throughout the world and similar games may be known throughout large areas with regional variations. The rhyme helps the players carry out the codas in time. [5]
A skipping or jump-rope rhyme, is a form of singing game chanted while using skipping ropes. Such rhymes have been recorded in all cultures where skipping is played. Examples of English-language rhymes have been found going back to at least the seventeenth century. Like most folklore, skipping rhymes tend to be found in many different variations. [6]
In this game, two players make an arch while the others pass through in single file while singing a song. The arch is then lowered at the end of the song to "catch" a player. Perhaps the most common example of such a game involves the song "London Bridge is Falling Down." A similar game is played to the tune of "Oranges and Lemons." Similar games exist in other cultures as well. In Japan, for example, similar games are played to the song "Toryanse." In Mexico, the game is played to the song "La Vibora de La Mar."
A variety of roles have been attributed to singing games, including exploring language, allowing acceptable criticism and to regularise and ritualise play and other behaviour. Most singing games tend to be co-operative rather than competitive and communal rather than hierarchical. [7]
From the eighteenth century it has been argued that the culture of singing games is dying out. There is evidence that street games in many European and North American regions are disappearing as children play less in 'unsafe' traffic-filled roads, and simple games compete with the rise of television, video games and other pastimes; however, detailed observations indicate that they still thrive in the playground. [8] There is evidence that age range has narrowed, with adolescents almost totally abandoning them and the 'guardianship' of games being left to those aged six to ten years old. [9] Recently Iona Opie has noted that singing games in Britain have become virtually the preserve of girls. [10]
Singing video games pit multiple players against each other, or a single player against previous performances or a set standard. Objectives might include subjectively rated creativity, adherence to a theme, ability to mimic another performer, or objectively rated pitch and note duration. Examples include Karaoke Revolution , released by Konami, which measures a player's pitch and gives a score based on the player's ability to maintain the proper pitch and duration for each note while singing along with a song whose lyrics are displayed on the screen. High scores are saved, so players can compete against each other or previous scores.
Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as tales, myths, legends, proverbs, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also includes material culture, such as traditional building styles common to the group. Folklore also encompasses customary lore, taking actions for folk beliefs, and the forms and rituals of celebrations such as Christmas, weddings, folk dances, and initiation rites.
A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for children in Britain and other European countries, but usage of the term dates only from the late 18th/early 19th century. The term Mother Goose rhymes is interchangeable with nursery rhymes.
"London Bridge Is Falling Down" is a traditional English nursery rhyme and singing game, which is found in different versions all over the world. It deals with the dilapidation of London Bridge and attempts, realistic or fanciful, to repair it. It may date back to bridge-related rhymes and games of the Late Middle Ages, but the earliest records of the rhyme in English are from the 17th century. The lyrics were first printed in close to their modern form in the mid-18th century and became popular, particularly in Britain and the United States, during the 19th century.
A clapping game is a type of usually cooperative game which is generally played by two players and involves clapping as a rhythmic accompaniment to a singing game or reciting of a rhyme, often nursery rhymes. Clapping games are found throughout the world and similar games may be known throughout large areas with regional variation.
"Ring a Ring o' Roses", "Ring a Ring o' Rosie", or "Ring Around the Rosie", is a nursery rhyme, folk song and playground singing game. Descriptions first emerge in the mid-19th century, but are reported as dating from decades before, and similar rhymes are known from across Europe, with various lyrics. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 7925.
Red Rover is a team game played primarily by children on playgrounds, requiring 10+ players.
Children's street culture refers to the cumulative culture created by young children. Collectively, this body of knowledge is passed down from one generation of urban children to the next, and can also be passed between different groups of children. It is most common in children between the ages of seven and twelve. It is strongest in urban working-class industrial districts where children are traditionally free to "play outside" in the streets for long periods without supervision.
Hunt the thimble is a party game in which one person hides a thimble, or other small object, somewhere in the room, while all other players wait outside. When everyone comes back in, they race to locate the hidden object. The first to find it is the winner, and hides it for the next game.
A children's song may be a nursery rhyme set to music, a song that children invent and share among themselves or a modern creation intended for entertainment, use in the home or education. Although children's songs have been recorded and studied in some cultures more than others, they appear to be universal in human society.
"Tinker, Tailor" is a counting game, nursery rhyme and fortune telling song traditionally played in England, that can be used to count cherry stones, buttons, daisy petals and other items. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 802. It is commonly used by children in both Britain and America for "counting out", e.g. for choosing who shall be "It" in a game of tag.
"The Farmer in the Dell" is a singing game, nursery rhyme, folksong, and children's song. It probably originated in Germany and was brought to America by immigrants. From there, it spread to many other nations and is popular in a number of languages. It is Roud Folk Song Index number 6306.
"Pease Porridge Hot" or "Pease Pudding Hot" is an English children's singing game and nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 19631.
A skipping rhyme, is a rhyme chanted by children while skipping. Such rhymes have been recorded in all cultures where skipping is played. Examples of English-language rhymes have been found going back to at least the 17th century. Like most folklore, skipping rhymes tend to be found in many different variations. The article includes those chants used by English-speaking children.
"Nuts in May" is a singing game played by children with the aim of pairing a boy and girl from within two teams of participants. It was first recorded in the second half of the 19th century and has Roud Folk Song Index 6308.
Iona Margaret Balfour Opie, and Peter Mason Opie were an English married team of folklorists who applied modern techniques to understanding children's literature and play, in studies such as The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (1951) and The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren (1959). They were also noted anthologists, assembled large collections of children's literature, toys, and games and were regarded as world-famous authorities on children's lore and customs.
Childlore is the folklore or folk culture of children and young people. It includes, for example, rhymes and games played in the school playground. The best known researchers of the field were Iona and Peter Opie.
The Folklore Society (FLS) is a registered charity under English law based in London, England for the study of folklore. Its office is at 50 Fitzroy Street, London home of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland.
Duck, duck, goose is a traditional children's game often first learned in preschool or kindergarten. The game may be later adapted on the playground for early elementary students. The object of this game is to walk in a circle, tapping on each player's head until one is finally chosen; the chosen player must then chase the picker to avoid becoming the next picker.
"The Singing Street", is a short film made in 1950 in Edinburgh, Scotland and first shown in 1951. It was created by a group of teachers from Norton Park School, who filmed some of their pupils playing street games, accompanied by traditional children's songs, at various locations in the city. It documented an oral tradition which has all but vanished in the decades since it was made.
In and Out the Dusting Bluebells, also known as In and Out the Dusty or Dusky Bluebells, is a children's playground song and dance. The game is not thought to have formed until the early 20th century and although it enjoyed great popularity amongst girls during the 1960s and 1970s, its popularity had waned by the 2000s.
