East Anglian Traditions

What are the musical traditions of East Anglia?

We’re talking about folk songs, dancing and instrumental music that have been kept alive through an oral tradition. Frequently found in a pub setting, with tunes, songs, dances and chatter all part of the evening

Much of this information is original research carried out through EATMT community projects.

Chris Playing Fiddle

East Anglian Music

More about traditional East Anglian tunes and instruments.

Stepdancing

East Anglian Stepdancing

Find out the percussive stepping from this region.

Singing At Traditional Music Day

East Anglian Song

Song from across Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk & Essex

Jig Doll

Jig Dolls

Find out about the history of jig dolls in the region and why not hire a set for your workshop?

Richard And Dulcimers

Traditional Instruments

Learn about some of our traditional instruments, hire one to try out and look out for our instrument sales.

A guide to our online research articles
Many folk music collectors have been active in the Eastern counties for the last hundred years or so, since a song from Mr Edge, gardener and ex soldier, from Wells-next-the-Sea was first noted down in 1897 and published by the Folk Song Society (now EFDSS) in 1899 (for the Society’s first AGM).  The collector had been Kate Lee, a singer herself, a founder member of the Society and its first Secretary.  Holidaying in Norfolk, she collected Mr Edge’s song “Llanduff”.  This was the first song she collected and she went on to collect many more including from the Copper Family in Sussex. 

Ralph Vaughan Williams collected tunes in the region at the turn of the century and since the 1950s there has been a continual stream of collectors including the founding directors of the East Anglian Traditional Music Trust who for nearly thirty years,  have been involved in original research, collecting and recording songs, music, dance and recollections in the eastern counties. 

On this website, some of this research, and further historical and social information, is gradually being published. Much of what is here at the moment is recent research, carried out for specific projects since the foundation of the East Anglian Traditional Music Trust in 2000.

Our long-term projects include the publication a DVD of stepdancing containing archive footage and the plans for an online publication of Katie and John’s original research into dulcimer makers, players and construction in East Anglia can now be found on a separate site here.  A long term project is to archive the Dulcimer notes and correspondence relating to Dr Russell Wortley‘s research which was donated to the Trust in 2000.

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