This was like taking a degree in music in under 10 minutes... Love it 🥰

Really love this. I suspect there’s a potentially huge audience that will appreciate your well-researched erudition. Nice!

@edw.b856

7 ай бұрын

Mary is a code-switching pro!

Damn Beauty, Brains, and Flow? You go girl, keep kicking butt. Mad Skills. Loved the inclusion of the cat.

I am an American from Gen X, of recent British heritage-the British branch of my family came to the US in the 1920s, and my great-grandfather was still alive in my childhood. When I reached my most formative years as a musician, I was primarily influenced by British new wave and alternative rock bands of the 1980s, like Thomas Dolby, Kate Bush, Depeche Mode, The Cure, The Smiths, Cocteau Twins, and many others, not to mention the explosive popularity of British musical theatre, with shows like The Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables debuting in the West End and on Broadway during my teen years. I went on to read Music Theatre at university, which as you might surmise, includes a fair portion of Shakespeare. So, as a musician, a vocalist, and an actress, learning RP is almost de rigeur, and if you drop me in a group of British people, within 30 minutes, I will unconsciously be speaking in RP.

First of all, your cat is beautiful. Secondly, this is hands-down one of your best videos, Mary. Lastly, your album can't possibly get to me fast enough. I can't wait!

@WritteninBlood

6 ай бұрын

@@Mustaine1ify Go be a troll somewhere else.

@WritteninBlood

6 ай бұрын

@Mustaine1ify But you decide to have your laugh at my expense. Then you call me sensitive and age-shame me. Yep, you're a troll.

@WritteninBlood

6 ай бұрын

@Mustaine1ify I'm not a snowflake. It actually takes a lot to offend me. It just sort of threw me when I saw the cringe comment. You don't seem so much like a troll anymore, so apology accepted, and I am also sorry.

@Mustaine1ify

6 ай бұрын

@@WritteninBlood All good buddy. My English sense of humour can be quite cutting and sarcastic but it's all tongue in cheek. I meant no offence 👍🏻

@WritteninBlood

6 ай бұрын

@@Mustaine1ify None taken

Well done Mary. Thank you.

Mary's audition for "8 Mile." Being a singer songwriter myself, the enunciation, intonation and feeling that you're expressing is everything. However it comes out of your mouth and heart. 💙 From Detroit

@johnbeamon

7 ай бұрын

Vomit on my cardigan, Mum's shepherd's pie.

A blend of Rap and linguistic analysis - totally adorable! Thanks also for including Leia Organa/Carrie Fischer in your list of American icons.

Aaww Yeah! - You just knocked it outta the park, Mary!!!

Mary the musician, youtuber, documentarian, and now PHILOLOGIST! I like your cat.

Wow that's awesome 👍😊😊 Cute Kittie by the way 😍😍

As an American, I really appreciate your explanation of why British singers modify their accents. Also, I love the fact that Johnny Rotten, Wattie and other British punk vocalists seem to exaggerate their respective accents. Looking forward to your debut album, Mary!

@andrew66862

7 ай бұрын

Also Ian Rubbish

@gregrose6915

7 ай бұрын

The Monks.

@M0rket

7 ай бұрын

For what it's worth, I (danish) had a then romantic relation (spanish) ask why I didn't have an accent when singing in english. I guess it's not just limited to the brits.

@CorbCorbin

7 ай бұрын

@@M0rket Like the Filipino guy, who was hired to sing for Journey. He sounded just like Steve Perry, because of his own natural ability, and then practicing singing those Journey songs, snd basically mimicking Perry. He barely spoke English when he first joined the band.

@chuckmaddison2924

7 ай бұрын

Gotta love Jim Nabors , speaks properly, yet it's lost when he sings.

One of my favorites from you. Great mix of entertainment and education.

The intro made me grin and really grabbed my attention. The rest of the video was interesting and informative. I always assumed it was something to do with how you just have to do different things with your mouth to sing a word as opposed to speaking it. Annunciation is so much more critical when singing as opposed to speaking, for example.

My wife is an English teacher whose parents were from the UK, and she talks about Gen-Zee, but in other contexts she says zed. Similarly, I've heard an American retrocomputing KZreadr talk about a Sinclair Zed Ecks 81, because it was a British computer.

Well done, that was very informative. Loved your opening rap🙂

I loved that"rap"and I love your R.P. and your modesty, you left yourself out when listing what England is famous for. I managed to cultivate almost R.P. during my time a Durham, the university not the prison , but being from the north east and working in a company in the north east, the lilt came back and stayed. When doing presentations around the USA I was often asked to continue talking , not for the content but just for the "glorious " sound of my accent, so make of it what you will. I developed a mid Atlantic accent when working in North and South America.The open vowels of the North East accent helped a lot with Spanish and French, which in turn earned me a living. As you say use it to get the most from your business audience.Genteely retired in France with motorbikes and guitars. Keep up your great work. I love your attitude, your determination and your voice in all accents..

I was a youngster back when the British [music] Invasion was in full-force in the US back in the mid-1960s. To my untrained ears, the likes of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, etc., sounded American to me when they sang. It was very interesting back in that era to see/hear film clips of the band members in their speaking voices, as the contrasts between their speaking to singing voices was profound.

For the first several years of my music career, I sang in an English accent, because most of the bands I listened to were from the UK, and that's just what I thought a good vocalist should sound like. I finally started shedding it, and now sound a bit more like I'm from Texas, which I am. As Miles Davis said, it's amazing how long it can take to sound like yourself.

@erickent4248

7 ай бұрын

This has been a thing I experienced as well, When I talk I have the general Florida sound, but have a tendency to sound like I am from Leeds when I sing. I can try to erase it, but it keeps creeping in, heh.

@daomingjin

7 ай бұрын

what's kinda funny is sometimes the music you listen to can change your accent too. I'm American, born and raised in Michigan. So i have a fairly neutral American accent. However, i spent nearly 20 years living and working in China. Mandarin was my primary language, however the music i listened to is mostly sung in Scots Gaelic or Scottish English. After 20 years of not really speaking English with native speakers i returned to America. Everywhere i go people seem to ask me "oh, is this your first time in America?". Shit this is embarrassing. I've been back about 6 months and i've given up trying to speak with an American accent. Now the irony of it all is that because this is my first time back home in 20 years America really does feel like a foreign country to me.

@emdiar6588

7 ай бұрын

The funny thing is, if Robert Plant sings blues in an American accent, nobody really complains or even notices. If, however, Bruce Springsteen started singing like Liam Gallagher or John Lydon, I think people would be wondering wtf was going on.

@TimmyTickle

7 ай бұрын

@@erickent4248 Leeds? Are you a Kaiser Chiefs fan?

Many have explained this, but none have offered such a bad a** intro. Well done.

“Vocal dna” Brilliant and thoughtfully penned

I love your lecture lesson series on how you grew your KZread. Very helpful and informative. Anyways...... I imagine that I sing with a slight British-ish accent kinda sorta even though I am not British. I am mostly asian pacific islander but I do have a bit of Scottish and Irish from Great Grand mother. As a child growing up in San Francisco California in the mid 1960's I listened to a lot of Sir Tom Jones. When I was a baby my mum said I would stand up in my crib and attempt to sing and dance whenever Sir Tom was singing 😊

Excellent explanation. I am a Yank but as a kid traveled a lot and will quickly adopt the local modes of speech in various US areas. People have a very hard time pinning down where I am from because I am not really from anywhere accent specific, I am an Army brat. When singing I do not nor has anyone told me I sing with any accent other than that borrowed from the original song. I do some Stan Rogers and Blue Rodeo song covers, both are Canadian and I know I sing in a style that replicates them to some degree vocally. It is not really intentional but comes from my traveling upbringing and is somewhat automatic. But it is authentic to the music and I just do it naturally. What, Ay!

@iamnobody2

7 ай бұрын

ooh, what stan roger's songs do you sing and can i hear them? love a bit of stan rogers!

@ratwynd

7 ай бұрын

@@iamnobody2 "Northwest Passage"(Acapella like original), "White Squall". So far.

@iamnobody2

7 ай бұрын

@@ratwynd great songs, i'd love to hear them if they're somewhere i can listen to them. i wish i could sing well, but i'm terrible. i don't let that stop me though! barrett's privateers is a great song to sing

I have wondered about that for some time now, very interesting topic and explanation. I do remember times in the past when listening to Irish and Scottish trad , when the artist did not loose their local accent , and it made the performance feel more genuine. your voice is amazing and pleasant to listen to, so sing it like you feel it in the moment, we'll just sit back and enjoy it ... and before I forget "Thank You for the Music"♥

SoCal American here. I go back to when the Beatles were still together (I'm well aged), but the first singer where I could clearly hear their UK accent was Lily Allen and then even more so with Alex Turner (I'm glad you mentioned both of them). After that the flood gates opened. Great video, Mary. Thanks for sharing . Cheers (I think I stole Cheers from you guys, but it's nearly as perfect as the word Dude).

@Michael-mm3fm

7 ай бұрын

John Lydon was a couple of decades before.

So my wife pointed out that all my favorite bands are British... and even the one-hitters.... I'll eventually learn that they are British. Its the vowel sounds. While they disappear in the British(ish) pronunciation its that subtle softening of the A... turning the E into an 'eh', and the very very subtle O sound turning into an 'oo' or an 'uh'.... and it hits the ears in a unique way that brings the listener into a more immediate relationship that hears the lyrics in a different way, maybe more focused. Which only in turn connects the listener to the performer in a very special way. (PS I love American bands that are signed by British labels.... and it messes with my mind! Think 'The Killers')

From the videos I've seen, including this one of course, it is obvious that Mary's brain operates at a high frequency, and that she is adorable. All the best from Colorado.

This is awesome y'all! [Said as a non-native US southerner] 👏👏👏

Wiltshire, no wonder! ;-) I was born in North Yorkshire and when we moved to the States my school put me in speech therapy because my teachers couldn't understand my accent. Funnily enough, these days I sing in an a cappella ensemble and any time we're singing in English, we're directed to sing "British English". Clearly our director never means Yorkshire English.

I have always recognized and wondered about this, for Decades. Singers, especially those in Heavy Metal, that come from Britain (and other countries) all tend to sound like they are American, or to be more specific, accent free. You have freed my mind to ponder and be confused about some other random another subject.

Mary, this was absolutely delightful. Thank you so much for the continued great content and the amazing music!

Best explanation of the "music" accent. Thank you Mary.

Blimey. Mary Spender University has rocked my world about the way I talk😆 Please come to Boston and give your TED talk.🤣

Have a listen to Missy Higgins. She sings in a very broad Australian accent, and you have no idea how refreshing it is in a sea of american accents.

Thanks Mary!❤

The best explanation of a phenomenon that has intrigued me for decades. Thanks so much!

I love your speaking English accent, Mary! So pleasant and interesting as an American! I would love to hear it in a song, also! For some musical genres "Silence is Golden, but my eyes still see!"

@dpg227

7 ай бұрын

She sounds like a proper Englishwoman.

Two British rock singers named Ian who've allways sung in English(!): Ian Gillan (Deep Purple) and Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull).

oh this is hysterical ; one more dimension Mary!

Mary! 😂 this is fantastic-you gangsta!⚡️

thank you British Music for giving us your music i love it

Thank you, Professor Spender!

I (and my kids) grew up on a large diet of British literature, starting with A.A. Milne, through Arthur Ransome, and for my kids, J.K. Rowling (the Canadian editions, which were textually identical to the UK version). The kids also watched a lot of Dr. Who when they were growing up - actually, a lot of British programming on TV Ontario and the CBC. All of us use both British and American terms and construction, occasionally confusing our fellow Americans. Singing, though, depends on the song. I would sing them "Torn a' Ma Goon" at bedtime in my best Scots rendition.

Clever. I first noticed this difference at the tender age of 11. Watching "A Hard Days' Night" I couldn't understand a word of the dialog among the four Beatles. But I sure did dig their music.

Found you via the Sultans of Swing video with Leo. Fantastic cover of a classic song. But, damn, I think this rap made me fall in love. It's been done before, yet that was very cool. (I'll look past the cat.)

I appreciate the shout-out to chap-hop! It has seemed to me that Scottish pop singers tend to retain more of their accent when singing than English, or at least southern English, singers do. Thinking of the Proclaimers, Amy MacDonald, and the like. Possibly a limited sample size, but I wonder if there's anything more "sticky" about some of the Scottish vowel sounds compared to English and American.

Wow. Well-researched! That was a far broader answer to a question that I’ve had in mind for many years.

Ian Dury seemed to keep his accent when he sang. Miss him.

By the way. Your rap (which was illuminating and funny at the same time) was indeed surprising and I don't believe I've heard you do that (at least to my knowledge). And without music to boot. Great job!

@goldflo91

7 ай бұрын

If you listen carefully, there's a minimalist background music, it's not completely a capella

@rickhanson3293

7 ай бұрын

@@goldflo91Well, I didn't hear it so she still did a good job, but I'll go back again anyway just to hear what the music sounds like in the background. Thanks.

You made sure to include the influence of the Windrush Generation on 1950s to 1970s UK popular music! 👏

I'm fascinated by accents (it blows my mind that on our tiny island we have soooo many different accents). I am a Londoner (living in Scotland) and I sing with my original accent. Because of this I get likened to Lily Allen all the time. I think she's great but it's such a lazy comparison. I've never felt comfortable singing with a US accent but I do think you should sing with the accent that feels right for you, whether you're from the area where the music originated or not. There are plenty of British americana artists that sing with regional accents for example and it sounds fine to my ears. I had producer try and force me to sing with an American accent coz he said my accent sounded 'silly', he was British too!

American here. Thank you for the honesty. The reason is SALES! Americans have a tendency to buy American. Speaking as an anomaly, I don't trust most KZread videos unless they have a British accent. I maintain that the Brits are smarter than Americans( yeah, I know. Hate me all you want, my brethren). "Don't want to be an American Idiot"( Thank you, greenday[American]), or a "Savage"( Thank you, Aldous Huxley[British]). Almost everything I know about love and society I learned from Roland Orzabal. I probably should have went to college, but I would accept nothing less than Oxford. Lots of ❤ from across the pond. P.S. I also like the 1975, and Matt Healy makes no effort in disguising his accent.

I live in Wiltshire near Stonehenge and you rarely her an RP accent aroun' these ear parts! I originate from Surrey where RP or slightly London is what I grew up around. Very interesting Vlog.

Lovely Mary, thank you! I'm Italian... As a kid, I used to ask my English teacher, "Why do I have to pronounce /ˈdɑːns/, /ˈtʃɑːns/ for 'dance' and 'chance' if the British singers sing '/dæns/' and '/tʃæns/'?" I never had a convincing answer, and I figured it out many years later. Ah, if in the 1980s I could have seen this video of you... 😅

You never stop impressing, pushing boundaries, etc. Love this. Thank you for your whole project. Also, cat! 😺

Love it!

Absolutely Brilliant 🎼🎵🎶🎸💜

I, for one, miss the British accent.. I spent some time in England while in the US Navy. Plymouth, London and a few other places and have missed the voices and the niceness since the 80's... It's wonderful to here Mary speak....

I love your videos Mary and you are a natural in front of the camera. If you wanted to, I'm sure you could get a job as a presenter or newsreader even but your path in life is music and that's what it always will be. You are still only young but already I view you as a national treasure. I know it's a lot of work but it would be really great if you could do a film lasting say an hour. I'm looking forward to it already. There's a lot of love out here for you Mary so keep up the excellent work.

There is this story, an American, British and a French was sitting in a pub, the American highly stipulated “If it wasn’t for us, you would all speak Germane today”, the French sipping to his glass of wine and said to the American in a soft voice “if it wasn’t for us, you would all Americans speak English today”.

Language and pronunciation is constantly changing and shifting over time. I'm British. Raised just outside of east London. But I've noticed certain affectations coming into my normal speech. For example, I now seem to unthinkingly pronounce the word 'new' as 'noo' instead of 'nyoo.' I have no idea wen that happened! Also, i just noticed that I would say 'generation zed,' but when shortened, i'd say 'gen-zee.'

I wasn't expecting this video, but it was a cool surprise!

This was absolutely brilliant...from Chicago!

over the last 5 years here in the KZread community, I have gained friends all over the world and I really do not notice the accents anymore unless you are from here in the southern states, I have many friends in the UK talk to them often and It's just not something I pay attention to anymore, you go ahead and sing how you want I think you are wonderful and enjoy your channel, Have a great rest of the week,

Great video Mary !!! I learned about of new stuff. Thank you !!!! from one of your 1000 true fans....

Interesting post. Your natural English is lovely.

I did notice quite awhile ago that Roger Daltrey in particular exhibits EXACTLY what you described and explained here. Nice job Mary! PS - you're too smart for a lot your commentators...

The best accent lesson I've heard since Higgins and Doolittle.

I loved this! Great job and hard work!

Absolutely love to listen to your RP, as I now have learned it’s called ❤

Just loved this!

That was awesome Mary 🥰

A high school friend of Dolores O'Riordan of the Cranberries said that in choir the teacher kept trying to get Dolores to sing without sounding Irish. Dolores refused to entertain such an idea to not sound Irish. And I am so glad she refused. Her beautiful rhythmic Irish accent in song is so astoundingly gorgeous especially the few times she starts keening. As an American I prefer to hear the Irish and/or British accent in song.

Entertaining and informative. Well done!

the explanation ever!!! thank youuuu!!

good stuff, fun and informative, thanks Mary

I'd actually love for classic metal vocals to sound more British! Bruce Dickinson's accent sticks out in the recorded version of Aces High, and Joakim's accent rages in Sabaton's music is so badass. There's something about European accents that just chews through consonants and even vowels!

Another thoroughly enjoyable and informative video! Thanks, Mary!!

Great video! Keep up the great work!

I've always been curious about this. Love it!

I’ve long wondered about this. Thanks for shedding some light on it, Mary!

First off I am a huge fan of your channel, and I am an American who loves and is obsessed with any and all English and British accents. This video, especially the rap song at the beginning was literally brilliant! I was Gobsmacked! Here in the states we have been getting British comedy shows that we term Britcoms, since the 70’s. I grew up with Monty Python, Benny Hill, Fawlty Towers, Mr. Bean, Black Adder, Are you being Served, Keeping up Appearances, Allo Allo, A Bit of Fry and Laurie, Red Dwarf, Brittas Empire, The Vicar of Dibley, Miranda, and The Cafe, too name but a few. British comedy rains supreme in my circles. I practice my various British, Irish, and Scottish accents while watching shows from the UK. I for one would be happy to settle for a Scouse or even a Brummie accent over my boring American accent. Keep up the great videos, and the fantastic singing and guitar playing.

Very informative, thanks Mary.🎼👍

Great content!!!!! Best of both worlds

Loved this. Def my favorite video of yours.

You are AMAZING!!! Love your videos and this one is another great one. Keep up the great work

Your videos are so well done. Your delivery is so crisp and engaging. Well done.

Superb video!!! The opening rap was very clever and cool! Way to goooo Mary! 👌🥳🎶✨

Thank you Ms. Mary.

Genuinely interesting video Mary. A fascinating take on something I'd not really thought too much about before.

I live in usa im glade you all bring music hear my god it better than what we had

As always, great stuff.

thank you..your videos are filled with great information. your music is fun, candid , and very real. again,,thank you.

LOVELY!!!! I've seen you took inspiration in your friend Elle!

Another smart and interesting video from Mary Spender. Thank you!

Brilliant intro, Mary. Well done!

I’ve always thought about this for years when I was growing up, so it’s awesome to see it be the subject of a video of yours. Love it.

Such a naturally gifted teacher you are Mary.

The very best distilled explanation to a question many have asked themselves from both sides of the pond. Thanks Mary 😊

Cool video. Thanks!