Editing Cecil Sharp (section)

===Sharp as fieldworker===

[[File:Lucy White -folk singer by Cecil Sharp in c.1905.jpg|thumb|The Somerset folk singer [[Lucy White]] (1848–1923)]]
Sharp, assisted initially by Marson, worked by asking around in rural Somerset communities for people who might sing old songs and located many informants, the sisters Louisa Hooper and Lucy White of Langport amongst the most prolific.<ref name="Schofield"/> Sharp was able to relate well to people of a different social class,<ref name="Gammon"/> and established friendships with several singers; after his death Louisa Hooper wrote of his generosity in terms of payments, gifts and outings.<ref name="Karpeles"/> He also collected a significant number of songs from Gypsies.<ref>{{cite book |last=Dow |first=Nick |date=2021 |title=A Secret Stream: Folk Songs collected from English Gypsies |location=London |publisher=Francis Boutle |pages=239 |isbn=9781838092894}}</ref> In the Appalachians Sharp and Maud Karpeles similarly used local knowledge and their own initiative to find singers, and again made lasting friendships.<ref name="Yates"/>
[[File:Sweet Kitty from Lucy White for Cecil Sharp.jpg|left|thumb|"Sweet Kitty" transcribed from [[Lucy White]] by Cecil Sharp in 1906<ref>{{Cite web|title=Lucy White at Vaughan Williams Memorial Library|url=https://www.vwml.org/search?q=Lucy%20White%20Hambridge%20Sharp&is=1|access-date=2020-09-27|website=www.vwml.org}}</ref>]]
Sharp notated songs mostly by ear. He experimented with the new technology of the phonograph, but rejected it on account of a lack of portability and its potential to intimidate.<ref name="Gammon"/> He had assistance in taking down lyrics from Marson in Somerset, and Karpeles in the Appalachians, while making the musical notations himself.<ref name="Schofield"/><ref name="Yates"/> His transcriptions, which included melodic variations, were generally accurate, although some nuances were missed.<ref>Gammon, Vic, 'How Good a Music Transcriber was Cecil Sharp?' in: Proceedings of the English Folk Dance and Song Society Folk Song Conference 2013 / eds. Atkinson, D. and Roud, S. Loomis House Press (2015), pp. 138–156</ref> Sharp was meticulous in noting singers' names, locations, and dates, enabling subsequent biographical research.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://cecilsharpspeople.org.uk |title= Cecil Sharp's People |access-date=2022-06-23}}</ref> He made many photographic portraits of singers at their homes or workplaces, providing a valuable record of life amongst rural working people in both South-West England and the Appalachian Mountains.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vwml.org/browse/vwml-browse-cecil-sharps-photo-collection|title=Cecil Sharp's Photo Collection |publisher=Vaughan Williams Memorial Library |access-date=2022-06-30}}</ref>