Why do we have a page focused on SCA songs?

In short, several reasons!

From a language accessibility perspective: 

Accessible sign heralding at court isn't only to see what the numerous SCAdians say at court, it's also to provide information on what is happening between these conversations and announcements. 

Equal accessibility means the volunteer signer should be able to sign along to the songs (or other vocal performances) at court so that the Deaf audience may take in as much of the performance as their hearing counterparts can. 

Signed lyrics are not a direct translation from the spoken/sung language (and vice versa). There is often hidden or secondary meaning behind lyrics. So, understanding the semantics of a sentence, phrase, verse, and/or chorus is critical for a volunteer signer to portray the correct meaning of what is being produced from vocal performative art into sign. Having opportunity for volunteers to study some of the written words for poetry and song in advance will help to ensure their performance is more fluent during court, both in speed as well as accuracy.

The same language comprehension skills are used within the SCA as volunteer signers must understand the meaning of a scroll's phrasing when they are read aloud in court in order to properly relay the message in sign. For example, is a two-spirited award referring to an indigenous persona, or is it referring to an equestrian and their horse? With the medieval-wording of many of these scrolls, a volunteer less experienced with this type of word artistry may not realize what the scroll is referring to right away. A volunteer signer reviewing these words prior to court will allow for a more fluid presentation of the proper semantics to their Deaf audience.

From a language-learning perspective:

In classrooms and educational media around the modern world, music is often incorporated into lessons or study time to help solidify the foundation of the subject matter through entertainment. Modern examples for topics in world history include Schoolhouse Rock! for children and Puppet History for adults. One famous moment in television demonstrating use of song to better understand and recall study material can be seen in Happy Days with Pump Your Blood, where Potsie wrote a song on the human circulatory system so could pass his anatomy exam, because, "My boy don't cheat!" 

Music incorporation into lessons helps language students practice various skills in their language-learning journey. Songs and other performative art allow a student to learn and recite various things, therefore practicing receptive (learning through listening, reading, or watching) and expressive (reciting the piece, themselves) skills in their language. 

Modern Examples of Signing in Song

Some examples of this from many ASL classes within the United States include videos of individuals signing songs from Broadway productions, such as Sarah Tubert's signing covers to "Guns and Ships," "My Shot," and "Alexander Hamilton;" or ASL Cabaret's cover (featuring John Castille) to "Satisfied" (all of which are songs from the musical Hamilton). ASL students also shown clips from productions with sign by 5th Avenue such as "Out There" from Hunchback of Notre Dame, or Deaf West Theatre's production of Spring Awakening on Broadway. Outside of musical theatre, the Super Bowl Halftime Show is another example of hearing audiences seeing sign language used beside musical performances on-screen, such as interpreter Justina Miles signing for Rihanna in 2023, or Matt Maxey (founder of Deafinitely Dope) signing for Kendrick Lamar in 2025. 

SCA Music

When it comes to SCA music, many SCAdian bards have shared their performative artwork with the Known World through videos on YouTube as well as songs listed on Spotify. Many of these songs posted online have become popular enough to be recognized by individuals who do not partake in the SCA, such as "Savage Daughter" by Wyndreth Berginsdottir (originally recorded in 2009, though gained modern-day traction in 2023 through various covers online). Within the SCA, songs from our bards can become so popular that they are often sung by various bards throughout all kingdoms to entertain their Kingdom's Populace prior to Their Majesties arrive at court. 

Signing Songs in the SCA

Volunteer signers may find themselves standing beside a bard at court who is performing for their Populace. True accessibility at court means the volunteer signer should be able to sign along to the songs at court so that the Deaf audience may take in as much of the song as their hearing counterparts can. 

The ability to sign along to SCA songs (and other performative voiced artforms) comes from several things, including signing volunteers being able to hear the bards, being familiar with some of these songs within the SCA (or being familiar with SCA hobbies), and volunteer's fluency of their signed language. 

Having lyrics and/or signed videos to study in advance will better prepare a newer volunteer for signing songs that may pop up in court, and the more opportunity they've had to rehearse something, the more fluent (in both speed and accuracy) they will be in presenting the song in sign. 

More experienced signing volunteers may need less practice in advance because of their language skill levels. However, they may still benefit from seeing lyrics or signed videos to these songs in advance. A volunteer signer who is not familiar with SCA songs in advance may have more difficulty understanding what is being voiced by the bard, both because old-timey semantics can be difficult to process while signing live and because they may struggle to hear the bard's words as the bard is also competing with other noise distractions at court, such as the chatter of the court audience or the sound of electronic fans running to cool down the Royals or help decorate the stage where court takes place.