n. — Newfoundland, social customs
wordless singing that substitutes for dance music played by fiddles or other instruments.
Type: 4. Culturally Significant — When making chin music, nonsensical vocals (e.g. da, la, diddle) are sung to mimic the sounds of popular instruments like fiddles or accordions (see the 1879 quotation) to facilitate dancing (see NFL Heritage). Thus, chin music is defined as a type of 'ditty', or 'non-serious song' in the Newfoundland vernacular (see the 1991 quotation). Chin music is most often made among friends and family at social events, such as times, as a form of entertainment.
The term chin music likely derives from the British term "chin", which is commonly defined as 'to talk' or 'to chatter' (see EDD, s.v. "chin" (1)(3), see DARE, s.v. "chin" (n)). This origin coincides with the province's settlement history, as Newfoundland was settled by many people from the southwest counties of England during the 18th and 19th centuries (Clarke 2010b: 7). As seen in the 2014 quotation, alternative names for chin music include "cheek music", "mouth music" or "gob music"(see Canadian Encyclopedia reference).
See also DNE, s.v."chin" (n) and (n) supp.