Love this thread! Here’s my two cents:-)
Deciding what songs to add: As Amanda says, this changes over time - and it’s great to keep challenging yourself to learn new material. I’ve been learning songs since I was in elementary school and now that I am in my 70s, I have a lot of favorites that I keep coming back to. I also love to learn new songs, though. Sometimes I've needed to learn something for a particular reason, for example, a Woody Guthrie song to sing in a Bound For Glory production, when the group I was in decided to add a new song to our repertoire, or if I needed something for a themed song swap. Some of those songs have stuck with me, but the real keepers are the ones that I hear - or discover in a book - that speak to me immediately. I know it right away. In fact, sometimes they won’t leave me alone until I have internalized them! I have a bunch of notebooks that I have put together over the years that help me keep track (more or less) of the songs I have learned and I try to keep a smaller notebook of songs that are in my current repertoire handy at singing events for easy reference. At this point in my life, I have a pretty good idea of which of my songs are appropriate for the situation I am in at the time. I like to involve everyone when I can - that’s one of the great joys of group singing - so that’s my main focus when I am at a song swap.
Learning new songs/memorization tricks: I do lots of the things Amanda does, especially listening in the car. I also keep a hard copy of the words with me at all times. That way, if I’m running through the song in my head while I’m waiting in the checkout line in the grocery store, I can check any words I’m not sure of. I agree that making the song your own is very important, so I move away from listening to the original to listening to myself as soon as I feel confident that I know what I’m doing. Re memorizing, again Amanda has great suggestions. I consider myself fortunate that in elementary school, I had to memorize poems and recite them in front of the class. (I can still remember most of The Cremation of Sam McGee and The Highwayman!) Maybe that’s why I find memorizing ballads much easier than songs without a plot. The good part about singing songs with a chorus is that the chorus comes around so many times that those words aren’t usually an issue, although people still do expect the verses to come in a specific order. I can remember when a group I was in was struggling with Jean Ritchie’s "Come Fare Away" <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aF4BZak22Bk>"Come Fare Away <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PxCFUtsfLA>". We always reminded ourselves just before we started the song that the order of the verses was Bright Sails Leave Lace (the first word of each verse). Although I love singing as a duo with my partner Brian, it’s worth noting that singing with even one other person makes the issue of memorization all the more critical. You really should both be singing the same words at the same time. That’s a different topic, though!
Suzanne Mrozak
Roslindale, Massachusetts
(I'm starting a new thread with Lynn's question so we can keep new topics
easily searchable and accessible in the archive.)
*How are people deciding what songs to add to their repertoire? How are you
learning new songs? What memorization tricks can you share with us?*
Great questions. I have a number of musical interests and don't spend a ton
of time building repertoire now that I have a bunch of useful songs, but it
is something I do try to add to on an ongoing basis. And learning songs is
challenging and fun. Good for the brain as well as all else.
I have noticed a trend locally and elsewhere of more people favoring
beautiful, intricate, complicated songs with beautiful, intricate,
complicated choruses. I am guessing this is what happens when people get
comfortable and experienced with songleading and want to challenge
themselves and others, and that is a good thing. But at a sing that is open
and encouraging to all levels, especially when less experienced singers are
present, I sometimes feel the urge to actively shift the balance back
toward familiar songs or those with simple choruses. Ideally I prefer for
both ends of the spectrum to be represented in a sing. So I've had my ears
open lately for good songs with simple (or otherwise easy-to-pick-up)
choruses.
I am also thinking a lot these days about the social norms that are upheld
through the songs we share. I would like to add more feel-good "we're all
in this together" songs. I am interested in songs that flip a harmful
social narrative (sexism, racism, homophobia, etc). Years ago when I was
just starting out as a songleader, I wanted to learn the songs that people
wanted to sing (the ones nobody could lead yet). So I did that, but now I'm
finding some of those songs, while they served the community, don't
necessarily fit me very well, and the community has grown so it doesn't
need me to do that anymore. So I'm happy replacing them when something new
comes along.
I learn through repetition, repetition, repetition. Literally. I put a song
on repeat in the car when I'm driving somewhere or when I'm doing the
dishes and I listen to it a million times until it sinks into my being.
Although one trick I use, in order to not end up sounding like I'm
imitating the person I got the song from, is that as soon as I feel able, I
make a practice recording in my own voice and and key, and use that going
forward instead of the original. It's usually kind of messy/choppy, and I
have at times created such practice recordings by listening to a line,
recording myself singing that line, pausing the recording, listening to the
next line, recording that line, pausing, etc. But then I make a smoother
one when I'm able, and so forth. I *love* the Voice Memos app on my phone,
and I also use Audacity for cleaning up too-long pauses, though I am told
that Garage Band is easier than Audacity if you have an Apple computer.
As for memorization, I look for the story in the song, internalize the key
points and flow of the story, then hang the lyrics on that. I also map out
the geometry of the song in my mind -- how many verses, what is the rhyme
structure like, what is the basic theme of each stanza. I come up with one
or two words to represent each stanza and memorize that list. And then:
repeat, repeat, repeat. It can take me months or years to learn a song to
where I'm really comfortable leading it. That's something I think a lot of
people don't realize; it's normal for many people to take a long time
learning a new song.
I would love to hear how others approach these things. Thanks for raising
the questions, Lynn.
Amanda Witman
Brattleboro, Vermont
On Wed, Jan 29, 2020 at 11:25 PM Lynn Feingold via Song Organizers <
songorganizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
> Emily,
>
> Thanks for that handy-dandy form! I was able to easily submit a few of my
> favorite online resources for traditional songs (especially ballads). I'll
> send you more info as I run across it - I encourage everyone else who is
> reading this message to click on the links below to see what has already
> been put into the online resource at CDSS, then use the link to the
> easy-to-fill-out form to help grow the resource!
>
> Emily, I think you're right in thinking that there isn't a lot at stake if
> not a lot of people show up for a sing (as opposed to a dance) - fewer
> people means that there are more opportunities for those present to lead a
> song. That can be a double-edge sword - if a few of you have repertoires as
> long as your arm, you'll be all set, but if you come to a sing and there
> are three singers who each know three songs - well, that's going to end
> pretty quickly. I try to bring new songs to a sing, and if I frequent the
> same sing, that necessitates learning new songs - that's always a good
> thing!
>
> How are people deciding what songs to add to their repertoire? How are you
> learning new songs? What memorization tricks can you share with us?
>
> Thanks again,
>
> Lynn Feingold
> FSSGB
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: emilyetbrent--- via Song Organizers <
> songorganizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net>
> To: songorganizers <songorganizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net>
> Cc: emilyetbrent <emilyetbrent(a)gmail.com>
> Sent: Wed, Jan 29, 2020 4:30 pm
> Subject: [SongOrganizers] Hello from Ottawa + CDSS resource-land
>
> Hi fellow song organizer list members :)
>
> Following up from Amanda's invite to introduce ourselves, I'm Emily
> Addison from Ottawa, Ontario.
>
> I must admit to having a bit of imposter syndrome as I'm not currently a
> trad song organizer. However, I'm definitely interested in the subject and
> hope to participate in the list on occasion. I'm currently doing some
> consulting work for CDSS in addition to lots of local community organizing
> here in Ottawa. Part of my CDSS work has been to help establish this list
> so it's so exciting that Amanda, Lynn, Lynn and Suzanne have this
> conversation space possible.
>
> At this point, I wanted to chime in to encourage you to check out the CDSS
> Resource Portal which has a brand new section for Singers and Song Leaders.
> https://www.cdss.org/resources/resource-portal/song
> The greatly expanded Portal only launched a few weeks ago... almost all
> sections are new with the exception of dance organizers (launched fall
> 2018).
>
> Hopefully you'll find some interesting song leader and organizer resources
> in the Portal. However, it's interesting to note that while I was able to
> dig up large amounts of material for dance organizers, I found relatively
> little for song organizers. (I feel like I'm opening a can of worms just
> saying this!!!!???)
>
> There's so many reasons that this might be the case. For instance, there
> have been a few conferences for dance organizers which have produced a lot
> of resources. (As a side note, these conferences have happened largely due
> to volunteer interest and effort.) In addition, dance organizers tend to
> submit lots of articles to the CDSS News. As a long-time dance organizer,
> I also wonder if dance organizers might be more desperate to learn because
> of their somewhat higher stakes??? What I mean by this is that many dance
> organizers need to make close to (or more than!) $1000/night to cover
> expenses such as the hall, sound, caller, and musicians. If they don't
> make enough money to cover their expenses, their series will die. I know
> this type of stress has made my local dance community mobilize and work
> much harder on our Saturday night series than our $100/night once a month
> events.
>
> (On a related note, I would I'd like to acknowledge that I've also heard
> from a few one song organizer that CDSS has historically focused more on
> dance than song. )
>
> In any case, I'd like to put a call out to you all that if you know of
> some great song organizer and/or leader resources, to please let me know
> through this easy form: https://www.cdss.org/share-your-resource
> Almost all of the resources in the CDSS Resource Portal have been created
> by community members for community members.
> Related - a year ago this month, we asked a small set of song organizers
> what they wanted to learn about. I've included that list below. It would
> be so wonderful to start building a robust collection of resources that
> meet some of these interests.
>
> With much thanks and listening with open ears :)
> Emily in Ottawa
> ===============
> Vision (e.g., mission and goals; why we do what we do; motivations)
> Community culture and vibe (e.g., how to make sessions inclusive and
> welcoming; what do inclusivity, accessibility, and community actually mean;
> how to lead by example in creating the culture you want to see)
> Singer ability, confidence and participation (e.g., how to support singers
> who lack confidence or experience; how to be supportive of people who may
> have issues around tuning and tone; managing singers who take more than
> their share of airtime; ability, fear, personalities, politics; how to
> satisfy different levels of trad song knowledge)
> Running/managing sessions (e.g., styles of facilitation; what makes a good
> facilitator; flow)
> Venues (e.g., what makes an ideal venue; how to communicate with venue
> managers.)
> Fundraising
> Launching a new event/community
> Growing/evolving your event/community
> Marketing (e.g., how to promote in ways that attract new participants)
> Advocacy/benefits of singing
> How to support intergenerational community building at song events (e.g.,
> encouraging youth participants)
> Repertoire (e.g., setting norms for technology and lyric use; songs to
> pull people in and get them singing right away or otherwise carry a
> session; places to find songs; how to cultivate appropriate repertoire to
> make all singers feel welcome; how best to handle problematic or offensive
> songs)
> The tradition past and future (e.g., the history of social singing; how to
> keep the tradition alive and evolving)
> _______________________________________________
> Song Organizers mailing list -- songorganizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
> To unsubscribe send an email to
> songorganizers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net
> _______________________________________________
> Song Organizers mailing list -- songorganizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
> To unsubscribe send an email to
> songorganizers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net
>
Emily,
Thanks for that handy-dandy form! I was able to easily submit a few of my favorite online resources for traditional songs (especially ballads). I'll send you more info as I run across it - I encourage everyone else who is reading this message to click on the links below to see what has already been put into the online resource at CDSS, then use the link to the easy-to-fill-out form to help grow the resource!
Emily, I think you're right in thinking that there isn't a lot at stake if not a lot of people show up for a sing (as opposed to a dance) - fewer people means that there are more opportunities for those present to lead a song. That can be a double-edge sword - if a few of you have repertoires as long as your arm, you'll be all set, but if you come to a sing and there are three singers who each know three songs - well, that's going to end pretty quickly. I try to bring new songs to a sing, and if I frequent the same sing, that necessitates learning new songs - that's always a good thing!
How are people deciding what songs to add to their repertoire? How are you learning new songs? What memorization tricks can you share with us?
Thanks again,
Lynn FeingoldFSSGB
-----Original Message-----
From: emilyetbrent--- via Song Organizers <songorganizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net>
To: songorganizers <songorganizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net>
Cc: emilyetbrent <emilyetbrent(a)gmail.com>
Sent: Wed, Jan 29, 2020 4:30 pm
Subject: [SongOrganizers] Hello from Ottawa + CDSS resource-land
Hi fellow song organizer list members :)
Following up from Amanda's invite to introduce ourselves, I'm Emily Addison from Ottawa, Ontario.
I must admit to having a bit of imposter syndrome as I'm not currently a trad song organizer. However, I'm definitely interested in the subject and hope to participate in the list on occasion. I'm currently doing some consulting work for CDSS in addition to lots of local community organizing here in Ottawa. Part of my CDSS work has been to help establish this list so it's so exciting that Amanda, Lynn, Lynn and Suzanne have this conversation space possible.
At this point, I wanted to chime in to encourage you to check out the CDSS Resource Portal which has a brand new section for Singers and Song Leaders.
https://www.cdss.org/resources/resource-portal/song
The greatly expanded Portal only launched a few weeks ago... almost all sections are new with the exception of dance organizers (launched fall 2018).
Hopefully you'll find some interesting song leader and organizer resources in the Portal. However, it's interesting to note that while I was able to dig up large amounts of material for dance organizers, I found relatively little for song organizers. (I feel like I'm opening a can of worms just saying this!!!!???)
There's so many reasons that this might be the case. For instance, there have been a few conferences for dance organizers which have produced a lot of resources. (As a side note, these conferences have happened largely due to volunteer interest and effort.) In addition, dance organizers tend to submit lots of articles to the CDSS News. As a long-time dance organizer, I also wonder if dance organizers might be more desperate to learn because of their somewhat higher stakes??? What I mean by this is that many dance organizers need to make close to (or more than!) $1000/night to cover expenses such as the hall, sound, caller, and musicians. If they don't make enough money to cover their expenses, their series will die. I know this type of stress has made my local dance community mobilize and work much harder on our Saturday night series than our $100/night once a month events.
(On a related note, I would I'd like to acknowledge that I've also heard from a few one song organizer that CDSS has historically focused more on dance than song. )
In any case, I'd like to put a call out to you all that if you know of some great song organizer and/or leader resources, to please let me know through this easy form: https://www.cdss.org/share-your-resource
Almost all of the resources in the CDSS Resource Portal have been created by community members for community members.
Related - a year ago this month, we asked a small set of song organizers what they wanted to learn about. I've included that list below. It would be so wonderful to start building a robust collection of resources that meet some of these interests.
With much thanks and listening with open ears :)
Emily in Ottawa
===============
Vision (e.g., mission and goals; why we do what we do; motivations)
Community culture and vibe (e.g., how to make sessions inclusive and welcoming; what do inclusivity, accessibility, and community actually mean; how to lead by example in creating the culture you want to see)
Singer ability, confidence and participation (e.g., how to support singers who lack confidence or experience; how to be supportive of people who may have issues around tuning and tone; managing singers who take more than their share of airtime; ability, fear, personalities, politics; how to satisfy different levels of trad song knowledge)
Running/managing sessions (e.g., styles of facilitation; what makes a good facilitator; flow)
Venues (e.g., what makes an ideal venue; how to communicate with venue managers.)
Fundraising
Launching a new event/community
Growing/evolving your event/community
Marketing (e.g., how to promote in ways that attract new participants)
Advocacy/benefits of singing
How to support intergenerational community building at song events (e.g., encouraging youth participants)
Repertoire (e.g., setting norms for technology and lyric use; songs to pull people in and get them singing right away or otherwise carry a session; places to find songs; how to cultivate appropriate repertoire to make all singers feel welcome; how best to handle problematic or offensive songs)
The tradition past and future (e.g., the history of social singing; how to keep the tradition alive and evolving)
_______________________________________________
Song Organizers mailing list -- songorganizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
To unsubscribe send an email to songorganizers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net
Hi fellow song organizer list members :)
Following up from Amanda's invite to introduce ourselves, I'm Emily Addison from Ottawa, Ontario.
I must admit to having a bit of imposter syndrome as I'm not currently a trad song organizer. However, I'm definitely interested in the subject and hope to participate in the list on occasion. I'm currently doing some consulting work for CDSS in addition to lots of local community organizing here in Ottawa. Part of my CDSS work has been to help establish this list so it's so exciting that Amanda, Lynn, Lynn and Suzanne have this conversation space possible.
At this point, I wanted to chime in to encourage you to check out the CDSS Resource Portal which has a brand new section for Singers and Song Leaders.
https://www.cdss.org/resources/resource-portal/song
The greatly expanded Portal only launched a few weeks ago... almost all sections are new with the exception of dance organizers (launched fall 2018).
Hopefully you'll find some interesting song leader and organizer resources in the Portal. However, it's interesting to note that while I was able to dig up large amounts of material for dance organizers, I found relatively little for song organizers. (I feel like I'm opening a can of worms just saying this!!!!???)
There's so many reasons that this might be the case. For instance, there have been a few conferences for dance organizers which have produced a lot of resources. (As a side note, these conferences have happened largely due to volunteer interest and effort.) In addition, dance organizers tend to submit lots of articles to the CDSS News. As a long-time dance organizer, I also wonder if dance organizers might be more desperate to learn because of their somewhat higher stakes??? What I mean by this is that many dance organizers need to make close to (or more than!) $1000/night to cover expenses such as the hall, sound, caller, and musicians. If they don't make enough money to cover their expenses, their series will die. I know this type of stress has made my local dance community mobilize and work much harder on our Saturday night series than our $100/night once a month events.
(On a related note, I would I'd like to acknowledge that I've also heard from a few one song organizer that CDSS has historically focused more on dance than song. )
In any case, I'd like to put a call out to you all that if you know of some great song organizer and/or leader resources, to please let me know through this easy form: https://www.cdss.org/share-your-resource
Almost all of the resources in the CDSS Resource Portal have been created by community members for community members.
Related - a year ago this month, we asked a small set of song organizers what they wanted to learn about. I've included that list below. It would be so wonderful to start building a robust collection of resources that meet some of these interests.
With much thanks and listening with open ears :)
Emily in Ottawa
===============
Vision (e.g., mission and goals; why we do what we do; motivations)
Community culture and vibe (e.g., how to make sessions inclusive and welcoming; what do inclusivity, accessibility, and community actually mean; how to lead by example in creating the culture you want to see)
Singer ability, confidence and participation (e.g., how to support singers who lack confidence or experience; how to be supportive of people who may have issues around tuning and tone; managing singers who take more than their share of airtime; ability, fear, personalities, politics; how to satisfy different levels of trad song knowledge)
Running/managing sessions (e.g., styles of facilitation; what makes a good facilitator; flow)
Venues (e.g., what makes an ideal venue; how to communicate with venue managers.)
Fundraising
Launching a new event/community
Growing/evolving your event/community
Marketing (e.g., how to promote in ways that attract new participants)
Advocacy/benefits of singing
How to support intergenerational community building at song events (e.g., encouraging youth participants)
Repertoire (e.g., setting norms for technology and lyric use; songs to pull people in and get them singing right away or otherwise carry a session; places to find songs; how to cultivate appropriate repertoire to make all singers feel welcome; how best to handle problematic or offensive songs)
The tradition past and future (e.g., the history of social singing; how to keep the tradition alive and evolving)
Welcome, Suzanne! As a 40-something, I'm envious of the folk riches that
you were able to experience in the 60s and 70s. I look forward to your
insights here.
Anyone else ready to introduce themselves?
Amanda Witman
Brattleboro, VT
On Wed, Jan 22, 2020 at 2:14 PM Suzanne Mrozak via Song Organizers <
songorganizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
> Hi all! I'm Suzanne Mrozak, also a member of the Folk Song Society of
> Greater Boston and also a list Champion.
>
> Lynn Feingold has done a great job of describing how our FSSGB sings work.
> (Thanks, Lynn - both for your description and for the wonderful way you
> manage our events.) As for me, I was exposed to folk music when I was in
> elementary school in Ontario, Canada, and have loved it ever since. After
> college in the 1960s at McGill in Montreal, where I was able to hear
> performers like Phil Ochs, Tom Rush, and Dave Van Ronk in coffee houses and
> in concerts, I moved to Chicago, where I ended up living a few blocks from
> The Old Town School of Folk Music. I took classes - including a memorable
> one on ballads led by John Roberts and Tony Barrand who had managed to
> arrived in town by train one winter just ahead of a blizzard - and attended
> concerts there. It was a great time to be in Chicago. In addition to the
> Old Town School, there were coffeehouses, the University of Chicago Folk
> Festival, and plenty of opportunities to make music with other people. For
> most of the 1970s, I played with a group c
> alled The Sweet Betsy from Pike Memorial Autoharp Band, a group of 9
> autoharp players who also sang. (You might pause a moment here to consider
> the challenge of tuning 9 autoharps with a pitch pipe, which was our only
> option back in those days.) We even got invited to perform at Fox Hollow in
> 1976!
>
> I moved to Boston in the fall of 1979 and after a few years, I discovered
> the Folk Song Society of Greater Boston, where I was pleased to find
> like-minded people to sing with, coffeehouses like Passim, and festivals
> like NEFFA and the Eisteddfod.
>
> Although I am not currently organizing singing events, I do have a lot of
> experience as an organizer and participant, and I'm looking forward to
> hearing what questions and suggestions you all have :-)
>
> Suzanne Mrozak
> Roslindale, MA
> https://smrozak.wordpress.com/
> _______________________________________________
> Song Organizers mailing list -- songorganizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
> To unsubscribe send an email to
> songorganizers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net
>
Hello, Lynn, and, welcome! What a great wealth of experience. Thank you for
sharing all of this.
Who wants to go next? It would be great to hear even a little bit from
everyone on the list!
- Amanda
On Sat, Jan 18, 2020 at 4:10 PM Lynn Feingold via Song Organizers <
songorganizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
> Hi everyone and welcome!
>
> I'm Lynn Feingold and I live in Randolph, Massachusetts - just south of
> Boston. I'm the current President of The Folk Song Society of Greater
> Boston and one of the Champions of this new list. I'm looking forward to
> getting to know more about each of you, and your song sessions, through
> your questions and responses on the list!
>
> I'm one of those people that started singing at two years old. I was too
> shy to really participate in group singing, so I went on singing along with
> folk and traditional song recordings for many years, picking up repertoire
> as I went along. I went right from college, where I was an English major
> with an undeclared minor in choral singing, to performing at a 1780
> colonial tavern. I fought through a full year of severe stage fright before
> finding my legs as a performer. I found it very hard to keep inexperienced
> singers in the audience with me on chorus songs, so I mostly performed
> songs and ballads of the period. My repertoire grew immensely over the next
> 27 years.
>
> After the tavern closed, I craved singing and performing, so I joined the
> Folk Song Society of Greater Boston (FSSGB). More, please! I started to go
> to local pub sings and chantey sings. More, please! I started an annual
> Traditional Ballad Singing Competition for Students with my sister. More,
> please! I formed an English Music Hall performing troupe, The Old Howard
> Troupe. I've balanced out all of this over the years.
>
> For the past eight years or so I've led:
>
> FSSGB's quarterly Trad Swaps. Typically three to four hours long, these
> are smaller singing circles in people's homes where the focus is on singing
> older traditional songs, either chorus or solo, accompanied or
> unaccompanied, with the intent of respectfully hearing the songs,
> recognizing songs that you want to learn, getting practice learning songs
> from other singers, and making connections with other trad singers in the
> area. We always start with me covering the ground rules, introducing the
> popcorn style we will use and some other helpful hints. We have brief
> intros around the room. I lightly "manage" the sing by recognizing that
> someone is signaling to do a song next, and after the current song is done,
> I say, "Have you got a song?" If no one signals me, and the room falls into
> a lull, I ask, "Who's got one?" If no one responds, I'll take a turn and
> sing a song myself, sometimes choosing a song that suggests a theme so that
> others will follow. As leader, I try to make sure that everyone gets a
> chance to sing when they have a song. I might need to gently remind someone
> that we haven't had a song from everyone before they go for seconds - it's
> like pie. The singer is in charge of the song - laying down the ground
> rules just before starting to sing - "I hope you sing along on the chorus."
> "This is a good one for harmony - join in!" "This one is new to me, so I'd
> like to sing it without a harmony part this time." or "Let me sing this one
> alone." There is no expectation that you have to be a perfect singer or a
> performer - just have the interest and the energy. Memory aids such as a
> notebook or small screen are allowed, but the emphasis is on singing from
> memory. There is always a social aspect to this event, with people bringing
> food and drink to share on the snack table, and we deliberately take a
> break after an hour or so for people to get something to eat and drink, and
> to have a few minutes of conversation in addition to the singing. I use
> this same structure and these same rules for FSSGB Ballad Swaps
> (expecting just ballads) and Ballads Around the Firepit in my backyard,
> which is a really cool way to share old traditional ballads after dark in
> the warmer months. We have, from time-to-time, had special themes to the
> Swaps - a memorable one was Valentine's Day love songs/love gone wrong
> songs.
>
> FSSGB's Open Sings at NEFFA, Old Songs Festival, and FSSGB's Fall Getaway
> Weekend. These "open" sings are for anyone who wants to sing either a
> chorus song or solo song, accompanied or unaccompanied, with a group that
> will sing along on either the entire song or on the chorus. The NEFFA and
> Old Songs sessions are one hour long, but at our Fall Getaway Weekend they
> can go on for several hours. Once again, it's popcorn style and the singer
> is in charge of the song. Here we would would expect to hear not just older
> traditional songs, such as ballads, but also some 50's-60's folk revival
> material, rounds, and even camp songs. Some people bring a fragment of a
> song to share, hoping that someone in attendance can help them find the
> rest of the song! There may be a theme that develops that passes from
> singer to singer, until someone announces, "OK, enough of that - let's sing
> something different" - taking the sing in a completely different direction.
> Memory aids are allowed, but most people (maybe 95%) sing from memory. It's
> always a varied and interesting experience, and again, the emphasis is not
> on "can I sing?" or "should I sing?" but on creating a supportive, friendly
> environment for people to feel comfortable singing with, and in front of,
> others. Special encouragement is given to shy singers, and many have had a
> breakthrough at these sings. Can you believe that some teachers have told
> their students that they should just stand in the back, and mouth the words
> instead of singing with the chorus? These sessions are healing for those
> folks. Usually we are in a space that does not allow food, so they are much
> more singing-focused than social/eating/drinking focused.
>
> I look forward to hearing what your sing is like, and where you are!
>
> Lynn Feingold
> Randolph, Massachusetts
> The Folk Song Society of Greater Boston <http://www.fssgb.org>
>
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>
A question for everyone: Do you organize or lead one or more song sessions
or song-related events? How did it/they get started, and what is your role
now?
Hi everyone and welcome!
I'm Lynn Feingold and I live in Randolph, Massachusetts - just south of Boston. I'm the current President of The Folk Song Society of Greater Boston and one of the Champions of this new list. I'm looking forward to getting to know more about each of you, and your song sessions, through your questions and responses on the list!
I'm one of those people that started singing at two years old. I was too shy to really participate in group singing, so I went on singing along with folk and traditional song recordings for many years, picking up repertoire as I went along. I went right from college, where I was an English major with an undeclared minor in choral singing, to performing at a 1780 colonial tavern. I fought through a full year of severe stage fright before finding my legs as a performer. I found it very hard to keep inexperienced singers in the audience with me on chorus songs, so I mostly performed songs and ballads of the period. My repertoire grew immensely over the next 27 years.
After the tavern closed, I craved singing and performing, so I joined the Folk Song Society of Greater Boston (FSSGB). More, please! I started to go to local pub sings and chantey sings. More, please! I started an annual Traditional Ballad Singing Competition for Students with my sister. More, please! I formed an English Music Hall performing troupe, The Old Howard Troupe. I've balanced out all of this over the years.
For the past eight years or so I've led:
FSSGB's quarterly Trad Swaps. Typically three to four hours long, these are smaller singing circles in people's homes where the focus is on singing older traditional songs, either chorus or solo, accompanied or unaccompanied, with the intent of respectfully hearing the songs, recognizing songs that you want to learn, getting practice learning songs from other singers, and making connections with other trad singers in the area. We always start with me covering the ground rules, introducing the popcorn style we will use and some other helpful hints. We have brief intros around the room. I lightly "manage" the sing by recognizing that someone is signaling to do a song next, and after the current song is done, I say, "Have you got a song?" If no one signals me, and the room falls into a lull, I ask, "Who's got one?" If no one responds, I'll take a turn and sing a song myself, sometimes choosing a song that suggests a theme so that others will follow. As leader, I try to make sure that everyone gets a chance to sing when they have a song. I might need to gently remind someone that we haven't had a song from everyone before they go for seconds - it's like pie. The singer is in charge of the song - laying down the ground rules just before starting to sing - "I hope you sing along on the chorus." "This is a good one for harmony - join in!" "This one is new to me, so I'd like to sing it without a harmony part this time." or "Let me sing this one alone." There is no expectation that you have to be a perfect singer or a performer - just have the interest and the energy. Memory aids such as a notebook or small screen are allowed, but the emphasis is on singing from memory. There is always a social aspect to this event, with people bringing food and drink to share on the snack table, and we deliberately take a break after an hour or so for people to get something to eat and drink, and to have a few minutes of conversation in addition to the singing. I use this same structure and these same rules for FSSGB Ballad Swaps (expecting just ballads) and Ballads Around the Firepit in my backyard, which is a really cool way to share old traditional ballads after dark in the warmer months. We have, from time-to-time, had special themes to the Swaps - a memorable one was Valentine's Day love songs/love gone wrong songs.
FSSGB's Open Sings at NEFFA, Old Songs Festival, and FSSGB's Fall Getaway Weekend. These "open" sings are for anyone who wants to sing either a chorus song or solo song, accompanied or unaccompanied, with a group that will sing along on either the entire song or on the chorus. The NEFFA and Old Songs sessions are one hour long, but at our Fall Getaway Weekend they can go on for several hours. Once again, it's popcorn style and the singer is in charge of the song. Here we would would expect to hear not just older traditional songs, such as ballads, but also some 50's-60's folk revival material, rounds, and even camp songs. Some people bring a fragment of a song to share, hoping that someone in attendance can help them find the rest of the song! There may be a theme that develops that passes from singer to singer, until someone announces, "OK, enough of that - let's sing something different" - taking the sing in a completely different direction. Memory aids are allowed, but most people (maybe 95%) sing from memory. It's always a varied and interesting experience, and again, the emphasis is not on "can I sing?" or "should I sing?" but on creating a supportive, friendly environment for people to feel comfortable singing with, and in front of, others. Special encouragement is given to shy singers, and many have had a breakthrough at these sings. Can you believe that some teachers have told their students that they should just stand in the back, and mouth the words instead of singing with the chorus? These sessions are healing for those folks. Usually we are in a space that does not allow food, so they are much more singing-focused than social/eating/drinking focused.
I look forward to hearing what your sing is like, and where you are!
Lynn FeingoldRandolph, MassachusettsThe Folk Song Society of Greater Boston
Welcome! Let's get to know one another. Please take a moment to respond to
this email with your name, location, and what benefit you're hoping this
list will have for you. If you lead a song session or organize a song
event, tell us about it. I'm so thrilled to be part of this brand-new
effort at connecting song session/event organizers to share information and
support.
I'll start: I'm Amanda Witman and I live in southern Vermont. I co-lead the
monthly Brattleboro Pub Sing, which Tony Barrand and I founded in April
2011. I first got a taste of pub-style-singing -- *strong verses! rousing
choruses! harmony to the high heavens!* -- from a Revels recording that a
friend gave me years ago. I was hooked. I spent years singing along to CDs
and wishing I could somehow find some real live people to do it with. For
several years, I stood around wishing someone would start a local pub sing
so I could sing harmony. Finally I realized that if I wanted it, I had to
make it happen (and I had to get comfortable leading songs, which was new
for me). Luckily, I had a willing and experienced co-leader from the very
beginning, and the interest in our area was encouraging.
I am keenly curious about how other sings work -- what choices have you
made and why, what are your local customs, etc. -- and about the
differences and similarities among groups. In conversations with others, I
have found that I am not the only one who felt (and sometimes still feels)
like I was/am making it up as I go along. But the more I connect with other
organizers, the more I understand how we can make it easier for each other
by sharing insights and information. So my hope is that this list will
serve that purpose.
Please respond with an intro if you're willing, and feel free to post
questions to this list whenever you feel so moved. I look forward to
getting to know those of you who post to the list. (It's also fine if you
just want to lurk or if you aren't interested in sharing identifying
information.)
It's also helpful if we all try to include a signature line with name and
location. Who's next?
Amanda Witman
Brattleboro, Vermont
brattleboropubsing.org
