Hi all! Just a few relatively random thoughts for the moment... I don’t organize open song sessions or song-related events these days, but I have been involved in many, many song sessions over the years - as an organizer and participant. In my experience, some song sessions are planned, some are spontaneous; some have rules, some don’t; some happen sporadically, others are regularly scheduled; some involve many people, some only a few; some include instruments, some don’t. I’m sure you can think of more examples of the wide variety of ways people find to sing together! How does a song session gets started? That also runs the gamut. It can be completely ad hoc or it can be an event carefully coordinated by a person or team who is willing to give it all of the attention it needs to thrive for many years. When I came to Boston, I found that the Folk Song Society of Greater Boston had regular monthly singing parties and what they call "mid-week sings". A great opportunity to meet new people and share songs, I thought. And I was right. That led to me finding more and more opportunities to sing with others and introduced me to Pinewoods Camp. Lucky me! And of course going to Pinewoods (in my case, for Folk Music Week) introduced me to more singing opportunities. I find that I gravitate toward more mellow events where people really listen to each other, the songs are quieter, and people like to learn more about the songs being sung. But I also am perfectly happy to join in a rousing chorus in a room full of strong voices. A lot depends on the mood I am in. I have always enjoyed the wide variety of ways people find to make music together - starting with my elementary school music teacher teaching our class to sing songs from "The Folk Songs of Canada" by Edith Fowke - and I think it’s great that CDSS has proved us with a forum to share our experiences. I’m curious to know what kind of singing sessions you all prefer? Are there particular formats that you like better than others? What factors make a session really wonderful and make you want to come back and what factors make you think "once was enough"? To be continued… Cheers Suzanne