- If there are more than 8-10
guitars, start a new circle.
Why? Everyone deserves a chance
to perform. There are more performers than guitars; but
the guitar players will take the majority of the
performance time. 5 minutes x 10 guitars = 50 minutes; so
unless someone is being a real hog of time you'll only
get to perform on an average of once an hour. In
my opinion groups of 3-7 performers have the best chance
of creating that special rapport that creates a
really good filk.
This doesn't mean that
exceptions don't exist (the OVFF First Annual Saturday
Night Drum Jam comes to mind....). Just that smaller
groups give the best chance of creating a great
filk.
- Pay at least loose attention
to the rules of a Bardic Circle.
Midwest filking is extremely
sold on "chaos" filk; which is basically, "if it feels
good, do it." However, this creates opportunities for
"filk hogging"- and I'm just as guilty of it as the next
guy. Regular Bardic
Circle rules can be
restrictive; you wait until everyone else has played
before you can play again. This can interrupt the ebb and
flow of the circle.
But it's extremely poor form to
play, listen to one performer, play again, listen
to one performer, play again.... and there
are 40 people in the room; 20 with guitars. Try to wait
an appropriate time- look at a couple of people in the
room you haven't heard in awhile and make yourself wait
until they've played before you prepare another piece.
This way, you ensure that a reasonable amount of time
passes to let the music flow.
What if you've really got
to play and it just looks too full? There's nothing wrong
with looking for one or two performers who appear to have
been sitting awhile, and QUIETLY inviting them to
help start another circle. Be sure to slip out between
songs.
- Encourage everyone in the
room to participate should they desire to.
On drum, leg, whistle, recorder,
guitar, whatever. Music shared is existence
declared.
- Don't "play" to the tape
recorders.
Two reasons for this. First,
playing to the recorders means you lose focus on what the
circle is doing, you tend to hog then. Second, you tend
to sound forced and false- which isn't why the recorders
are there. Most of them are for individuals who want a
record to remind them of a warm, happy evening with
friends. Generally, they are not going to be released as
the next filk magnum opus.
- No matter how bad it is, be
honestly encouraging.
We are there to feel good. Help
it along. If you can't think of anything positive to say,
don't say anything; especially while they're
playing! If you have to talk; take it to the back or
outside the room.
If you have to leave, doing it
while they're getting ready to play or during the opening
bars is ok- unless there's a mass rush for the door.
However, once the first verse begins, you will most
likely avoid hurting feelings if you stay put. Just keep
telling yourself you can put up with anything for
5-7 minutes (unless, of course, they start playing
"Horse Tamer's Daughter"....)
(slowly....).
Caveat: We're all human.
Yep, these are the rules I try to live by within a Circle.
Do I always hold to them? No, I don't. I'm not sure that
anyone can, 100% of the time. But as rules of thumb, these
guidelines have served me very well. I hope that they can
help you.
Back to the preachy
page...
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