minstrel: A Brand New Thread (tm) (long)

[Karen A. Allen/JP Andrews]

At 3:25 PM 11/11/96, Matthew Allen Newsome wrote:
>I have a question for all you bards out there...
>Scenario;  You are at an event.  There is no scheduled bardic circle, but
>you would like to have one.  There are other people interested in hearing
>an evening of song, so you contmplate hosting a bardic yourself.  You
>don't, because you are the only "established bard" there.  (In this case
>meaning a bard who can be counted on to have a strong presence at a
>bardic circle).  This means that there is a chance that you will have a
>nice bardic circle, and hear some fresh new talent that you would not
>have otehrwise, but there is also a good chance of it becoming a one-man
>show with you as the main attraction.  This would mean that you would
>have to perform constantly for a few hours (or kick everyone out early
>and get a reputation fas a grouch).  So, those of you who CAN go on for
>hours and hours... what do you do?  Where do you get your stamina?  And
>tricks of the trade you can pass on?
>Aye,
>Eogan


I'll take a stab at this...

I can do 2+ hours of music at the drop of a hat, and have done so on more
than one occasion. But, I do like to hear other people perform, and I try
to get as many bards in one place as I can. What I try to do is tell as
many people as  possible that there will be a bardic circle, and where and
when.  That's not easy in most cases, because unless the autocrat has
planned for a bardic (and in your example it seems the he/she has not)
you're going to have to play it by ear (no pun intended).

So, I get the word out and then I wait to see who shows up.  In my
experience, most people who are interested in hearing bards are also
interested in doing something "bardic", maybe they know a song or two,
maybe a story or a riddle.  So it's unlikely that you'll be the only one
contributing entertainment.

But, for the sake of this discussion lets say that I'm the only person in
the room that has something to perform.  If that's the case, I set to work.

I try and stay with a theme for a few songs, and I like to keep them
serious, at least at first to try and set the tone.  I may start with "The
Unquiet Grave", then "Mari O'Meara" and "Three Fishers".  I mix in my own
stuff as I go, pausing between each song to talk about the piece, who wrote
it, where I learned it etc. and to talk to new people that have wandered
in.  I ask everyone who shows up if they have anything they would like to
do, and I look for clues that a given lord or lady my indeed have something
that they can perform (a song book sitting on the floor, a recorder tucked
into a belt) but are too shy to jump in.  I also ask for requests, and
since I'm fairly well known and I play the "open" bardic circles as much as
possible, most of the time there is something that someone wants to hear.

To my mind, the most important things are practice and memorization.  I
practice about an hour and a half a day, with an eye to what I want to
perform at the next bardic circle I go to.  So I do all the new stuff
first, sometimes I play the same song over and over until I'm just too
bored with it to go on.  Then I play the stuff that I think someone will
ask for.  This changes over time: right now I'm getting a lot of requests
for "Matty Groves", "The Queen of Air and Darkness" and a song of my own,
"A Lady in Darkness".  Finally, I practice things that I haven't played in
a while just to make sure that I remember them well enough to perform them
if I need/want to.

Which of course brings me to Memorization.  I consider this to be very,
very important, because I don't perform from a book.  I have always felt
that dependence on a song book is just that, dependence.  If you are used
to performing from a book, you've go to worry about things like light,
having the right book and being able to find the piece you want in the
book.  This can be quite a problem, especially at outdoor events, and if
you like to roam from one camp to the next it adds one more thing that you
have to carry around (two if you've got a flash light or a lantern, or
three if you have more than one book).

I prefer to avoid those problems, so I keep it all in my head.  So what if
there's no good light, I don't need it.  And all I have to transport is me,
my guitar and the tankard that hangs on my belt.  Some people have
suggested that they need to have their book (or books) because they never
know what someone will want to hear.  While I can see the merits of this
argument, I can't believe that anyone can be ready to perform any one of
100 (or more) pieces, just because they have them in their book.  A good
performance requires more than just a copy of the words and a cursory
acquaintance with the melody (or storyline, or whatever).  And if you chose
your material carefully you can have something for almost any occasion
ready to go.

As an example, here is a partial list of the songs I can do, right now, at
any bardic circle, in addition to the ones I've already mentioned.

(these are all songs I wrote)
Tinker's Minstrel, The Farie Harpist, Last of the Mighty, Hastings 1066,
Silver and Ale, My Queen, Angelina's Song, Queen of the West, Queen of
Caid, The Coming of Spring, Beneath Caidan Swords, The Troubadour, Ghost of
the Shettlands, The Children of Lir, and The Lost Crusade.

(these are all songs that someone else wrote)
I'll Carry a Lock of Your Hair, Witch of the Westmerelands, Ballad of the
Blue Rose, The Cruel Sister, Burden of the Crown, Karelia's Song, and The
Water is Wide.

So that's 28 songs that are always ready to go.  Let's say that they
average to 4 minutes a piece (which would be conservative), that's 112
minutes of music, just under two hours if you play them straight through.

Written out it looks like a big job, but in practice it's not.  And when
you consider that you're almost never going to be the only one performing,
it becomes clear that this is more material than you'll every really need.

The one problem I have is that my throat gets dry (understandably enough).
This is largely my fault, because I know that I should be drinking water
between every song.  But I often forget, or I run out of water and don't
want to take the time to go get more.  When you're the only bard at the
circle this is actually dangerous, because your circle can break up while
you're gone: people think you're not coming back, and go find something
else to do.

One more small note, (in what has become my giant post) on water.  I really
think that singers at least should stick to water when they are performing.
I like a good belt now and again, but alcohol dehydrates, and that's a bad
thing for a singer.  I also avoid soda, or anything sweet or carbonated.

I hope that's not too much information.  I am interested to hear what other
people think on this subject.

Thomas






--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Karen A. Allen and JP Andrews
Mistress Angelina Nicollette de Beaumont, O.L. and Lord Thomas Bordeaux
e-mail for either to: Ngelina at earthlink.net
Check out the Gyldenholt Circle of Bards web site at
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/3145/index.html
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Over the next few weeks we will be changing our e-mail address. For
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