minstrel: Ideas for organising Bardic Nights

[Meaghen Mac Laren (Bridget Aboussafy)]

Greetings all :) My household has been having a Bardic Night every 2 
weeks for a couple of months now, and it has become needful to give these 
Nights a bit of organisation and direction. We have a range of bards from 
the brand-spanking-new-what-am-I-doing? type to the mundane paid 
professional type to the generally-well-versed-in-both-the-SCA-&-Mundane-bardic 
type. The interests of our bards vary considerably, and I'd like to get 
some scheme of running things so everyone learns things. I've come up 
with about 60 or so ideas on my own and have passed them out to the house 
members to await additions and thoughts. I'd love to hear what 
everyone on this list has for ideas. Right now the Bardic Nights are 
fairly informal and are likely to remain this way (one or to of our 
members have some strange aversion to anything formal). Eventually, 
I'll be holding a *large* - 50 classes or more - Bardic Ithra down in 
Lionsgate An Tir, so many of the ideas I've got I'll be converting 
into formal classes later on (also very good for Bardic Workshops). Here is 
the list of my ideas, please read them and give me your thoughts on them 
and any new ideas of your own. (One other note, a few of the ideas you 
will notice came from the archives of this our minstrel list. Copyright 
issues will be observed painstakingly for any of those ideas used)
 
Meaghen Mac Laren
Ramsgaard, An Tir

*The List*

1. The Basics - Reading Sheet Music
2. Rounds & Chorus Songs
3. Show & Tell or 'Listen to this neat song I just found/wrote!'
4. Work on Writing original pieces and filks & get help
5. Critique Night - Performance Pieces (for more formal environments like 
court)
6. History of Music - everyone goes & researches a tidbit about period 
music & shares it with the group
7. Work on Ensemble Pieces - vocal, instrumental & mixed
8. Recorder Night
9. Tin Whistle Night
10. Bodhran Night
11. Guitar Night *the preceeding are the instruments my house has access to*
12. Seasonal & Holiday Music
13. Pieces That Your Personna Would've Performed
14. Drinking Songs
15. On Being a Bard in the SCA & Bardic Circles
16. The Fine Art of Fyrewalking
17. Preparing for an Event - What Can a Bard Do?
18. Copyright & What Does That Have to Do With Me?
19. The Art of Storytelling
20. Critique Night - Poems
21. Critique Night - Stories
22. Storytelling Night
23. Poetry Reading Night
24. Work on Writing Stories
25. Work on Writing Poems
26. History of Storytelling
27. History of Poetry
28. History of Theatre
29. Writing Plays & Scenes
30. Theatre Night
31. Theatre Critique Night
32. Songs, Stories, & Poems in Other Languages
33. History of the Jester
34. History of Miming
35. History of the Harpers
36. History of Bards (Irish Mundane)
37. History of the French Troubadors
38. Period Music from Around the World
39. Period Instruments from Around the World
40. Lyrics Exchange Night
41. Jam Session (music)
42. Children's Music
43. Theatre for Children
44. Poetry & Stories to Enthral Children
45. Intermediate Music Theory, Basic Harmony, & Transposition
46. Performing in a Choir
47. Middle Eastern Drumming
48. Patronage & Commissioning (Historic & Current)
49. Repertoire & Performing Just Because You Feel Like It
50. Ballads
51. X-Rated Bardic - the Bawdy Songs
52. Playing Medieval Dance Musci
53. Madrigals
54. Tongue Twister Night
55. The Technical Side of Performing - Audience, Your Technique, Songs, 
Stories, Poetry, Instrumental, Environment, Gestalt, Experience, & 
Unvoiced Techniques
56. Irish Music - Reels & Slides etc.
57. Arranging Music
58. Rhythm - Common Types & Styles from Around the World
59. Keeping a Journal of Your Performances
60. War Songs
61. Planxty
 


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