This is a sort of offshoot from the "Choir in the Community" thread...

These days "group work" seems to be the in thing as far as musical projects are concerned and, as another poster had observed, this is potentially affecting folk club gatherings, music and song sessions etc. While not necessarily leading to their demise and, in many cases, sometimes actually encouraging more interest, it is certainly altering the character and ambience of such events.

For instance, on another site, someone was advertising a tune session and he posted a "Suggested Set List" complete with "the dots" while another session organiser stated that the repertoire for the evening would be from "What's his name?"'s tune books.

In song sessions and even for folk club floor spots, it's now common practice to bring in song sheets... sometimes large folders.. but it's also increasingly more common for some tune sessions to be organised in this way. Also, even in folk clubs, singers and musicians now set up their music stands on a regular basis.

Of course, everyone has to start somewhere and I don't begrudge beginners arranging their own sessions but many of them are well beyond that stage or should be by now. Yet, they like to continue with the same approach and format.

I feel that there ought to be a time for everyone to enter the "big bad world" and stand on their own two feet. Learn a few songs and/or tunes before you go along to a session or folk club. If you can only remember one or two of them the first time, so be it. Next time, you'll have a few more under your belt. Likewise, if you make a mistake or two, it doesn't really matter. You can actually make just as many reading off song sheets or the "dots" as you can be too busy looking at these to actually do the songs and tunes real justice.

As with everything else, there "may" be an occasional exception to the rule. Sometimes, I may bring along a song or tune which I haven't yet learned fully as I have a specific purpose for performing it. It may be something topical, for instance. However, this is a very rare thing and certainly I wouldn't want to do so in a good going tune or song session.

Looking forward to all comments, agreeable or otherwise.
:-)