Jim Carroll

Bryan
Your argument, in the context of a discussion on basic standards, was that the only requirement for giving a singer a floor spot was a desire on their part to want to sing, nothing more.

Correct.

You even consulted your committee to confirm that this was club policy.

Correct.

As far Is I am aware, you have never moved from this statement

Correct.

- as far as I am concerned, this is 'dumbing down',

Sorry Jim but that's your problem. If you are implying that we have a deliberate policy of 'dumbing down' then I find that gratuitously offensive. You have never been to our club. You have not seen the results. You have no evidence that our policy causes a lowering of standards. We care deeply about the music we love and put a considerable amount of work into promoting it. We try to create a positive and supportive environment in which people can learn and share. That is why your constant negativity seriously pisses me off.

as I believe that the ability to hold a tune, and remember and understand a text is a must.

Hmmmm. Well. A whole new topic. I've known some terrible singers who could hold an audience in the palm of their hand and some perfect singers who bored their audience rigid. The ability to "perform" is probably more important.

If your stance on this has altered in any way, [No, Not in the slightest.] there is no argument. {Oh yes there is.]

Of course you give all singers who wish to a chance to sing, as I've said on several occasions, [so have I] but should they prove themselves unable to do either or both of the above, you offer them assistance rather than allowing them to continue to practice in public.

I'm sorry Jim but you just aren't getting it. We aren't gurus. We have no authority over the people who choose to pay on the door and come in to our club. We cannot "allow" or "dis-allow" anything (excluding anything obviously illegal). We are part of the audience. We just happen to be that part who have volunteered to book the room, set out the chairs, contact the guest performers, buy the raffle prizes, build the website, sell the tickets, keep the accounts..... We have no right to tell the other members of the audience what they can or cannot do, nor do we have the expertise to tell them how they should do it. All we can do is lead by example and hope that what we do and how we do it conveys the message.

I know that Lewes has an enviable programme of workshops, but you have never said how you cater for beginners.

Frankly, we don't because there isn't sufficient demand to justify organising anything specific.

I just don't understand why you seem to think that wanting to sing equates to not beinga able to sing in face of the fact that your mentor Ewan MacColl said "Anybody who's ever tried to sing and got up in front of an audience and made a bloody mess of it knows that you're not enjoying it when you're making a balls of it, but you are enjoying it when it's working, when all the things you want to happen are happening." and you, in another thread, said "Why do people want to sing in a folk club? - because (they believe) they're worth it, and if you believe that, there's a good chance you are."

Make up your mind.