Singers Nights

Subject: RE: Singers Nights
From: Will Fly
Date: 06 Mar 16 - 11:58 AM

Wise words, John - with which I agree absolutely. I remember the intense competition to play in clubs in the '60s and '70s - when a performer was lucky to get a floor spot. You had to be of a reasonable standard, and I recall being roundly criticised by a folk club organiser in Leeds for not having brought enough care and attention to what I was singing and playing!

I would add in another, modern factor: the concept that everyone has a right to have their 15 minutes in the spotlight - regardless of whether they know how to present their material or not. It's as though the world is one gigantic X-Factor or "Folk Clubs Got Talent". In reality, we don't have any right to waste people's time.

And, by the way, I'm 72 this year and have absolutely no trouble in learning a song in a day at most. That's probably because I've spent the last 50+ years doing it!

Subject: RE: Singers Nights
From: Harmonium Hero
Date: 06 Mar 16 - 11:23 AM

G-Force: I don't agree with the oft-quoted excuse that if you're over 60 - or even over 50, you can't remember stuff. I think it has less to do with age than the fact that your head is like a shed which, over time, gets filled with so much junk that you can never find anything. I think the malaise is being mis-diagnosed; I think the real problem is the present poularity of regular singarounds. People go along every week and expect to get two or three songs. As you say, you don't want to be accused of not learning new stuff, so you end up trying to sing stuff you haven't properly learned. In the 'bad old days' (according to some), when clubs had a semi pro - or even full time resident group, there were fewer floor singers. People went to be entertained and join in with choroses, and so didn't expect - or want - to get a floor spot every week. So they had time to learn their songs properly. You never saw crib sheets in those days. Singarounds were things you got at festivals, which was fine, as there weould be people from all over the country who you'd never otherwise see, getting probably one song each, and this at an annual, not weekly event. But on a regular basis? - forget it.
By the way, I'm 69, and inclined to sing ballads, and long songs with a narrative, which I find easier to learn and remember than short non-narrative songs. I'm not immune to getting the words muddled, but I think people in folk clubs can overloook such lapses if you draw them into the songs, which you're not going to do if you are getting the words off a crib sheet.
John Kelly.

Subject: RE: Singers Nights
From: G-Force
Date: 05 Mar 16 - 06:52 AM

Most people in folk clubs are now in their sixties (or more!). It becomes harder to memorize new songs as you get older. So to avoid being accused of just doing the same old stuff every week, most of us get new material together as well as we can, but perform it with the words in front of us, just in case.

I for one do not have a problem with that, but remain impressed by people who perform from memory (and get it right!).

Subject: Singers Nights
From: GUEST,Bignige
Date: 05 Mar 16 - 05:58 AM

It seems to me that the standard of music in Folk Clubs is not what it used to be. It now seems acceptable to get up and speak come warble
from crib sheets, with no instrumental accompaniment, anything that that the performer likes, without thought to those who have to sit and listen. I can't work out if its due to decline of Folk Clubs generally, or whether new/next generation is getting its musical kicks somewhere else.