To start a song circle you need:
- a ROUGH idea of where you'd like to end up
- two people who can confidently lead songs
- a place to sing
- some ideas for getting new people

Goals:
In a very large community (or a very homogeneous community) you might be able to decide beforehand on what you want - maybe a circle exclusively for: unaccompanied, traditional cowboy songs with no lyric sheets and at least one verse of yodeling. But your goals will USUALLY have to be tempered by the goals of the other people you find to help you lead the group, but you should be ready to outline SOME goals or nobody will take you seriously.

Core group:
Two confident singers who will show up regularly is a must, at least for me. Everyone else can be gathered slowly over months and months. It requires great determination and pig-headedness for a lone song leader to carry a song circle without help. I've met one guy who managed it though, on his third try.

Look for confident singer(s) at:
- coffee houses and open stages - watch especially for anyone who leads a sing-along song or two
- folk concerts in small venues - ask the proprietor, ask local singers/musicians/organizers who they know
- music stores - ask the people behind the desk for advice on contacts
- music/singing teachers - ask them for contacts
- yes, ugh, you might even find good people in kareoke bars
- church (or ask your friends/relatives who they know at church who might be interested)

It may be much easier for you to find five or six confident singers who promise to show up once a month than to find one who will show up every week. Whatever you do, be prepared to give out your phone number/e-mail and to ASK for phone numbers/e-mail addresses - getting the initial group together may take a long time, circumstances may change, and there may be good reason to call back people who were initially hesitant.

Places to sing include:
- people's houses
- community centers
- church lounges
- university/college lounges
- bars (especially bars with one room for singing and another for talking)
- a park (consider late night mosquitoes when choosing a location).

To get more people you can:
- use word of mouth
- advertise in music stores, coffee shops, telephone poles
- advertise in entertainment guides, newspapers, and community newspapers
- make a one sentence announcement at musical events where you perform

Music circles:
Generally in a music circle, everyone takes turns. They can either:
- lead a song,
- request a song,
- or pass.
In some venues, one can recite a small story or poem. Also, some music circles give people turns but have a GUEST ARTIST who leads every third or fourth song.

Manners/format:
Don't try to formally decide on all guidelines, just a few of them. As the host, you can always say, "tonight only" we're trying it THIS way. You can kill yourself with wondering how to deal with all the different sorts of harmonica players you might run into, and then never have an harmonica player show up at your song circle.

If you attend enough song circles/music circles, you'll see all these guidelines broken in ways that help the mood, and in ways that create disharmony. They aren't rules: they're issues you should be aware of.

Always:
Control of the song is given to the current song leader. You should almost never sing louder than the person who is leading the song. You should never try to "correct" the leader's version in melody, tempo, lyrics, rhythm or whatever.

Options:
Some song circles are set up as "no book" circles. Don't bring paper. Believe it or not, these can be great. Some song circles emphasize:
- unaccompanied (a capella) singing
- songs of a certain genre (camp songs, traditonal songs, …)
- theme nights (such as a sea song night or a Christmas carol night).
- chorus songs -- sometimes everyone is encouraged to ONLY sing the chorus when they are not leading.

Instruments:
I much prefer song circles where the norm is to NOT join in instrumentally, unless asked to do so. When joining in instrumentally, consider:
- whether there is already someone playing lead -- two leads can be tedious.
- whether your style matches the intention of the song leader -- I've seen a lot of nice folk songs pushed towards bluegrass by over-eager instrumentalists.
- what sound is most lacking - does there need to be a fifth rhythm guitar? Or might a shaker or percussion on your guitar top be better, or maybe THE VOCALS deserve all your attention and help?

Odd little notes:

Talking: Planning a break specifically for talking sometimes helps. People WILL talk. Try to figure out how much you'll tolerate beforehand.

Getting up during songs: It really bugs me to see several people get up to go have a smoke or talk just before a string of mediocre singers starts at a song circle.

Making up your mind: Try to make up your mind on what you want before your turn comes. If making a request, try to have at least one alternate request ready, in case your first choice can't be done.

Tuning: if you can't get tuned in half a minute, go tune out of earshot of the group.

Taking requests: Don't do a request if you're not confident you can do it well (that's the only thing I hate about the Rise Up Singing songbook -- it encourages people to ask for songs that some mixed up person then agrees to "try"). Don't sing a song in the key that the song requester would like -- support that person's vocal lead, yes, OR lead the song in your own key.

Messing up songs/forgetting lyrics and chords: It's ok to give up. Your turn will come again.