Thanks to Leadfingers and Tattie Bogle for the useful information.

As a Sidmouth newbie who wishes to lead a song here and there, but also wants to be sure to comply with local custom, this is really valuable information to have. By the way, I'm one of Cllr's friends from the states, and the one who asked him about a "newbie's guide". This sort of thing is part of what I was hoping to learn.


Tattie Bogle said:
"Some of the Trad sessions are a bit more exclusive: i.e.
   don't ask you to sing unless they know you."

So is it common for you to need to be asked to sing, as opposed to just following the general politeness rules that Leadfinger described for the Newt's session?

And, when an invitation is required to start a song, is there generally either a passed token (such as the Middle Bar twig) or an explicit introduction? The former ought to be pretty obvious and so easy to follow, while the latter would make it clear with whom I should check in if I want to sing. If, on the other hand, there are sings where you need an invitation but not an introduction/token, then that could be confusing to someone who doesn't need the room quieted.


Leadfingers wrote:
"DONT Sing The Wild Rover"

Got it, and no problem. Any others songs that make people groan? People aren't sick of hearing "Barrett's Privateers" or "What Shall We Do With a Drunken Sailor"?