This is a very long thread, and I haven't read it all, but I'm new to song circles, and I have a few questions:

How do you moderate an open song circle? Do you go around, counterclockwise, taking turns? Do people just jump in, when they have a song? Does the moderator call on people?

What kind of songs are appropriate? Must they be songs everybody can learn and play or sing along with? Can they be individual performances, of songs other people don't know? Can an individual "show off", playing a difficult arrangement or a new song they have learned?

Should other people expect to be able to join in, either on voice or instrument, on most songs?

The reason I ask, is because I have been "talked to" about playing new songs I have learned, that are really not sing along songs. I like to try out my new stuff, in front of them, to help me learn to play for other people. I have also been criticized for "jumping in" and trying to gain the floor, even though the circle is not moderated, we don't take turns, and people are encouraged to jump in.

I don't mind, when people play along, and I try to sit where I can see other people's hands, so I can follow their chords. Isn't that what a song circle is about, singing and playing together?

EZR