El Greko wrote: 'In my book, a good singaround will NOT emphasise quality of performance over licence to participate; all are equal. The emphasis should be in the "giving" of the song and the freedom to join in with choruses etc, not the "receiving". I see the singaround as the main vehicle for the "folk process" and passing on of the old songs and tradition, and so it has a very special place in my heart.'

I thoroughly agree with that. I didn't mention sessions or singarounds in my original post, but I also believe that singarounds are where anybody who turns up should be able have a go. Some of them might be, shall we say diplomatically, a little rusty, or just beginners and not very skilful on their instruments or in projecting their voice - but that should be no barrier to them having a go. Everyone has to start somewhere! If there are a few more experienced performers there, they have to wait their turn just like everyone else.

Sessions (the way I understand them) are slightly different - this tends to be where musicians can meet up and perform together on an impromptu basis. I realise that this is just one interpretation of what a session is, but that's my understanding. In this case you would not normally expect people to join in unless they know the tune and can play it more or less competently.

And of course there can be combined sessions/singarounds which are more or less a combination of the above two formats.

Theming - another topic I didn't address. Some clubs or sessions/singarounds have occasional themes, e.g. Burns night, ST Patrick's night, Christmas - where the idea is that everyone should perform songs/tunes relevant to the occasion. These can be fun and I enjoy the challenge of having to dust off old stuff I haven't done for years, or learning new material (if I have the time) especially for the occasion.