PS, also there's a form of songleading we haven't really talked about here, that I have seen Mudcatter Burke do in turn with others at Sacred Harp singings-- in Sacred Harp, the sorpano, alto, tenor, and bass singers (maybe they call them something else) each sit in a section facing another section, making a 4-sided square. The person leading the song stands in the middle beating the time and setting the tempo. At the one I was at, the songs chosen were all songs the group knew well, so the leader didn't have to work too hard to put the tune across, and also the singers are using tunebooks with the special shape-note parts to follow. The practice as I understand it is that before the text is sung, there is a run-through singing the note-names at pitch.

~Susan