Ron Davies' description at 03 Jan 09 - 09:30 a.m. was also a pretty good description of the kind of song fests we have around here, but we're probably more into traditional songs and less C&W. But whatever turns your crank. And there are no copies of RUS or any other song books in evidence. This is not a rule. It's that nobody wants to use them except to learn songs from—and then they put them back on the shelf. Everybody is singing from memory, and if anyone is using song sheets or notes, it certainly isn't evident. If someone blows a verse, as Ron D. said, nobody cares, and someone will probably feed them the next line.

And sometimes it turns into a belly laugh. Once, Walt was singing "The Fox" and apparently got distracted somehow. He woke up singing "He ran till he came to—?" What? "Great big pen?" Or "his cozy den?" He didn't know where he was in the song. "And here I sit," he said, "with the words all dangling down-o!" Everybody wound up rolling on the floor, laughing.

The group I speak of consists of a bunch of people, a few left who were going to similar song fests ("hoots") in the early 1950s and who are still at it, plus an accumulation of many new people over the decades. Not to mention the offspring of some of the originals. Some have sung professionally, some still are singing professionally, some just sing for fun, and some folks are newbies in various stages of development. The full spectrum of ambitions and abilities. These are not formal, scheduled meetings. No dues, no Bored of Directors, no minutes, and no planned structure. We just get together and sing. And except for the occasional times when the host may invite specific people and only those people (a special event or limited space), these song fest are pretty much open to anyone who is interested. Newbies are definitely welcome.

We do not sit around in a circle, we grab a chair or sit on the floor (the host doesn't need to rearrange the furniture or rent a bunch of folding chairs), and we don't sing in any kind of strict rotation. But nobody gets shoved into a corner and ignored, and nobody takes over and dominates. We want to sing, but we also want to hear others sing. Some people don't necessarily want to sing, they're there to listen and enjoy. But usually several times in the afternoon or evening, someone will ask them, "Hey, Nancy, you got anything?" And if Nancy wants to sing, she does; if not, she doesn't. Everybody there gets a chance.

Limiting what we do to sitting around singing out of RUS or any other song book would kill these song fests.

And Ref, no one would bar you from these song fests or make you feel unwelcome. But you might feel a bit uncomfortable singing with your nose in a book while everyone else is singing from memory. Including the ten-year-old boy who just did a bravura rendition of "The Rhyme of the Chivalrous Shark"—from memory.

Ref, you may not have a tenacious memory, and that's too bad. But as far as time is concerned, it takes less than half an hour to copy the words from a record. Sometimes you don't need to write down the words, because you have that song, compete with words, in a song book. But I find that the act of writing the words helps to learn the song. And the rest of learning the song occurs at times when you are not involve in anything that needs your attention, such as riding to work on the bus or sitting in the dentist's waiting room.

Have you tried any of the things I suggest at 02 Jan 09 - 05:35 p.m.? Particularly the bit about trying to recite the words to a song, or sing it in you head while you're lying in bed waiting to fall asleep? It works. Granted, it may not work for you, but have you even tried it?

And Ref, this is not directed at you, it's a general statement. But I have generally noted that if someone is really interested in something, no matter how busy their lives might be, they will find the time.

Don Firth