Love that last post of your's, Soldier Boy.

I also like that the tone of this debate has remained civil and respectful, even when people are expressing strongly held and rigid opinions.

I recall that some one made a post yesterday or the day before to the effect that we are not necessarily comparing apples to apples and oranges to oranges. I agree. When I read a similar but more rancorous thread a few years ago, at a time when I was just rediscovering the importance of singing to my well-being, and just beginning to develop enough confidence to be able to sing within the hearing range of others, I got so embarrassed and intimidated that I shut down again for awhile.

Several people have moderately noted the importance of being aware of context. I am more aware of context than I was several years ago.

It is clear our individual experiences with music and singing also influence what we are likely to assert is OK or not, as well as what the music and the act of expressing ourselves through music means.

I will occasionally sing a song at the Getaway that I know I can not do any kind of justice to, lyrics in hand, because it is a wonderful song that I have never heard anyone do or refer to and singing it may lead to some one coming up to me later and asking where I got it from so that they can learn it (and do a better job with it.) The Getaway is a venue where there are so many scholars of the assorted areas of folk music, many excellent professional and amateur performers and musicians, and also a very high tolerance for people who are none of the above but who love the music, and whose love of the music is valued. I've posted before on other threads about how empowering the experience of the Getaway has been to me.   I have also observed the improvement in the musicianship of others over time from the very positive and non-judgemental experiences offered at the Getaway and (presumably) song circles and sing arounds that occur under the auspices of FSGW.

What some few of you insist is proper would result in me, and many like me, never, ever risking sharing our voices except very quietly on a song with a big chorus. But without the experience of sharing my voice, I can not develop the confidence to sing around or in front of others.

Barry Finn (Damn, I miss him!) was one of the most encouraging and empowering people I have ever known to people who yearn to give voice to song. I remember reading his posts that 'Spaw copied to this thread. I also remember his praise and encouragement, and "well done" to me and others, and that was forthcoming whether or not we needed lyrics in front of us.

Music is not my life. It is not my only interest, or even my primary interest. But singing is essential to my well-being. I know that my presence and participation at the Getaway is valued, in spite of the fact that in the past few years, I have rarely had a chance to choose and extensively practice a couple of songs that I might want to share at the assorted workshops. I do not have the time or the inclination to practice, practice, practice so that anything I may feel inspired to sing in the late night, informal song circles is rendered as musically perfect as possible. What I have witnessed, however, in those late night song circles, is serious amateur or professional musicians encouraging very shy, nervous, unpracticed people to go ahead and sing a song when their turn comes up, and applauding th risk taking and affirming the willingness of people to share their voices, even when those voices or the renditions were less than perfect. In those song circles and workshops, and at the evening concerts, what was applauded was the willingness to risk exposing one's heart and desire to lift up the voice and share that voice. Granted, the Getaway is so rich in talented and accomplished musicians and singers, professional or not, that it is not diminished by those of us who are less than stellar performers, or do not have the time or exclusive interest to rehearse, rehearse, rehearse before singing a song in front of others.

I am recalling performing at a couple of Getaway concerts. The first I recall is singing with Allen C. He had written a beautiful song after a Mudcat gathering elsewhere, about the what it meant to be together and raise voices together, and then part, and asked me to sing harmony to it at a Getaway concert, and he signed us up to close out the concert. There was no way I was going to memorize the words in less than 4 hours, and we performed it with me holding and reading the lyrics as we sang. We had rehearsed as much as possible for me to get the harmony down. It went over very well. My harmonies were good, but not perfect at times, and I was obviously freguently referring to the lyrics. Our emotion and expressiveness were not harmed at all by that, and folks let us know after the concert that our performance was moving.

I remember another Getaway concert. My sister, Annie, (unlike me, she is an accomplished musician) had written a wonderful and funny song, "Oregon Inlet" that she brought with her. She, Dani and I performed the song at the concert. Dani and I both had the lyrics in hand and needed to read from them - no time to memorize the lengthy song - our rehearsal time focused on the harmonies. We brought down the house!

Related but not exactly on topic, I recently posted a link to some songs I recorded using garage band - furnace blowing, sound of trains or a car going by, the neighbor's dog barking included. It took 8 years for me to do so. I posted them in order to share more of myself than I have done before - to say, this is what I express about who I am musically. It was hard to do because what I posted is not about performance. I am not a performer. I am not a musician. I'm a lower middle class working mom who grew up with my grandfather singing hymns as he gardened, who grew up singing with my sisters and watching my Mom tap dance with a cane to albums of show tunes, and who went to parties and picnics where music just ended up happening, who had a swing in my backyard and spent summers and days after school with other kids in the neighborhood, swinging, and singing, together or trading songs, because it felt good, or felt right, and expressed something about who we were, who we are, or what we longed for. I grew up with the experience of singing as part of everyday life. The notion that singing is performance was introduced to me late. When I began to to think of singing as being about the ability to perform for the pleasure and/or evaluation of others, lacking confidence and self-esteem, I shut up. That was my loss. For those of you who are only interested in listening to those who have the time and inclination to absolutely memorize and polish their performance, I respectfully assert that at least occasionally, it is also your loss.

Jim, I understand and appreciate your posts regarding your experience documenting source singers. Please consider, however, the iatroginic effects of collecting and recording source singers.

I understand there is not room for me, and for the many like me, at all tables. I respectfully assert that there ought be room for us at some tables, and that the music of the people will no longer be the music of the people if those of us who are truly "just folks" are not welcomed at any table where good musicians also sit.