Jon, I'm with you. Which is why I think 40 people in one room is too many for a good singing session/jam.

I prefer not having to "take turns in counter-clockwise fashion," and I see the blue 'hymnal' as a sometimes useful but often frustrating crutch. But if the group gets too big, you either spend your energy strategizing how to insert yourself into the action or, more likely, you end up perpetually yielding the floor to the louder and/or more assertive among you. Smaller groups are more likely actually to have PAUSES in the singing long enough for folks to THINK about what to sing next and who will lead it. That's why I hope we can find a venue with some smaller rooms.

BTW, we've had some good, spontaneous song spurts in the participants' lounge at past Folklife Festivals with only 3 to 6 people involved.

Genie