Sometimes it was with a book, as at Christmastime, when we wanted to do all of the verses, and my brother accompanied us on the piano, as in this picture (click on Family Sing); other times no books were used. When we went camping and dad played the banjo, guitar, fiddle and my sisters their baritone ukes, we never used books, but we also knew all of the songs. When my oldest sister was teaching my sisters and I how to play chords on their ukes, she shared her ringbinder book with us, in which she'd handwritten the lyrics and chords, so that we could use them for learning and for singing with others, sometimes, too.

Mom and dad played for dances without books, but, again, they had a pretty good repertoire which they had down pat. At otehr tiems, mom used the books to play some of her other favourites or one she didn't have down quite yet. So, I guess I grew up with both ways, thinking nothing of it. Of course, I had four siblings and parents to sing with and no song circles to go to.

kat