In the thirty something years I've been involved in folk music the word session when unqualified, has usually, but not exclusively, been used to indicate a music session. Throughout that time I've not noticed any shift in that loose interpretation. The word singaround either appears to be a far more recent term, or it's use has geographically spread. So what were we doing before we had singarounds?

What I didn't understand until now, was it's true meaning of singaraound:

'The "sing around", more accurately defined as a self-indulgent rotational Ego trip, is something completely different stressing as it does the, them and us/ performer audience, dichotomy.'

Thanks PP for clearing that up. I'll keep it in mind the next time a musician joins in with a song too loud, in the wrong key, at the wrong speed, and unable to cope with time signiture variates. It is, of course, the musician that is right, and all the singers fault for being on an ego trip.

Me forget the 7th verse for the last 20 years? Hell no! It's the 6th that I've consistantly forgotten! However, I do distinctly remember hearing a musicians session the other night where they missed the 7th verse out of every tune. I was obliged to hum one extra verse at the end of every tune (attemping to stay in the correct key of course) just to make things tally for the song/tune police.

You stick with your tight little pigeon holes if thats what makes you comfortable. Personnally, I like the fuzzy old world, where you don't know what you're getting until it happens. It's people like you who are buggering it up.

Brian