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rationing the song
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Subject: RE: rationing the song From: Gervase Date: 25 Jul 01 - 05:43 AM Hmm - couldn't dare mention any names in that context! I know exactly what you mean, though... |
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Subject: RE: rationing the song From: KingBrilliant Date: 25 Jul 01 - 05:22 AM Its worst when you feel that you do the song better than the other person. Then you'd feel a right git singing it, despite the fact that its a trad song & hence free for all to perform. On the other had it would be aweful if they do it better, and hence you end up coming off badly in comparison. Argggg Kris |
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Subject: RE: rationing the song From: Gervase Date: 25 Jul 01 - 04:57 AM "Ownership" of songs is difficult. There are some songs I know and love, but I feel I can't sing them if the "owner" - the person with whom I associate the song - is there. Which is a bugger at large gatherings like Sidmouth or Towersey, where at any one time there may be a dozen people whose songs I love to sing. |
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Subject: RE: rationing the song From: pavane Date: 24 Jul 01 - 10:48 AM John Foreman (cockney entertainer) used to say in his best authentic cockney accent 'Sex in London isn't the same as it is down here (in Wales, it happened to be)... In London sex is what coal comes in'. Doesn't work so well in print tho - sorry. |
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Subject: RE: rationing the song From: KingBrilliant Date: 24 Jul 01 - 10:20 AM Aha Bill, I see you suffer the same repartee-lag as I do. The perfect answer always comes just that bit too late doesn't it? The MC at our local open-mic also tries to think of something nice & different to say about everyone. He surpassed himself last week when introducing Stewart & Liz just after Eddie-the-Sax had been on. Liz is very pretty and a lovely bubbly person - hence the intro "So now from sax to sex..." - Wonder what was on his mind? |
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Subject: RE: rationing the song From: Bill D Date: 24 Jul 01 - 09:32 AM I once was a member of a group that met once a month...and each month this old fellow would come and sing "The Strawberry Roan"...to this day, I can barely stand hearing the song!.... I guess I am in favor of the longer intervals between doing a song, but I can see that once you get 'famous'....or at least well-known in some group, there will be demand for certain songs. It is a sad thing, but I am learning fewer new songs lately, partly because I get bored with doing enough repetitions to learn them well! There is a well-known singer from the UK (naming no names)who comes to the US every 2-3 years, and each time, ¾ of his program is exactly the same....well, done and nice...but, he MUST know more than that!
....and last, I must finally use the remark I failed to think of at the opportune moment: When I first came to this area, I sang several times at an open mic...I was not 'good', but it was a forgiving group,, |
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Subject: RE: rationing the song From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 24 Jul 01 - 09:08 AM ...regurgitate quite a bit anyhow. We also tend to practise in the car on the way to places. (John B) Regurgitate is it? I think I'll decline any offers of a lift...
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Subject: RE: rationing the song From: KingBrilliant Date: 24 Jul 01 - 08:57 AM Pavane - it seems so obvious now you say it. Yes, a mix must be the way to go. RTS - Your 'Herself' sounds a lot like my 'King'. Kris |
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Subject: RE: rationing the song From: pavane Date: 24 Jul 01 - 08:51 AM Yes, I sing in the car - but then I don't sing in public, usually. In the car, it is mainly to keep me awake, and tends to be Sir Patrick Spens, Little Musgrave, Lord Bateman - the longer the better! Back to the question - we did try to keep track of what we had done and where, and found a mix of old favourites and some new ones was usually acceptable. |
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Subject: RE: rationing the song From: GUEST,Roger the skiffler Date: 24 Jul 01 - 08:45 AM I have a system: it's called Herself! When looking through the lyrics folder for inspiration I was about to sing one song when She said"Don't sing that, I like that song"! She also rations "Blue Suede Shoes" to one outing per country per year. RtS |
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Subject: RE: rationing the song From: KingBrilliant Date: 24 Jul 01 - 08:36 AM So when the cyclist looks down and says 'You're not still doing that one are you?'......... Someone at work asked me what I was doing the other day, because they could see me apparantly chatting away in the car - but with no passenger. They looked a bit puzzled when I said I was singing. Doesn't everyone sing in their car? At least to the radio? - I try to do my vocal excercises in the car now & this morning I was doing the latest one I've learnt - but I stopped pretty quick because its a particularly funny looking one with lots of 'O' shapes. I've tried the noting down dates thing, but I keep losing the book. I've got a whole new Excel spreadsheet version now though - so that should help. I have a real problem guaging audience reaction - is that guy shutting his eyes in order to listen better, or is he just in despair? :>) I also find that a bad performance can put me off of singing that song again. A couple of months between renditions sounds about right, and definitely a range of places would be a solution. Noreen - I'm not surprised you get requests!! You have one of the loveliest voices I've heard. And while we're at it - what about repeating songs someone else has done? Does anyone else get that feeling of not being able to sing a particular trad song because it 'belongs' to so-and-so-else? Kris |
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Subject: RE: rationing the song From: SINSULL Date: 24 Jul 01 - 08:27 AM There are certain songs I associate with certain people and would be disappointed if I attended a Song Circle and they didn't do them. Keep in mind that I see these people only two three times a year. And if anyone sighs at your offering, go right into "The Bird In The Gilded Cage" complete with vibratto. That will fix them. |
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Subject: RE: rationing the song From: JohnB Date: 24 Jul 01 - 07:10 AM I try never to repeat the same songs at the same locations, unless they are really good songs which go down well. I will repeat them on a couple or three month cycle, when I forget when I did a song last. If I ever get a request, I will let you know if I still remembered the song. If the same people go to other places where I sing the same song, then it is their fault, not mine. Most people I know reguritate quite a bit anyhow. We also tend to practise in the car on the way to places. Just keep doing whatever you can. JohnB |
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Subject: RE: rationing the song From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 24 Jul 01 - 06:59 AM You have to sing a song a fair number of times in public to run it in properly, so that you can relax into it. But you don't want to sing the same song all the time - not only does it risk you becoming a bore, it means you don't get to sing the other songs you want to sing.
So the only thing is to get to a good range of places to sing. |
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Subject: RE: rationing the song From: Noreen Date: 24 Jul 01 - 06:57 AM *LOL* Gervase- been there! Kris, I go by audience reaction a lot. I never used to like to sing the same song twice in the same place, which causes problems with repertoire... then I realised that people like to hear familiar songs too. Then when you start getting requests- what a wonderful feeling! I suppose that if a muffled groan runs through the audience when you start your familiar song, it may be just a tad too familiar.... :0) Noreen |
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Subject: RE: rationing the song From: Gervase Date: 24 Jul 01 - 05:28 AM It's a tricky one. I've got an anorak's song-book, printed out on filofax paper, which I annotate with the place and the date in pencil. Doesn't stop me flogging the same old stuff to death, though - I must learn some new songs, but CRS keeps kicking in. For getting the song ground into the brain, the car's not a bad option - providing you don't mind sometimes looking like a total tit when you pull up at the lights with the window open and a rousing chorus dying on your lips as the cyclist looks down at you in astonishment. |
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Subject: rationing the song From: KingBrilliant Date: 24 Jul 01 - 05:08 AM Hi all. My latest question in the quest for good-performerliness is..... At pub singaround/open-mic level : Having learnt a song & polished it, how do you then avoid over-exposing it? Do you keep a record of when & where you've performed it, or just go by rough memory, or not worry about it? I personally find it a real turn-off when someone performs the same song week after week. However, I realise that to do a song well you need to practice, and there's no point putting all that time in if you only perform the song once. How do you decide which songs are good enough to bear more frequent repetition? Any cunning tricks? I'm wondering whether to get around it by varying the performance a bit each time? I get fed up with myself singing the same song the same way. What d'ya reckon then? Kris |
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