Essential songs in your repertoire

Subject: Essential songs in your repertoire
From: Zimmerman
Date: 03 Dec 09 - 06:49 PM

If one wished to be judged as a (floor) singer with a broad repertoire from the folk revival of the last 50 years or so, which songs would one have been expected to have learned to performance standard?

Subject: RE: Essential songs in your repertoire
From: Bill D
Date: 03 Dec 09 - 07:04 PM

from where? I'm sure it depends on where you live. UK & USA have different ideas of 'standard'.

Subject: RE: Essential songs in your repertoire
From: RTim
Date: 03 Dec 09 - 07:19 PM

As a Floor Singer, I would expect to be judged better if I DIDN'T sing songs from the "Standard Repertoire" - but do my own research and sing my own found songs!

Tim Radford

Subject: RE: Essential songs in your repertoire
From: Dave MacKenzie
Date: 03 Dec 09 - 07:26 PM

I agree with Tim. Make sure you have songs in the appropriate genre for the venue, and don't tread on anybody's feet.

Subject: RE: Essential songs in your repertoire
From: Crow Sister (off with the fairies)
Date: 03 Dec 09 - 07:32 PM

I really dunno! Heh - I've only been at this lark for a year, probably have around 35 songs set to heart now - but ALL of them are ones I've personally just really liked for myself - a few English trads, a few Child ballads and a few modern penned oddments that no-one else will probably know. Those are my essential songs and they do me fine so far.

Subject: RE: Essential songs in your repertoire
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 03 Dec 09 - 09:00 PM

We don't even know what a floor singer is, over here. That makes me think that we don't have any. Most performers are expected to do songs that people have heard them do, and that they love. I have some traditional songs I have never tired of and love to do, and then there are a half dozen songs I've written that I almost feel obligated to do. If I don't, people will ask me anyway. And then there are songs that I do every time I sing for two or three years until I finally tire of them and have to put them away. In the end, if I'm tired of a song it doesn't make any difference whether other people want to hear it. If I'm sick of it, I can't do it.

Jerry

This is definitely a UK thread.

Subject: RE: Essential songs in your repertoire
From: Tootler
Date: 04 Dec 09 - 07:14 PM

If by floor singer you mean taking your turn in a singaround, then I think Crow Sister pretty much sums it up.

When I started out, one piece of advice I was given was sing songs you like and can relate to and that is pretty much what I do.

My repertoire is mainly traditional songs including a few ballads, a fair number of recently penned songs and a few songs from Broadsides.

It is useful if you are a regular at a singaround to have a fair mixture of types of song and a balance between chorus and solo songs.