Sing alongs, hootenannies and open mics

Subject: Sing alongs, hootenannies and open mics
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 18 Jun 25 - 07:55 PM

I've been around a thousand years.

People have always got together to make or share music. The formats have changed but the desire remains the same. Here are some forms of playing and singing that come to mind:

Follow the bouncing ball
This probably goes back to the vaudeville era. When I was a kid in the forties and fifties, theaters would often have a popular song projected on screen leading the audience to sing by following the bouncing ball. I can remember it in the late forties (pre rock and roll.) I remember singing along to Glow worm when it was a hit by the Mills brothers.

Sing Along with Mitch
In the early fifties, Mitch Miller popularized sings alongs with Sing Along with Mitch Miller.

Hootenannies were all the rage in the early sixties. I sang at the Monday night hoots at the Gaslight Cafe hosted by Dave Van Ronk. Singers were limited to three songs. That's where I got my first taste of performing. I enjoyed this verry much because you had a chance to establish a relationship with the audience. Singer/songwriters first started rearing their heads around this time. Up until then, most people sang folk songs. The song w2as the thing. I rarely heard even small groups, back then, although they were getting to be popular in some of the other coffee houses. The song was still the thing.

Open mics.
Open mics were a little different than hootenannies. The variety of music opened up and soon became more of a showcase for singer/songwriters. Depending on the venue, singers were limited to two or even one song. Through time, open mics featured guitar players who sang more than gingers who played guitar. Small groups starte3d appearing. "Jamming" became more prominent and instruments were featured more prominently.

Sing Alongs became popular, especially at Folk Festivals. Aome Sing Alongs only allowed songs with choruses that most people knew. Rise Up Singing became the bible. Instrumental prowess of limited importance.

Jams. Jazz jams were legendary, and ore of an after hour get together of jazz musicians who just wanted to loosen up and play with friends. Variations on this are Blues nights or acoustic singers nights.

At folk festivals, workshops offered the opportunity to explore a particular topic, with more dicsussion than the usual hootenannies of the past.

I fit in most of these environments, although often, not completely comfortably.

One thing that is not in common is the audience. From my perspective, and I've heard it verbalized by others, in that jams are for the jammers, primarily. The audience gets to listen to the music and the stage banter and inside jokes of the jammers. Sometimes the musicians seem to forget that there is an audience. At jazz jams, I'm fine with that. I'm less so with folk and singer/songwriter jams when clicks start forming and I start to feel excluded.

I don't fit in jams, because I am a singer who plays guitar and can't "jam."

I generally find sing alongs too limiting, especially if songs have tyo come from one of the various editions of Rise up singing. Sing alongs are great for people who may not play an instrument and love to sing the best-known songs.      

Song Circles are another form of get-togethers. Here in southern Connecticut my friends Colin and Myra hold a monthly song circle. I probably like this form best. Songs can range from traditional folk to sixties folk revival, instrumentals and unaccompanied sing, gospel and popular songs, gospel, and string band music. I enjoy the variety and do everything from Bluer Mond to murder ballads, as well as my own songs.

Many years ago when I was at the Stamford Museum, I ran a Potlatch. That's a Pacific Northwest Indians annual event. The purpose of the Potlatch was to outgive each other. The most generous person was honored as the winner. I liked the concept, and it welcomed people like Ben was played banjo. He only knew three chords, and every song was in the same key. He strummed the banjo for every song he sang. He strummed slower for ballads and faster for jump tunes. I loved him because he sang with his heart.

As you can see, I have not lost my tendency to ramble on. It's nice being back.

Subject: RE: Sing alongs, hootenannies and open mics
From: GUEST,Sol
Date: 19 Jun 25 - 09:36 AM

I don’t tie myself down to down to any style or genre. There’s a huge buffet of music to play out there. Fill your plate with whatever whets your appetite and enjoy the fare.
The same applies to its forms, i.e. sing-arounds, concerts, jams. They’re all in the big mix.
Music is music is music.