[Bards] Some Thoughts on Documentation for Bardic Competition

iainmacc at juno.com iainmacc at juno.com
Tue Apr 23 08:23:12 PDT 2002


On Mon, 22 Apr 2002 19:04:11 -0500 "Bella" <sorrowsong at sbcglobal.net>
writes:
> Talk about my weak point here. Documentation in the bardic arts is

        Mine too.

> the moment and the audience right off the bat. The best
> documentation I
> have ever seen was done orally, in persona- "I learned this song
> while
> traveling in.....it was just after....(period event)......" , etc...

        A wonderful idea, and one I'll have to put some thought into.
Thank you.

> Do we discount these performers for a lack of documentation? Should
> period documentation be counted more highly than the ability to
> transport the listeners to that period with the performance itself.

        If we do not discount them, we have effectively decided that
documentation in bardic arts doesn't matter at all. While IMHO it should
not be counted MORE HIGHLY than the ability to touch your audience, it
should (kicking myself for admitting this) be counted.
        And sure, it is difficult to do in a way that doesn't damage the
connection between performer and listener. It takes imagination,
preparation, and the patience to plug away at a problem until you've
solved it in precisely the way you needed it solved. Well, we're bards,
and such is our stock in trade. The difficulty itself shouldn't excuse
us.
                        <boot, boot... Shut up Iain, you're committing
suicide here...>

        When it comes right down to it, the real reason I should be
kicking myself is for not having given much thought to this before.


      Iain MacCrimmon



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