[Bards] Bardic and Performing Arts

[muriel at entelesoft.com]

Greetings!

I'm on this list merely to glean wisdom from those more wise than myself.
But I'd like to mention a method of encouraging bardic that those of us
less, well, bard-y can participate in.  My sister Danielle and I like to
sing together for fun and to amuse ourselves.  We've gone through what I'm
sure you all know is quite a bit of trouble to actually find songs to learn.
But we aren't necessarily out to be Bards with a capital B with these songs.
Dani writes her own and I'm just totally apathetic about performing.
However, we like to sit places and sing - together.  We went to a ren faire
and helped attract customers to a new Kettle Corn booth by just sitting
outside and singing.  We did the same at the A & S tent at Norman's Medieval
Fair.  And we do it just about everywhere we go.  We encourage other people
to join us.  We try to teach songs anytime we can just so other people can
have fun with us.

This kind of barding is great for teaching songs and encouraging a potential
future Bard of Ansteorra who just doesn't know where to start.  It can
happen at Troll, while watching the list, and even at feast if we get enough
people singing at our table (and don't interrupt anything else going on).
Start one up whereever you are.  And if no one around knows any songs, teach
them!

At least in our area, the idea of "Everybody sing!" isn't practiced much.
But we're doing it and it's fun!

And if any Bard with a capital B, such as my lord Finnacan, should happen by
and say, "Those vikings in that song might sound romantic and heroic, but
let me tell you what they are really like!" and sing us a song or tell us a
story, we'd happily give way.  For at least one round :).

Also, if any of you hear us singing Baron of Eastmarch for the 30th time,
*please* teach us a new song!