[Bards] the Rules-well sort of.

[Robert Fitzmorgan]

     The key I think is mentoring.
      Experienced Bards should try and hold some sort of local meetings
where Bards can learn and grow in a supportive environment, instead of
trying to learn by trial and error in front of an audience.  Especially
since the audience may not tell you what you are doing poorly.
      Experienced Bards should also find promising new bards and work with
them on an individual basis.  Helping them find new material, helping polish
their performance skills, and teaching bardic etiquette.
      This can be very rewarding and is the one thing we can do that will
most strengthen bardic in Ansteorra.
     It's a long term aid and not much help at the event when the bad bard
comes in and throws a bucket of ice water on the circle, but ultimatly it's
about the most constructive thing you can do.
    I still think that we need to focus more on having more good Bardic
Circles in the first place.   Nothing spoins a Bardic Circle more than not
having one.

Robert

On 5/1/07, Cisco Cividanes <engtrktwo at earthlink.net> wrote:
>
> The conversation of late has gotten me thinking.
>
> What if, just maybe, we assembled a written document that lays out the
> standards a bard should adhere to? I'm not talking about a binding
> document with penalties, but a code of expected conduct as applied to
> bards.
>
> What do we have the right to demand as bards? (no bard should ever feel
> like they have to be subject to humiliation or punishment, no matter how
> bad they are)
>
> What do we only have the privilege to ask for? (Their is no right, as I
> understand it, to perform in a feast hall. You perform with fest
> steward's blessing as the very minimum)
>
> What should our conduct be in a feast hall, before or after court,
> around a list field? (When I performed as Wiesenfeuer Baronial's feast,
> I told the servers, in no uncertain terms, "If I get in the way, don't
> hesitate to just kick me." I also limited my performances to local ones,
> just for a table at a time. And lastly, while not a traditional bardic
> trait, I made quite a show out of dramatically flinging clear of servers
> (a la Wilie Coyote VS brick wall style) which proved its own
> entertainment at times)
>
> Who should we generally seek out in advance before performing? (The
> feast steward for example, and DONT ask her five minutes before feast.
> And don't bother the baron or the crown directly, they likely have
> heralds or aids to manage requests like yours.)
>
>
> When and What should we generally refrain from performing? (their are
> times and pieces that most of us know are generally inappropriate for
> bardic in the SCA, but some new people may not honestly know this.)
>
> Again, I'm not talking about any legally binding document, but rather a
> collection of written statements reflecting the lessons learned by us,
> so we can generate a basic measure against which others can compare
> their decisions. A consensus document containing the lowest common
> denominators, so to speak, of bardic etiquette.
>
> Their is nothing saying that it is binding, or even static, we are more
> than capable of updating it as time passes and the kingdom changes. But
> as it stands right now, the best way to learn these lessons is from
> other bards, and that in and of itself can be a limiting factor for
> people.
>
> Ivo Blackhawk
>
>
>
-- 
"If you haven't found something strange during the day, it hasn't been much
of a day."     John A. Wheeler

Fitzmorgan at gmail.com
Yahoo IM: robert_fitzmorgan
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