[Bards] Filking <of course it's a long reply!>

Ken Theriot kentheriot at ravenboymusic.com
Mon Apr 28 07:14:34 PDT 2008


My knight tried to get me to do that so I could perform it by changing stuff
to make sound more in period, and it seemed like doing what you say was
going to work until it started getting really hard to change certain things,
and then, well, we gave it up as a bad job.  But we still do it at Bardic
Night sometimes..prefacing the performance with.."this isn't period but..."
However, we wait until midnight before we let Don Mateo play Skull Crusher
Mountain:-)!

 

Kenneth  

 

  _____  

From: Gerald of Leesville [mailto:gerald.of.leesville at gmail.com] 
Sent: Monday, April 28, 2008 12:16 AM
To: 'Ansteorran Bardic list'
Subject: Re: [Bards] Filking <of course it's a long reply!>

 

Yah, but make the year 1573, and the ship a Spaniard, and you're in ...
sorta.

 

G.

 

  _____  

From: bards-bounces at lists.ansteorra.org
[mailto:bards-bounces at lists.ansteorra.org] On Behalf Of Ken Theriot
Sent: Sunday, April 27, 2008 2:11 PM
To: 'Ansteorran Bardic list'
Subject: Re: [Bards] Filking <of course it's a long reply!>

Gerald,

 

"And with one fat ball the Yanks stove us in!!!!!!!" (which I'm sure you
remembered 30 seconds later:-)).  But I can rarely make it through that one
without messing up SOMEWHERE:-).  Love, love, love it!!  But the opening
line of..Oh the year was 1778 might JUST be a little telling:-).

 

Kenneth

 

  _____  

From: Gerald of Leesville [mailto:gerald.of.leesville at gmail.com] 
Sent: Sunday, April 27, 2008 8:59 AM
To: 'Ansteorran Bardic list'
Subject: Re: [Bards] Filking <of course it's a long reply!>

 

Good morning.

 

Filking - it's what people do.  I've filked, just about everyone here has
filked, and we are (in various stages of our careers) rather indiscriminate
about it.  Choose the tune that lends itself to the lyrics you create.
Think of it as practice for actual melodic composition.  Depending on the
amount of work you want to put into this hobby, the hope is that eventually
you will start composing original melodies to go with the lyrics.  For those
who want to go a step further, research melodic rules of a certain portion
of music history and try to emulate that.  In the end, do the things that
bring joy while doing them.

 

Staying in period - This is a hobby and you should do what you want to do.
I cheated and created a persona for the late 1500s.  That way I can go
through the various historical music repertoirs and claim them as historical
research for my persona.  I play tunes from 11 century through, Irish tunes,
pieces written from the past and current middle ages.  I'm a music slut,
going so low as to volunteer to play "Hole In the Wall".  Others may urge
you to aspire to greater heights.  I just urge people to increase their
repetoire of memorized songs (got nothing against book reading, but unless
it's done right, it ain't performing).

 

Rennfair repetoir - The songs commonly sung at Renn Faires will get you
started, and it's a lot of what most of the SCA public knows.  For many this
is "good enough" and there's no need to learn a whole lot more.
"Macyntire", even though Mistress Adelaide might be damned near alergic to
it, is popular because a lot of people get to join in who may have no
musical talent whatsoever.  It's not a song from the SCA periods, but it's
fun to sing, fun to join in, and .... It's fun.  The interesting thing is
that there is a LOT of good material within the time-stretch the SCA
"period" covers.  It takes a little digging, a few questions asked here and
there, but there's a treasure-trove full of historical songs and tunes about
that can keep an audience spell-bound (favorite moment # 177: Stargate Yule
bardic competition when a young lady performed the plainchant "Veni Veni
Emanuel" and was able to silence the whole hall).

 

Bardic competition - A lot of what you might perform will depend on what the
current champion and their patrons require within the competitions.  As
champion, I've gone from requiring different performance styles (singing,
story-telling, recital, etc.) to sitting around a fire and judging from the
best performances.  In each case, much of what I've used as a rule I took as
cues from my patrons (the baron/baroness or seneschal).  Some will want a
performer with a broad depth of styles, others wanted a good performer, hang
the different styles approach.  To answer your question point-blank: If they
request "period" pieces only, you're going to lose with "Scotland the Brave"
or "Minstrel Boy" if the judges have any say in it, but "Miri it is" will
work and "Star of the County Down" might. 

 

I've had a few good teachers, and I'll see if I can't get you an actual list
of web-spaces you can go to, but one in particular - Cantaria
(http://www.chivalry.com/cantaria/), is at least a starting point.  You will
probably receive more advice, Christiana, than you will know what to do
with.  The game I play will not necessarily fit your likes or dislikes.  I
encourage people who are so inclined to perform.  The good ones will be
asked to repeat what they do, or find something new, or be pointed toward a
piece that might suit them (or not).  I advise performers to pick and choose
from what they like to do, learn it, and keep learning new pieces.  Perform.
If they have instrumental talent, I encourage them to perform more!  As to
taking one's self too seriously, I would like to encourage you to take up
the concept of failure and embrace it; make it a part of your philosphy.
Because it will happen where you fail in a performance; especially if you're
going from memorized pieces.  Remember that the worst that can happen is
that they cut your pay, laugh about it, and keep going (Barrett's Privateers
is not a historical piece, but it's a favorite sea shanty of mine, sung it a
hundred times if I've sung it once.  On stage at the Mucky Duck, right up to
the point where "Our cracked four pounders made an awful din," and the words
left me.  No way to recover.  No words.  So I sang "La la la la lalala la la
la..." and cut to the chorus and concluded with "That was Barrett's
Privateers as sung by Janice Joplin."  Laughter and the crowd enjoyed it.
Failure will happen. They won't crucify you.  You aren't getting paid for
this gig.  Just do your best and drink your beer).

 

In service to the dream with a song in my heart, I am

HL Gerald of Leesville

A bard of Stargate

Kingdom: Ansteorra

  _____  

From: bards-bounces at lists.ansteorra.org
[mailto:bards-bounces at lists.ansteorra.org] On Behalf Of Liz Wilson
Sent: Sunday, April 27, 2008 5:44 AM
To: Ansteorran Bardic list
Subject: [Bards] Filking

I am new to the SCA and the Bards List but I love Bardic competitions and

performances.  I'd like to try it myself although I am a very average
singer.

I probably could learn to tell stories.  I don't have much fear of public
performance

and speaking because, although I am now a stay at home mom, in mundane life

I was an attorney for 15 years (and I'm still licensed).  If you can do
appellate 

argument or argument in a courtroom when real money is at stake you can 

probably do Bardic (although not necessarily well!)

 

At any rate,one of my questions relates to Filking.  If I Filk a melody, is
it supposed

to be a period melody with SCA related words/theme or a non period melody
with

SCA related words/theme? Or a period melody on any theme?

 

If I'm performing at a Bardic competition and my persona is still being

developed, do I have to stay in persona?  For example, if I compete at

Springfaire, and my persona is 1315, can I do anything in period or am I

supposed to limit myself to what would have been heard in Scotland in 1315
(if

anyone even knows what would have been heard!)  Can I just be kind of a

generalized performer and do things in period from any time frame?

What happens if I do something that is out of period (but not obviously

so)?

 

Also I am very familiar with repetoire from Scarborough Faire because I've
been

going for 20 plus years and I have a lot of recordings.  However these songs
are

not always in period.  For example, the words to Scotland the Brave, while

lovely, were actually written in the 20th century, and yet this song is
performed

at Scarby.  Is it appropriate to perform at a Bardic competition or not?

 

Any ideas on how I find out what is in period and what

isn't for the Scarby or any other repetoire,

and what WOULD be appropriate at a Bardic competition and what

wouldn't?  I have a nice piece I am trying to prepare for Springfaire but I

don't know how to find out if it is period, other than just trying to do
some

searches on the Internet about it to see what I can find out.  

 

Any advice to a new Bard, who is taking herself way too

seriously, would be appreciated.

 

Christianna (hope they won't laugh at me)

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