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Speaking of lines that beg to be used in a piece, would you mind if I
used the "Do Fighters Dream of More than War" line? It struck a
chord with me (no pun intended) regarding a piece I'm trying to write
about Triple A. <br><br>
Also, thank you for the advice, as I consider myself to be a beginner and
what you said was very helpful.<br><br>
Anna bat Chaim<br><br>
At 06:11 AM 7/30/2004 -0500, you wrote:<br><br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite><font face="arial" size=2 color="#000080">My
method of becoming a better bard began with an attempt to increase my
repertoire (sic). I was tired of singing and hearing the same songs
at every event we went to. So, I began seeking out pieces from
bards in other regions of our great Kingdom as well as a few from bards
in other Kingdoms. I sought permission to perform those pieces,
then set about learning them. From there, I found a bit of
inspiration and (on the occasion that the muses smile down on me), I can
write my own. Another source of inspiration for my own pieces is
listening to the stories people tell (outside of the bardic
circle). Many people are passionate about their pursuits in the SCA
and when they are around their friends and families, they will sometime
ramble on and on about something they ve seen or done that touched them
in some way. Usually (for me at least), those stories have at least
one line that will stick with me and BEG to have a piece written about
them. I have a notebook that I keep those single lines in and when
the hankering to write hits me and I can t decide what to write about, I
pull out that book and flip through it looking for inspiration.
(Some examples of lines in the book are: Real Men Don t Wear Lace
and Do Fighters Dream of More than War) Now, I am not condoning the
act of eavesdropping on private conversations&I m merely talking
about taking in your surroundings and listening to the people who share
this dream with us. <br>
</font><br>
<font face="arial" size=2 color="#000080"> <br>
</font><br>
<font face="arial" size=2 color="#000080">As far as performances&Some
of the things I ve learned to be a better performing bard&If you
start a piece and it s not reaching the audience, don t be afraid to stop
the song and start a different one. NEVER apologize for your
performance (i.e. I know I don t sing this song as well as
So-and-So, the Titled Bard of Everywhere, but here s my rendition).
Instead, introduce the piece (especially if it s not one of your own),
list the author if you know who it is (and if you don t find out).
People have favorites that they ll want to hear from you every time you
walk through (or near) their camp THIS IS A COMPLIMENT, treat it as
such. If you ve just walked up on a circle, and someone says Sing
Something , and you haven t had a chance to read the circle to know what
the mood is, pull a couple of old stand-bys (songs you know forwards,
backwards, and upside down), put the songs into categories (goofy, happy,
war marches, love songs, etc) and ask the group to pick a
category&don t list the songs as many will not know them&<br>
</font><br>
<font face="arial" size=2 color="#000080"> <br>
</font><br>
<font face="arial" size=2 color="#000080">Before I wrap up, one last
thing. If possible, find another bard you trust&when you ve got
a new piece to perform ask them to listen to it and ask them to give
honest, constructive criticism&be willing to accept the critique and
learn from it (remember, you don t have to agree with them or incorporate
all of their suggestions into the piece)&Polish the piece if
necessary and then ask them to listen again. I ve never met a bard
who isn t willing to listen to another bard and offer pointers . I
may be a bit naïve here too, but I ve never met a malicious bard who will
give negative pointers to worsen the piece. <br>
</font><br>
<font face="arial" size=2 color="#000080"> <br>
</font><br>
<font face="arial" size=2 color="#000080">Here s where I break one of my
own rules&I know I m not the greatest bard in the Kingdom& I know
that I still have a lot to learn and lot to write (sometimes I wish the
songs would come out as a solid unit though)&But I m willing to
gather whatever knowledge I can from whichever bard is willing to share
(that seems to be most of them I ve found) and run with it&I ve come
a long way (from knowing two songs not worth singing in my own encampment
to being one of the Titled Bards of Namron), but I know the journey is
just beginning.<br>
</font><br>
<font face="arial" size=2 color="#000080"> <br>
</font><br>
<font face="arial" size=2 color="#000080">Hope this helps.<br>
</font><br>
<font face="arial" size=2 color="#000080">In Service to the Dream,<br>
</font><br>
<font face="arial" size=2 color="#000080">Lady Adalia Nyx VonDerBerg
<br>
</font><br>
<font face="arial" size=2 color="#000080"> <br>
</font><br>
<font face="arial" size=2 color="#000080"> <br>
</font><br>
<font face="arial" size=2 color="#000080"> <br>
<hr>
<div align="center"></font></div>
<font face="tahoma" size=2><b>From:</b>
bards-bounces+emily.minier=dtag.com@ansteorra.org [<a href="mailto:bards-bounces+emily.minier=dtag.com@ansteorra.org" eudora="autourl">mailto:bards-bounces+emily.minier=dtag.com@ansteorra.org</a>] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Dawn Rummel<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Thursday, July 29, 2004 4:14 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> Bardic<br>
<b>Subject:</b> [Bards] Discussion question<br>
</font><br>
<font face="Times New Roman, Times"> <br>
</font><br>
<font face="Times New Roman, Times">Question: How do you, personally, work to become a better bard?<br>
</font><br>
<font face="Times New Roman, Times"><br><br>
Antonia/Dawn<br><br>
It's the little things in life...<br>
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