The Dandelion Report ([info]dandelionreport) wrote,
@ 2004-08-12 18:14:00
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POLL (for FilkFAQ): "How do I get a turn to sing during an open filk?"
I'll be compiling an answer from responses to add to the Dandelion Report Filk FAQ.

SCENARIO: Grizelda is a filker who sings a capella and tends to be shy. She is sitting in a fairly large open chaos filk circle and after listening for a while, wants to perform her song. However, she has no idea how to signal that she wants to do a song because every time someone's song ends, another filker leaps right in. Grizelda has no obvious instrument, so the other filkers tend to overlook her. Eventually she gets frustrated and leaves.

Any suggestions about what Grizelda could have done?

Please post your answer by filling out the comment form at the bottom of:
http://www.filking.net/columns/filkfaq/archives/002573.html

or post your answer below. Thanks!

Debbie

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[info]billroper
2004-08-12 03:28 pm UTC (link)
Find one of the filkers who is singing regularly (but maybe not the one who is singing most often :) ). Whisper in their ear that you've got a funny/serious song on a particular topic and if they could find a place where it would seem to fit in and introduce you to the circle so you could sing it, you'd appreciate it. This usually works, although you may need to wait a bit until the mood comes around...

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[info]vixyish
2004-08-12 03:31 pm UTC (link)
This is why a lot of Northwest filks end up as "moderated chaos"-- good moderators like Karen Rall will almost always keep an eye on the circle as a whole, and once in a while will say to people who haven't spoken up, something like "we haven't heard from you yet; would you like to perform something, or make a request?"

If you don't have that, well... Grizelda can speak as soon as a song ends and say "could I perform something?" Even if she speaks at the same time as someone is strumming their guitar, I've never *once* seen a circle that didn't respond to exactly that with either "Sure, go ahead, and Bob will go after you!" or "Sure; Bob's up right now, and then you'll be next after him." I've literally never seen this fail. Filkers are marvelously welcoming and accommodating people, if only you SPEAK UP. Just say something.

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[info]redaxe
2004-08-12 03:38 pm UTC (link)
Dear Grizelda,

I understand you want to sing. It's fun. Here's what I think might help:

1. Sit up front. If you can be seen easily, people are more likely to notice you getting ready to sing.

2. Although it's often better to sing from memory, if you can be seen preparing a set of lyrics in your hand, it can help the circle be aware you'd like to sing.

3. Speak up. If your song is a "follower", that is, it is related to the song currently being sung, wait until after the song and clearly and loudly state "I have a follower!" In most polite chaos circles, people will listen to you at that point. If there is a list of songs to be sung, speak up ANYWAY. Tell people you want to sing, and you can take your place in the list.

4. Be ready. If you DO have a place in the list, or want to sing a follower, or at a lull, know what you want to sing, have your lyrics and anything else (partners, etc.) ready to go when you're acknowledged. If people have to wait too long, not only are you likely to lose your turn, but also the reaction to your song is far less likely to be positive.

5. Stand up. When the current song ends, if there's no list of followers, stand up and draw attention to yourself. Stand tall, and make eye contact, especially if there's someone (with an instrument) who seems like they're going to start singing.

6. Be polite. If someone really, REALLY has to follow the song, and you've gotten his or her attention, work it out. It's generally not a travesty to wait an extra song, unless you have a song that directly bears on the lyrics of the one it follows. (An example is, if I recall its title correctly, "Virgins Taste Better" as a direct response to "Do Virgins Taste Better (Than Those Who Are Not)?")

7. Have an attention-getting device. Some people bring a small drum, or bells, which they haven't yet learned to play as an accompanying instrument, but which work terrifically as attention-getters when they want to sing. (Learning to play them can in fact make your music significantly better, so consider that as a possibility. But that's not within the scope of this question.)

8. If the circle doesn't respond to any of the above, and as a last resort, you might try emulating Rita Moreno's opening to The Electric Company -- the one where she yells "Hey, you guys!" (If you've never seen it before, you can find it here, but be aware that the opening changed, and this archive rotates what you can see daily.)

Good luck, Grizelda! I hope we hear you soon!

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]mrlogic
2004-08-13 03:23 pm UTC (link)
That was Rita Moreno??

Somehow I never knew that, even though that throaty "Hey you guyyyyyyyyyys!" has rung in my head for thirty years...

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[info]pocketnaomi
2004-08-12 05:29 pm UTC (link)
I am usually Grizelda. My solutions often are either to wait until there's something I can plausibly hang my song on as a follower (which is somehow easier to jump in with than just "because I wanna sing"), or mention it to the person next to me and ask their help in flagging down a turn.

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[info]poltr1
2004-08-12 06:20 pm UTC (link)
Another Grizelda here. Thanks for asking this question. I've always had a hard time jumping in because I'm afraid that I'd be interrupting someone, and then get jumped on for doing so.

Only once have I seen someone get mad enough and lose it because they couldn't get a song in edgewise.

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[info]catalana
2004-08-12 09:43 pm UTC (link)
Redaxe really hit most of the important points, but I wanted to reiterate a few. Anything that will get people's attention is good (well, okay, within reason.) Standing up, waving your arms, maybe even just saying "I have a song I'd like to sing" (I do that a lot and I *have* an instrument). I agree with the suggestion to get some help if you really can't get in; filkerdave was really helpful in assisting me like that for my first several cons...hmm, come to think of it, he still is...*grin*

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[info]msminlr
2004-08-13 03:30 am UTC (link)
You know the scene in "Fiddler on the Roof" where Tevye and his friends are in the local pub singing "Le Chaim" and one of the local Gentiles stands up and joins in with a belted-out, sustained "AAAAAAhhhhhh!" ?

That works in filks, too.

Practice a little ahead, to find the best note in your range for doing this trick. Once you've got the floor, you can slide up or down scale to the actual beginning note of the song.

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[info]mrlogic
2004-08-13 03:25 pm UTC (link)
Oooh, I like that suggestion. I've played that part in Fiddler, but it never occurred to me to do it that way in real life...I'll have to try it sometime.

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[info]tigertoy
2004-08-13 11:14 am UTC (link)
I'm frequently a Grizelda too, and thinking about it now, I realize that a key ingredient for me to get a song in is that I have to really be ready to get that song in. If I'm feeling diffident about whether my song would really fit now or not confident that I can perform it up to snuff, I'm a little slower off the mark when the previous song ends and a little less enthusiastic in projecting my "I have a song" message -- and in a busy circle, a little slower or a little less enthusiastic means that someone who wasn't has started.

Another variation of this problem is that I'll often be sitting in the circle with a vague feeling that I'd like to sing something, but without a specific idea of what song I want to sing. Trying to think of a song that will fit in right now after the previous song ends hardly ever works.

What I find helps me is to spend a few minutes in my room before I come down to the filk picking a few songs that I'd like to sing that night and practicing them (frequently just a verse or two, not the whole song) so that I really feel that I have them ready. It gets me in the mood to actually sing, which turns out to help even when I end up singing a different song than any that I had prepared.

The bottom line is, almost every filk circle will support you once you actually get over the threshold to get yourself noticed, but you have to start the process yourself. If you're not a naturally pushy, take-charge, hey-look-at-me kind of person, it's a good idea to get yourself psyched up before you get into the filk room -- once you're there, it's much easier to get caught up in listening to other people than to work yourself up to something.

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