Debbie’s Filk FAQ

“I want to be the sort of performer that others can and want to play along with. What skills do I need to have/polish that will make it easier for other musicians to accompany me? Are countless hours fumbling through Irish sessions and filk jams/preserves the only way to get there?”

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One of the parts of filking I’ve always enjoyed is playing music with other people. Before I joined Urban Tapestry, my sole instrument in the filk circle was the flute. I remember being incredibly nervous about it at first, not knowing (1) whether I was good enough to play along with other people and (2) [...]

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Respondents unanimously agreed that spoken word pieces are fine in an open filk circle. From Phil Parker: “With regard to spoken word pieces, I have never seen a spoken word piece that was well written, well chosen for the moment, and well recited or told fail to get a good reaction from a filk circle.”

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Survey: Any tips for performers re: stage etiquette? Please post your answer at the bottom of this page, and I’ll integrate it into this FAQ page.

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Cleverly using some of the suggestions kindly offered by filkers about how to get a turn singing in an open filk circle, Grizelda starts performing. As she does, however, she notices several people getting up from the circle and leaving the room. After she finishes performing, she is also disappointed by the polite but unenthusiastic [...]

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Everyone makes mistakes sometimes, and unfortunately this occasionally happens in the middle of a performance. This could range from a barely noticeable stumble to completely forgetting one’s lyrics or chords two-thirds of the way through a song.

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I’ve heard comments like the following many times at filk conventions:

“I’ve written a song, but I’m too nervous to sing it.”
“Everyone’s so good! There’s no way I’m going to perform in THAT circle.”
“My song didn’t really follow any of the songs that were going on, so I didn’t sing it.”
“I tried to [...]

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First of all, most people have -some- musical ability. At the very least, you can appreciate and derive enjoyment of music. If you can’t, then you wouldn’t be interested in filking in the first place.

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