Debbie’s Filk FAQ

A song that relates in some way to a recently performed song.

Usually you’ll hear this term called out in open filk (”I have a follower!”), indicating that the speaker would like to perform something next. [Read more →]

If you’ve been invited to be a Filk Guest of Honor, be sure to ask the convention committee about their expectations, read the contract (if there is one). But the truth is that what makes a good Filk Guest of Honor isn’t always always spelled out in the contract. [Read more →]

From Bill Sutton (GAFilk):

“Communicate with your guest early and often. [Read more →]

This varies from convention to convention. [Read more →]

The Toastmaster role appears to be defined slightly differently, depending on the convention in question. In general, however, a Toastmaster is usually seen as the Master/Mistress of Ceremonies and does all the introductions for concerts. [Read more →]

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.

[Read more →]

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. [Read more →]

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 response. [Read more →]

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. [Read more →]

I posted a question to rec.music.filk some years back, asking what the filk community meant to them. Here are just a few answers [Read more →]