All for One and One for All

[laramie]

My Cross-posted comments from a discussion in another LJ

I've been in the middle of this issue in Mpls since the early 90s. I've never liked the way the Snotty Elitist Musicians tried to distance themselves from all things Filk, splitting Minneapolis into two separate camps of music that don't exist elsewhere in fandom.

I got stuck in the 'Filk' camp, partly* because I do like music about spaceships and aliens and I like putting alternate (related) lyrics to existing music - but that's never been the ONLY thing I like. I like a wide variety of music drawn from a wide variety of sources. (*And partly because I have not been as accomplished a performer as I am currently, and have never thought professionalism should count more than friendliness in this non-pro, community-based venue.)

I do think that there's something about filk (sf related) music that's special to fandom and should be respected for that if nothing else. It's the tradition of our tribe and ought to be preserved in face of the seductive influx of music from other cultures. So, for about six years I hosted a monthly filk circle and continue to attend them now that someone else is hosting.

And I was distressed when Minicon started scheduling Filk in rooms separate from the other music, and separate from the con suite areas where all the people, food and drink were to be found. And particularly distressed that none of the people doing the scheduling thought of consulting the filkers about what we wanted.

I'm torn on this issue. Because in my heart I'd love to see the musicians of this community take an 'All for One and One for All' stance - but I do see the practical difficulties of music parties that get too large for the available spaces, as well as taking too long to go 'round.

What I found at OVFF was a community that took the size problem in stride and planned for splitting into smaller circles when necessary. And planned on having a distribution of more accomplished and less accomplished performers in each circle, so that it didn't become a Cool vs Feeble Circle competitive atmosphere and things remained friendly all around.

I don't think filk should be separated out from general Music at minicon. I'd like to see one large or two smaller music areas side by side, open to whatever music all musicians concerned would enjoy playing and singing with each other.

At the Dessicated Dodo party last night I was talking with people running the next Minicon, and making the case for having the music right in the same area as the Con Suite. (It looks like the best bet is to take over the suite that Tor was using.) jiawen asked me if I want to be in charge of music for MiniCon 43, and I'm looking into what that would entail.

Comments

Re: Mainstream versus filk

[skylarker.livejournal.com]

I've known a capella singers to join the Open Music. And even be well received, though it's hard for instrumentalists to join in with them, other than simple percussion. There've been some very lovely opportunities for vocal harmony, though. (I always enjoy it when mplsfish sings LCohen's Hallelujah.)

I'm sorry to hear about the trouble with your ankles. I got a small open circle going in the bar for a while on Sunday, and another singer would have been welcome.

Re: Mainstream versus filk

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

I have the curse of perfect pitch, so I could sing and instruments follow, but usually I sing an instrumental part. Sometimes harmony, if it's right for a piece, but usually something like a clarinet or trumpet part that would be there if the piece was orchestrated. I have enough lung now to sing, maybe I should rent some wind instruments and see if I have enough for them.

The ankles are always bad when I sit up straight for most of the day. At home, I use the recliner most of the time.

Re: Mainstream versus filk

[skylarker.livejournal.com]

I meant that not all the local instrumentalists are so expert that they can tell what key a singer is in and play unfamiliar material by ear. There are some who could do it, but they might hesitate without a specific invitation to try it.