Filk etiquette, et cetera

Filk etiquette definitely exists, but I think there are actually two topic-threads in the birth-thread that merit discussion. One of these is "filk etiquette" in the sense of proper conduct of circles and concerts; the other, a related but distinct topic, is the matter of adequate levels of communication *about* filk outside of circles. I'll take a stab at both those areas....

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Filk Etiquette 101

The basic rule is "be polite". That covers not talking at inappropriate times, singing along only when invited to or when the circle-dynamic makes it clear it's acceptable, turning off tape recorders when asked (and asking before setting them up), and most points of acceptable circle-behavior.

I'd give the second rule as "support the circle-dynamic", with the basic working principle that in a circle, the mood of the circle as a whole is more important than the mood of any one performer. This is the counter to performance-hogging, the protocol that pertains to "following" a given song, and the principle that encourages performances by newcomers or visitors.

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Running Housefilks

Based on my (admittedly limited) experience, the average housefilk-circle more or less runs itself, and doesn't need a lot of moderating. The one major potential complication that can arise is "star syndrome", wherein one or two people end up doing most of the lead-performance duty--Julia mentions Steve Dixon in Seattle, but this also used to happen at Finity's End housefilks  down here in PDX, where Cecilia ended up doing the lion's share of playing and performing.

At least at Finity's End in those days, the problem wasn't that Cecilia was "hogging" the spotlight--it was that she had more songs than anyone else, and was either our only guitarist or the only one who knew a large body of material. Where this situation pertains, the solution is simply that other people need to come up with songs and/or learn to play instruments. (I took the former route; I still don't play an instrument, but I have written a lot of lyrics by now--and purely by dint of singing at filk circles, my voice is noticeably less rotten than it was when I started attending those housefilks. Practice helps.)

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Running Convention Circles

The first rule of running a convention circle is to decide what format you want to run ahead of time and specify it in the program book/pocket program; a sign on the door of the room also helps. This does not substitute for good circle-moderating (and it doesn't mean you can't change your mind if circumstances warrant, though this should be done with caution), but it is a big help. (The flip side of this is that a prospective circle-attendee should READ the program book/pocket program/sign on door.)

Most convention filk circles, whether Chaos or some form of Bardic, are large enough and sufficiently transitory that they do need a Moderator. The Moderator's job is basically threefold:

1. maintain a balanced and healthy circle-dynamic
2. ensure that everyone attending is made to feel welcome
3. explain What's Going On to newcomers/hotel security etc. as needed

Many, but not all, problems at convention filk-circles arise from less-than- skilled moderating. Orycon's present chronic difficulty is probably that its filk circle is frequently too big--but the solution, finding more program space so that two circles could be run, is both beyond a moderator's control and has some of its own drawbacks (how do you "seed" two circles such that both of them have a good balance of veterans and newbies?).

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Filk Education

I do agree that there are few avenues whereby new filkers can "learn the rules" of present-day filk practice. This is one reason that the last Orycon ran a "filk 101" panel on Friday (on which I ended up being the Chief Panelist). More such panels at conventions would help, I think -- they allow for explanation of filk concepts outside the social pressures of a circle or performance setting.

I also note that there are very few places other than a circle that a would-be filker can go to learn "filk etiquette" and circle-styles. Most filk activity in cyberspace (that I've seen, anyhow) seems to occur between filkers who've already been "indoctrinated" and to assume basic background knowledge. Nor do I know of easily accessible hard-copy publications in this line -- XENOFILKIA, for instance, is also mostly for dedicated filkers and assumes you know what's going on. We could use, I think, two things: a flyer/brochure available at cons that lists and explains What Filk Is, and perhaps a regional filkzine with an interest in *promoting* filk as well as in sharing lyrics. (I am not volunteering to publish/edit such a thing--time and finances presently don't permit--but I'd certainly contribute.)

I'd also like to see a revival of the convention-tape filk industry. Most of the "major" filk labels seem to be moving strongly toward professional-style albums featuring studio production and individual artists or groups, and the limited exceptions aren't getting to enough conventions to put out a sufficient variety of product featuring a wide enough range of artists. (This is probably wishful thinking on my part, but one can always wish.) Convention tapes have distinct advantages to the novice filker--you hear a wide variety of material from a lot of different artists, and you get to hear what a *circle* is like, not just how the artists sound.

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Filk Evolution

One reason some of these problems have arisen is that filk has evolved--it's not what it was in the Old Days when Off Centaur was Off Centaur, the backbone of the filk-tape industry was live-convention recordings, and the WESTERFILK songbooks had Biblical status.

Current filk *is* more performance-oriented than it used to be, both on the album-publishing side and in the circles. This is in part because there's now a much larger body of material out there--you literally can't take the words to everything to a con short of programming them into a computer database, and that takes more time and effort than most of us have, not to mention the cost of the notebook PC. (It also doesn't help that the WESTER-Bibles are out of print, and that the present state of affairs in filkdom likely precludes publishing anything resembling a new "Bible" series of songbooks, whatever title you might adopt for them.)

Another part of the process is that there's a substantially larger pool of musically talented filkers out there, and it's growing all the time. It's easy to run a group-singing circle when you have one or two guitarists and are mostly working out of a couple of fat songbooks; it's a lot harder when you have fourteen guitars, three harps, two flutes, two drums, two keyboards, and a trombone, and all of their owners have written original material. (Okay, I have yet to actually see a trombone at a filk circle, but you get the idea.)

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Whoof. That's a lot of holding-forth. I think I'll now sit back and see what I've stirred up....

• John C. Bunnell