Category: Musings

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A Self-Reflection List For and About SCA Work

In an online community I’m part of, someone was trying to figure out how to get a music group started that was made of folks into the SCA. She had an early music consort made of some SCAdians and some non-SCA folks, but they didn’t have much interest in attending SCA events, because they were into early music, but not into the SCA.

She had mentioned that she was one of the few people in her barony who was skilled at music and instrument playing, and that her kingdom was large and it was hard to attend events with people of similar skill and interest due to distance.

This person was really struggling with how to get what she hoped to have to enrich her SCA life, and the discussion surrounding it made me think of the lessons I’ve learned since I began life in the SCA about 12 years ago.

Sometimes people who are really good at a thing do not really see how their abilities and deeds might be viewed by others as unattainable, or intimidating, or inaccessible.

Skills (especially “specialized” skills) like instrumental skills or expertise in music – or anything else – can be amazingly intimidating.  One with great knowledge may be seen as too far beyond ones own level and interacting with them can be nerve-wracking, particularly by folks newer to an art, or unversed in it at all. (O! How many times I’ve been told how “easy” sewing is! Yet, alas, for all their words, I’m still allergic to thread!)

A choir, a band, a troupe – it’s all a set of people with their insecurities and their gifts all mashed together. The way I see it is – try to work on making the gift bit shine, and it will eventually lay light on those dark, insecure places. 😀

As I’ve become more of a resource in my own region in the past couple years,  I have found myself much more careful with other people of late. Here’s what I’m finding running through my own noggin as I think more about this topic, and how I’ve tried to assess what I’ve done in the past myself.

Take what you may, and feel free to discard the rest. This is from my brain, individual mileage may vary. =)

1) Am I helping make my desire for a thing be a success that others can share in? Am I being a glory hog? Or the better thing – a glory sty where we all get to hog the spotlight?

2) Can I articulate my goals in a way that encourages buy-in from other people?  Am I willing to look outside my regular circle to meet my goals? Am I willing to accept help? (Oh lord, that accepting help thing is sooooo hard for me!!!)

3) Am I willing to give help when I am asked (even when it is not convenient)? Am I being as patient as I can be (within reason!) with people who are genuinely seeking my assistance?

4) Do I make myself accessible to newcomers in my art form? If someone brings me a gift of their performance am I willing and able to accept that gift for what it is, with kindness?

5) Am I able to I encourage or praise others honestly but without offering critique? (I have found that many people – including performers – are not prepared for unsolicited critiques. We have had long threads about how a casual critique –  sometimes barely even noticed by the critic – can really derail people’s work. This isn’t the problem of the one receiving – but the one giving it – my problem. Critiques should be offered, sure, but only given if accepted. And always in private, unless in a class or some similar exceptional situation. And even then…with care.)

6) Do I take people where they *are* or where I *want* them to be? Am I judging someone unintentionally? Are the things I judge really their issues or reflections of my own insecurities?

7) Am I doing my best? Am I honest with myself and others when I am not doing my best?  Can I say, “I don’t know, let’s find out” and be forthright when I have made an error, or even failed?

8) Do I tell people doing good work that I think they’re doing good work?  Do I join in and support other’s projects when I can? Do I encourage ideas that aren’t mine, and tell others about their goodness?

9) Am I being a snob? Could my attitude be affecting other people’s view of my (certainly awesome!) goals? Is my attitude affecting the potential of other people (yeah, that’s a vain notion, but a lack of support can be a critique of its own!)

10) Am I Being Kind Whenever I Can Be Kind? (This almost covers the other 9 right?) Kindness has to be the default setting.

It’s a long weird list, I guess, but I am more and more often asked for help on where to begin these days, and I realize that I unthinkingly go through a lot of these questions when I’m approaching that with others.

I know people want to sing and perform. And, while I am lately a soloist primarily, many voices make for a more beautiful world, to me. When I’ve done things that were better than just “sort of” successful, it was because of other people made it successful. I’ve listened to many tales of how others process, how they react to things, how praise can heal and encourage, how harder words can do real harm…. I have become more thoughtful about how I care for those who come asking. I try to be honest and firm, but always kind.

Can I do better? Absolutely. I can always do better, but day to day, it’s my best.

I’m positive that if you give people an outlet to help create a community through music, they’ll come. It may be slow, but if you’re open and kind, they’ll come. (Even if, for a while, it’s for the cookies and wine. 😉 )

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One Way to Make an SCA Performance Playlist

Sometimes people as me “how to I get started being a bard??”

It’s a hard question to answer because I can’t look at someone and know how they perform, what’s easy, what is a challenge…

So I made this list to help anyone who is trying to begin that path make a “performance playlist” that is diverse and yet works for them! This way you can choose a diverse set of pieces that are to your own taste and ability, as well as interest.

Here’s how it works –
– choose three categories
– pick one piece for each you’ve chosen
– learn it really well
– perform it
– repeat until you have a good set list!

You could start with….

1) a piece that inspires the folks you play with most (SCA-appropriate)
2) a piece that suits your own persona (maybe period, maybe not)
3) a piece that is period
4) a song/piece that you can teach quickly (like a round)
5) a song everyone knows and sings along with or interact with (could be a filk, period, more modern SCA piece, whatever SCA appropriate thing…)
6) a piece that’s not often heard in your area
7) an original SCA-appropriate piece
8) a piece that uses an instrument of some kind (drum, harp, whatever…)
9) a piece that’s in a language other than your own
10) a piece that is very short and memorable

If someone chooses five from this list, whatever they are, they’ll be on their way to having an excellent SCA repertoire.

Another way

Ratheflaed DuNoir suggested on the SCA Bardic Arts Facebook Group that every bard should know the following:
1) A funny story/song
2) A sad story/song
3) A song to sing the camp to sleep
4) A song of their homeland
5) A song for the children

These are excellent expansions or a good short alternative list from which to choose…..

My own answers to this -Aneleda’s List – could be:

1) “I am of the North”  -(an original piece that my fellow fighters like to hear and sing) – or  “Lifeblood” by Mistress Wyndrith Birginsdottir (a piece that inspires the folks you play with most)
2) “Maiden in the Moor Lay” Anon old English piece (a piece that suits your own persona(
3) “All in a Garden Green” or “Three Ravens” (a piece that is in the SCA pre-1500 period)
4) “Hey Ho Nobody Home” or “Three Blind Mice” (Ravenscroft) (a song/piece that you can teach quickly to others)
5) “Ode to Endewearde” (original local anthem) OR “Dona Nobis Pachem” round (a song everyone knows and sings along with or interact with)
6) “I have a Younge Sister”  (a piece that’s not often heard in your area) inspired by John Fleagle’s version
7) “Follow Me” – a love song sung by a fighting lady  (an original SCA-appropriate piece) a piece I wrote
8) “The Herne“ (a piece that uses an instrument of some kind) inspired by John Fleagle’s version
9) “Amirilli Mia Bella” (a piece that’s in a language other than your own) an Italian by Giulio Caccini, 1601
10) “Jaden’s Shield” original, funny song (a piece that is very short and memorable)

BUT if I were to just to, say, choose a set of five: I am of the North, Dona Nobis Pachem, Follow Me (or Lifeblood), The Herne, and Jaden’s Shield would be a solid set from this list.

________________________________

Period song resources are numerous, but if you’re new and prefer to sing in English, check this other post of mine:

Starting from the Beginning: Period English Vocal Music Suitable for SCA Performance

If you want to have suggestions on great SCA-culture songs (music of the modern middle ages), I would recommend checking the list that Master Liam St. Liam has posted at his blog. He’s a long-time SCAdian, a Pelican, and a serious SCA music lover.

His list: http://liamstliam.wordpress.com/2013/07/18/thirty-essential-sca-songs/

His favorite SCA singers: http://liamstliam.wordpress.com/2013/07/18/master-liams-favorite-sca-singers/

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On Not Using “Bardic Arts” as a Name for Performing Arts

~Given the ample discussion I’ve witnessed and participated in over the years in the SCA, I have come to the following “manifesto” regarding the “Bardic Arts” and the “Performing Arts.”  I wrote it to clarify my own thoughts, but decided that I would be public in my personal statements of belief.~
Aneleda’s Personal Manifesto on the Performing and Bardic Arts and Terms Used Therein

I believe that performances born from authentic works from actual periods has intrinsic and historic value and should be encouraged.

I believe that period work remains relevant, as do all “timeless” things, and that the creation and recreation of that work should be valued and shared.

I believe that study and performance of period works is useful and creation of works which are inspired by or in the style of early works is an essential part of learning. (As modern painters learn by copying the works of early masters, so to is there value in modern artists of all kinds, including performers, “copying” earlier works to better understand their own gifts.)

I believe that creation of new works in a researched period style and reproduction of works in a period style are of value to the A&S community, and a focus in those areas are things which rightly grow beside the Path to High Arts.

I believe that many modern people in this game deserve (and desire) to have music that is new and reflective of their love of the SCA and how they play within the Society.

I believe that music that is new and in the style of our traditional modern ballads has intrinsic value as both art and as a chronicle of deeds and events in the Society.

I believe the act of documenting the history of the SCA in a modern way – including in story and song – is an art which grows beside the Service Path, as it is a valid art rooted in celebrating our subculture and brings us together as a Society rather than celebrating the arts of the past.

I believe that “Bards” are the emotional chroniclers of the Society.

I believe that “Bard” could be a deed name or title given to a particular kind of performer by people who are not that performer. (As in “You are not a bard until someone calls you a bard.”)

I believe that use of that term “bard” ought to be discouraged within the performing community as a catch-all.

I believe that use of the term “bardic arts” should be discouraged unless it is specifically relating to original or semi-original performance works of the modern middle ages which relate in some way to or are inspired by experiences in the Society for Creative Anachronism.

I believe that “SCA Folk Music or Music” of the “Modern Middle Ages” present a clearer view of what those often known as “bards” do as their art and service in the Society, though those terms are still insufficient.

I believe a performer may style herself as a particular kind of performer – a joungleur, a troubadour, a minnesinger ,a trouvere, a minstrel, a mummer, a skald, a poet, an actor, a mime, a fool, or simply a performer and she should use her self-descriptor often.

I believe that the term “performing arts” should be encouraged, and with it the appropriate names for other activities – Mumming, Theatre, Commedia, Music, Dance, etc.

For me, I will cease using bardic as a catch-all. It is not appropriate for the majority of things and it’s only barely appropriate for even the narrow definition that I allow it myself.

I will have performing circles or sharing circles. I will have fires – but unless we are burning actual bards – not bardic fires. I will host evenings of music and story but not “bardic” night that more people may feel included and able to share their performances.

I will make this change myself and aspire to serve as an example of what I think is a better way to serve all performing artists.

– A

WHY THIS POST?

The term “bardic arts” is a long-held term in the SCA which attempts to describe what the “bard” does. It is meant to describe a variety of vocal performances inspired by the view of the medieval minstrel of the hall. It has come to include nearly all arts which involve singing or speaking  or storytelling in some way for an audience. It is sometimes thought to also include “any art that tells a story” in a physical way. A well respected luminary is noted to say, ‘if your performance tells a story then it’s bard enough for me.’

It’s also a term which is either loved or loathed. To some, being called a bard can be either a bitter insult or the highest praise. Many performers who do things we lump into the “bardic arts” openly say things like, “I’m a minstrel, not a bard.” It also, despite our “bard enough for me” attempts at inclusion, seems to spiritually exclude different kinds of non-vocal storytelling and it’s honestly a harder fit for dancers, mummers, and instrumentalists, and writers who don’t perform as well.

I’ve come to conclude that the “bardic community” is ill-served the the term. It seems to cause division based on the following sets of issues: period vs modern style performance; original vs existing period lyrics and music; attachment to different musical styles and languages; desire vs disregard for documentation; musician vs solo vocal performers; scholars vs hobbyist; persona-driven SCA experience vs non-persona-driven SCA experiences; and more…

In addition, the “bardic arts” are complicated in terms of their recognition at a Kingdom and Society level. Many “bards” can feel unrecognized even though their works are incredibly popular. Those who are scholarly and less popular may rise through the SCA award system. As an example, Lady Warren writes songs about the SCA in a modern way and sings them to the great pleasure and acclaim of her friends, audiences, and royalty. She may have a couple of CDs which sell well. People can sing her songs. That seems very successful. However, if she does not do scholarly work as well, she will not be recognized in the structure of the SCA.  Lord Witten sings only songs from the time of his persona. He can tell you about the chords, and the styles, and has written a few pieces in the same style as his ancient mentors. He’s a decent performer, but not someone who has recordings or popular praise. Both Lord Witten and Lady Warren are in the “bardic arts” category but they are not similar in any way. Lord Witten may be recognized with awards in spite of his audience’s tepid applause because he’s a scholar-performer while the popular Lady Warrren may have great praise from her audience, she does things in a modern way and does not fulfill the criteria for consideration for SCA awards. Putting them in the same “category” does each of them a disservice for now they will be spiritually comparing each other’s gifts – which are apples and oranges – of equal value in the Society to different people for different reasons. 

It is only fair to give them each a place where their gifts name them more than one where they are shoehorned into an ill-fitting theme which has little actual relevance to either of their performance styles.

Some “bards” do both well – period music recreation/reproduction and new music which has the soul of the SCA as its lead. They are luminaries and are very seldom simply “bards.” “Bardic” is generally but one part of what they do exceptionally well, but it’s often the most public face of their other talents. I know those who are recognized for their poetry, music writing, and research into stories of the past who were recognized for those things but their prominence as performers causes the gifts for which they were recognized – their scholar work – to be eclipsed by their own brightness. These folk are “bard-and-_____” people. Period work/research must be done (and documented) to achieve some kinds of recognition, as with all arts and sciences in the SCA.

This loose naming of the “bardic arts” also hinders our recognition of artists for what they have been truly respected for doing to achieve that recognition. I would rather see skalds, musicians, pipers, actors, fools, and others be so recognized – better that than a “bard” which is near meaningless in our use of it.

This recognition issue also seems to cause a lot of other issues regarding what we see as valued in the Society- for art and performance art in particular. Should performances be more period and scholarly? Should they reflect the modern chronicles of the SCA? Should we play only in persona? Should we be fine with a persona that is simply part of the subculture? Can there be a balance? Where is that balance?

Given the ample discussion I’ve witnessed and participated in over the years, I have come to the following “manifesto” regarding the “Bardic Arts” and the “Performing Arts.” We are all easily seen and understood as “Performing Artists” regardless of our style of performance. There is no shoe-horn or mallet needed to squeeze people into places they barely fit. The term is broadly inclusive, immediately recognizable, and lets folk name themselves within that in a way that suits them best.

I make this change for me, but also because I believe it is healthier for our community to change that we may stop fighting over what is and isn’t included in this or that, but rather that we can celebrate our differences and similarities in a more respectful manner.

I wrote it to clarify my own thoughts, but decided that I would be public in my personal statements of belief.

– Aneleda

OTHER TERMS FOR BARD (in addition to musician, dancers, mummers, et al…)
bard synonyms and related words:
Meistersinger, Parnassian, arch-poet, ashik, ballad maker, ballad singer, balladeer, balladmonger, bucoliast, elegist, epic poet, fili, folk singer, gleeman, griot, idyllist, imagist, jongleur, laureate, librettist, major poet, maker, minnesinger, minor poet, minstrel, modernist, muse, occasional poet, odist, pastoral poet, pastoralist, poet, poet laureate, poetress, rhapsode, rhapsodist, satirist, scop, serenader, skald, sonneteer, street singer, strolling minstrel, symbolist, troubadour, trouveur, trovatore, udgatar, vers libriste, vers-librist, wait, wandering minstrel…

Or, as would be accurate for me, dilettante – an admirer or lover of the arts or one having a surface-level interest in an art or branch of knowledge, a dabbler.

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On Documenting Original Songs

I don’t usually craft anything but scroll text in a documentable period form, but this question came up on a list I’m on, which caused me to consider the question.

As a boilerplate, I’d look at this as a fill in the blank sort of thing:


This was inspired by ______ event. It is in ________ style (with detail – year, form, rhyme, alliteration, etc) which is appropriate because ____________. I wrote it to _______________. The tune is (original, a contrafact, a filk, etc – with detail if you can about the tune.) It has elements of _______________ (phrases in a different language, descriptions of events or places from a period document, etc).


For example, if I read Tristan and Islote, and I wrote a song about how much they love each other beside the sea as she nurses him back to health – I’d explain the story origin and its period nature, what inspired me about it, and how I’ve chosen to represent that in song. I’d talk about elements I may have borrowed from the original text (“Tristan say THIS THING” to Isolte, and that is in my repeated chorus” or “We know that the King will eventually learn of their love and I foreshadow that doom in THIS fashion…”) So an explanation of your literary understanding of the piece is good. I used the cantus line from a French church chant as the repeated chorus. It is from 1213 (and I’d include a picture of the original if I could.) Because their love is outside of the court, I choose to perform this without any instruments to reflect the simplicity of their love in that environment. (AND SO ON…)

That’s how I’d “document” an original work with period origins.

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My Writing Process

A question was brought up on a bardic group about writing process, and output. I mused over mine and decided to write my thoughts here.

“Question of the day, highly subjective: What do you expect of yourself in terms of output? Or, perhaps, what do you deliver? Do you try for a new piece a season? A month? A week? Someone once said, “I can write better than anyone who can write faster, and faster than anyone who can write better.” How long does it usually take for you to produce a piece you’re truly satisfied with?”

The majority of my work is an attempt to give a voice to some kind of emotional state. It could be inspired by my own emotions, or by another’s emotions. Sometimes it is just a flash.

So I don’t set a quantity goal for my pieces, I write them as they come.

I seldom write songs which tell a story, which is a different craft I think.

I am primarily a muse-channel writer. Songs tend to come nearly finished, completing themselves in a matter of minutes (seldom hours.) Poems are similar, if it’s something like a sonnet or free verse.

However, there are notable works which have taken Time but that’s been Time researching – the actual writing is like a cloudburst – I’ve seen the clouds gather and grow and darken and loom and when it hits, I write it down.

If a piece is taking time, I leave it. Really leave it. It’s not baked yet. I walk away. Sometimes I return to the idea and poke it with a toothpick, and if it’s ready, it will write itself.

But I also tend not to write “story” songs – my songs are more about a specific feeling, or a time

Proper period poetry styles (which I only do in English, as I know no other tongue) take more time – but hours though, rather than days.