How to Get Involved in Filk
Jul. 11th, 2008 07:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThis started over on ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
filk and I couldn't resist reprising it here. If you want to learn more about filk (folk music with science fiction, fantasy, and horror themes) then try these things:
1) Watch relevant LJ communities such asfilk and musiclovers for filker posts. Follow the interesting people back to their own blogs and track down their music.
2) Listen to some albums by major filkers like Tom Smith and The Great Luke Ski. This will help introduce you to some of the best and most famous material.
3) Write reviews of the filk albums you like, and post them online.allreviews is one good place. Send copies to the filkers and their publishers. This will help you make a lot of friends.
4) Make insightful replies to posts about filk. Bonus if you can explain exactly why a given song works or doesn't work for you.
5) Play to your background. Pick a day -- Mondays are good -- and every week post to your blog with an essay about some aspect of filk as it touches on your interests. If you're a historian, write about using history as inspiration for filk, or funny historical mistakes in filk songs, etc. If you're a rocket scientist, discuss filk songs about space exploration. That ought to build up an audience in a hurry.
6) Hang out with musicians and lyricists. You can help each other hone your skills of composition and performance.
7) For composition ideas, try a fishbowl in which you write songs based on ideas that people give you.
8) Look at folk songs or listen to some at a festival. Imagine what would happen if you added a science fiction, fantasy, or horror complication.
9) Watch F&SF television shows and movies. Pick a character and tell the story from that perspective, in song. If something stupid happens, mock it in song.
10) Go to filk conventions and concerts when you can. Introduce yourself to filkers. Make friends. Invite people out for dinner or a drink, if you can afford to. Put yourself on people's mailing lists.
filk and I couldn't resist reprising it here. If you want to learn more about filk (folk music with science fiction, fantasy, and horror themes) then try these things:1) Watch relevant LJ communities such as
filk and musiclovers for filker posts. Follow the interesting people back to their own blogs and track down their music.2) Listen to some albums by major filkers like Tom Smith and The Great Luke Ski. This will help introduce you to some of the best and most famous material.
3) Write reviews of the filk albums you like, and post them online.
allreviews is one good place. Send copies to the filkers and their publishers. This will help you make a lot of friends.4) Make insightful replies to posts about filk. Bonus if you can explain exactly why a given song works or doesn't work for you.
5) Play to your background. Pick a day -- Mondays are good -- and every week post to your blog with an essay about some aspect of filk as it touches on your interests. If you're a historian, write about using history as inspiration for filk, or funny historical mistakes in filk songs, etc. If you're a rocket scientist, discuss filk songs about space exploration. That ought to build up an audience in a hurry.
6) Hang out with musicians and lyricists. You can help each other hone your skills of composition and performance.
7) For composition ideas, try a fishbowl in which you write songs based on ideas that people give you.
8) Look at folk songs or listen to some at a festival. Imagine what would happen if you added a science fiction, fantasy, or horror complication.
9) Watch F&SF television shows and movies. Pick a character and tell the story from that perspective, in song. If something stupid happens, mock it in song.
10) Go to filk conventions and concerts when you can. Introduce yourself to filkers. Make friends. Invite people out for dinner or a drink, if you can afford to. Put yourself on people's mailing lists.
