Editing Filk music (section)

==Filk circles==
===Physical layout===
[[File:2006-05-27 Baycon 2006 Saturday Night Open Filk Circle- Photo by Tony Fabris.jpg|thumb|A filk circle at [[BayCon]] 2006]]
As the name implies, a rough circle of chairs is usually formed.<ref name="Bragg"/> Traditionally, filk circles are started in the evening and tend to continue very late into the night.<ref name="Bragg" />

===Musical instruments===
A wide range of instruments can be found in a filk circle, although the most common is the [[acoustic guitar]].<ref name="Bragg"/> Acoustic instruments are more common than electric instruments, although portable [[electronic keyboard|keyboards]] and even [[theremin]]s are not unheard of.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Sutton|first1=Brenda|title=Guest of Honor: Dr. Mary Crowell|url=http://conflikt.org/guestbio.php?name=Dr.+Mary+Crowell&title=Guest+of+Honor&year=2011|website=Conflikt.org|access-date=18 November 2014|date=2011|quote=We watched this beautiful young woman lug her keyboard (not the most portable of filk instruments, mind you) into the filk room with a slight amount of dread and a large measure of anticipation. And then she played her opening measures – all Gershwiny, bluesy, and fine – we all relaxed.}}</ref>

===Types===
[[File:Sfcon-music-session-ddb.jpg|thumb|Filk circle]]
Filk circles are often given an organizational structure to make it easier for participants to know when it is time to perform or time to listen to other performers. There are many ways to accomplish this. However, the most common types of filk circle are listed below.<ref name=Gold:Welcome>{{cite web|last1=Gold|first1=Lee|author-link1=Lee Gold|title=Welcome to the Filk Circle|url=http://www.massfilc.org/FilkCircle.pdf|website=Massfilc.org|access-date=18 November 2014|date=2004}}</ref>

====Bardic====
The advantage of the bardic circle is that it has a clear structure, which enforces politeness. It ensures everyone in the circle gets their turn so that even shy people can have a chance to request or perform. There are disadvantages, however. A bardic circle with large numbers of participants will take a long time to traverse the entire circle, making people wait too long for their turn. Such a circle was lamented in a filk by [[Suzette Haden Elgin]]: "I've been here with my song at the ready since day before yesterday night."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://raids.org/files/en003/filk-018.htm|title=Lyrics and Tune Copyright 1983 Suzette Haden Elgin Song at the Ready The Filksing was crow|author=Fredric L. Rice|website=Skeptictank.org}}</ref>

====Chaos====
In a chaos circle, there is no sequential organization. Any performer can simply begin playing a song after the prior song is finished, or any participant can shout out a request. Care must be taken to prevent two songs from starting at the same time. Frequently the word "follower!" is shouted in a chaos circle; this means that a performer believes they have the perfect song to follow the prior song, and they wish to immediately play it.<ref name="Gold">{{Cite web|url=http://www.kayshapero.net/filkcirc.htm|title=Filk FAQ Welcome To The Circle|website=Kayshapero.net|access-date=28 May 2022}}</ref>

The chaos circle's advantage is its spontaneity and energy. "Runs" of songs will frequently get started, with each new song intended to make some sort of connection to or commentary on the prior song's topic. The disadvantage is that it takes concentration and effort to be polite and respectful in a chaos circle: It is easy to accidentally interrupt another performer who's trying to start up a song of their own, especially in a very large circle where one might not be able to easily hear the other performer on the opposite side of the room. Chaos circles thus have a reputation of favoring bold, loud performers who can command attention. One countermeasure to such conflicts is for someone, generally not one of the current/starting-up performers, to shout "Filker up!", possibly pointing to the one being interrupted. This alerts the room, and specifically the (usually unintentional) interrupter, to be quiet and pay attention to the filker who has started performing.<ref name="Conflikt_Circle_Etiquette">{{cite web |title=Concert & Circle Etiquette |author=<!--Not stated--> |url= http://conflikt.org/content/2016/download/ConfliktRules.pdf|website=Conflikt.org |access-date=14 May 2017 |ref=Conflikt_Circle_Etiquette |page=1 |date=2016}}</ref>

====Token bardic====
A token bardic circle, also known as a "poker-chip" bardic circle, attempts to combine the enforced politeness of the bardic circle with the freeform nature of the chaos circle. A container full of some type of token such as poker chips is supplied for the circle. Each person participating in the circle is given a fixed number of tokens when they enter the room (frequently two tokens) and can throw a token into the center of the circle at any time to claim a pick or play turn. When all the active tokens in the circle are used up, they are scooped up and redistributed for the next round.<ref name="Gold"/>

===Etiquette===
The etiquette of the filk circle begins with a respect for all music, including (and perhaps especially) amateur music and amateur performers. Everyone is encouraged to perform, regardless of their skill level. No one is criticized except to occasionally give tips or suggestions.<ref name=Gold:Welcome />