At 03:21 PM 6/29/99 -0500, you wrote:

>From: James Schuldes <jgs@...>
>
>So we are all real good online Bards and have excellent musical abilities to
>the point of powerful magic, etc. But what about in /ooc real life? Anyone
>have any talent or interest?

<snip>

>p.s. in 5th grade public school, the music teacher got so frustrated with my
>inability to start a song on his 'downbeat' or whatever you call it, he
>snatched the tone block off my desk and never let me try again. I generally
>hate to sing in public - I am tone deaf and totally lack any rythmn.
>
>"you miss beat, your song abruptly ends" has been the story of my r/l
>musical ventures - I do have a nice stereo <g>

This reminds me too much of my own story - an older brother I worshipped
never letting me forget that I couldn't carry a tune in a bucket. So
what'd I do? Go off and play a Bard in a live-action RPG ;) Thing is, I
fell in love with the class so much that I taught myself to sing, and now I
perform at Bardics, campfires and coronations - I reckon I must've gotten
past my problems *chuckles*
I also play drums, keyboards, penny whistle, and can strum a guitar (but
that's about the limit there).
The 'other Talies' (My character on DR) is also a Bard, and also a
performer - two weeks after joining DR, I 'performed' a song I wrote for
the first Bardic competition (then sponsored by Nynis Goldkeeper, a
trader). Somehow, I won... And I've been a member of the Troupe of the
Four Winds ever since.

Although I don't write as much of my own material these days, I do collect
folk and filk songs, and am working on databasing it all at
http://amtgard.pinkpig.com/bards/

Enjoy!
Minstrel Snicker Furfoot, Esq.
Journeyman Talies Wanderbur
and Talies the Wanderer