Ohio Valley Filk Fest 28

THROUGHOUT THE WEEKEND

Chamberfilk

Phil Textor arranges popular filk songs as chamber music, and is seeking people to play them at OVFF. If you would like to be a part of this ensemble, contact Phil before the convention at: textorpmt at yahoo dot com. Participants should plan to meet with Phil during the Mad Hatter's Tea Party, rehearse at least twice during the weekend, and then perform a short concert on Sunday early afternoon

FRIDAY

A Cappella Filk Performance and Recording

Although filk can be a very nurturing and forgiving environment, singing in a circle or into a microphone can still be a daunting prospect if you don't have any accompaniment. Join a pair of veteran a cappella singers as they highlight the dos and don'ts of using your voice as your only instrument. Presented by Partners in K'RHyme.

SATURDAY
Morning Yoga

Limber up and relax before a long day of dodging puns, reaching for high notes, and other strenuous activity. Taught by Dr. Mary Crowell.

Bavarian Folk Dancing

Taught by Ju Honish. Bavaria is one of Germany's 16 federal states. It's the place for leather trousers, Dirndl dresses and yodeling – none of which you will find in any of the other 15 "Laender". Ju (who grew up there) will teach some easy traditional folk dances. There will be no yodeling involved (promise!) and only a very moderate amount of thigh slapping. If you already know how to waltz or dance a polka that's great, but all the basis will be explained. It is not too strenuous (or Ju would not do it) and can be also done by people who are generally not overly athletic. It does require some basic sense of rhythm, though.

Wizard Rock & Harry Pottter Fandom

The Blibbering Humdingers will talk about the wizard rock community, muggle quidditch, the HP Alliance, HP conventions, and other quirks of the HP fandom that often make it seem separate from "mainstream" fandom. Hopefully some interesting discussion will arise as a result.

An Introduction to MIDI Workshop

Introduced in 1983, the Musical Instrument Digital Interface -- MIDI -- enabled synthesizers from various manufacturers to communicate with each other and to send note information from one keyboard to another. It has since expanded to the realm of computers and computer-based musical composition programs. Join Jim Poltrone on a look at MIDI from its early days to its current usage.

MIDI Birds of a Feather Gathering

Following the introductory session will be a birds-of-a-feather (BOF) session of filkers who use computers and MIDI as tools for musical composition.

Electric Guitar for Acoustic Players: What gear do you need to buy?

Taught by Daniel "gundo" Gunderson and Barry Childs-Helton

Partial Capos: How to figure out the one that you bought but got stumped on.

Learn how partial capos can be used to expand the sound of your guitar. We will learn how to use drop-D capos and partial capos, with a little bit of music theory thrown in (though not required at all). This workshop is interactive...please bring guitars. Partial capos will be available for purchase at the workshop. Taught by Daniel "gundo" Gunderson.

SUNDAY
Ain't Got Rhythm?  We Can Fix That!

Presented by Sally Childs-Helton, Ph.D. Everybody has rhythm, but all of us can also improve our rhythmic skills.  This playshop for musicians of all skill levels (including beginners) will help you improve your rhythmic skills and understanding through some entertaining drumming and improvisation games and exercises.  We'll use percussion instruments, our bodies, and our voices, to quickly and deeply get rhythm rooted.  Being able to synchronize rhythmically is vital if you want to play with others, or if you want others to play with you.  It's a basic skill we can all improve and fine-tune, so come on, increase your skills, and have a lot of fun doing it!  Feel free to bring drums or small percussion instruments but  plenty of things will be provided so come on and bring your body, your voice, your playfulness, and your sense of adventure.

Evil Medieval Rock 'n Roll

Your character is a bard, but what the hell does she sing? Minstrels playing at the tavern, but what do they sound like? Scott Humdinger (aka Efenwealt Wystle) provides a brief overview of artists and recordings to help make "stodgy" medieval music more exciting for modern ears. From Jethro Tull to Phillip Pickett and Loreena McKennit to Jazz Antiqua.

Electronic Songbooks

How many pounds of paper do you carry with you to your local filksing? Is your back bent by the weight? With the explosion of tablet devices, there is now a selection of lyric and music apps that will allow you to keep thousands of songs in a single device weighing less than a single copy of the Westerfilk collection. Steve Macdonald will moderate an open discussion of the strengths and challenges working with an electronic songbook, as well as demonstrations of the ones he's been able to download and try out. (Note- Steve is an iPad guy, with little to no knowledge of Android options. If you have a songbook that you are using for your Android, definitely come to join the fun!!)