Forums » Smalltalk » AMA: Being a Bard

Okay, so it may be a bit of a stretch, but I fit most of the basic requirements.

What is a bard? According to Merriam-Webster, a poet, traditionally one reciting epics and associated with a particular oral tradition. To me, a bard can be anyone with a slight affinity for the fine arts. In my case, I'm a musician, storyteller, and actor (working on the sketching artist bit, but that'll take quite a bit of time).

For the music side, I play baritone sax, alto sax, a little bit of percussion, and learning how to play bass guitar. Edit: I also sing bass/baritone parts in vocal settings

On the acting side, I've been in several Scout BSA skits and have been in a total of three theatrical productions in my hometown (not a lot, but I'm getting better at finding places in need of actors).

For storytelling, I have around 300 wonderful characters that I absolutely adore from the bottom of my heart and I'm a slightly seasoned Dungeon Master in my area, from my own homebrew-in-process (HUGE shout-out to my friend Wandering_Ender for helping me with it) to official adventures.

Art is my weaker link, but I can draw rough sketches of symbols from my world and make some things look normal haha.

Anyways, I really wanted to participate in this but I didn't know how. Then a friend of mine mentioned that I'm kind of a real-life bard from Dungeons and Dragons, so I went with this. I'd love to answer any questions about what I like in the arts, challenges I've come up against, and anything that intrigues you. Thanks!

Of all the instruments you play, which would you say is your favorite - and why?

Ooh, that's a good one! I'd have to say my bari sax, honestly. I've been playing it for a couple years, but it's easily the easiest one I've gotten a handle on (my friends link my skill on bari with my bass singing voice). I've also employed it to 3 different characters as a source of their power.

That's so cool! I would guess you've been into stories since you were little? How long have you been playing? Dungeons and Dragons, and Sax, I mean.

Yes! I've always loved stories and have had quite an active imagination since my childhood. I've been playing sax for almost 9 years and I've been playing Dungeons and Dragons for 5 years.

this is really neat! my question is: what are some of your dream roles? like, what characters (specific characters or types of characters), would you really like a chance to act/perform as?

That is an excellent question. I've seen some shows, and I honestly have found that the roles that I get casted as are either the side character with a sense of humor, or the villain. I'd love to be a main character someday, but I'm cool with whatever. My favorite thing to do is watch Disney movies and figure out who I would want to play. For example, I would definitely be Louis from The Princess and the Frog, only with a saxophone instead of a trumpet (hopefully), and I would love to play the Genie or Jafar in Aladdin.

Bump

Hmmm... Are there any bard characters you really admire? And do you feel like you want to learn and experience more things to add to your bard life, or does the bard life happen because you have so many interests? What do you think?

This is an interesting topic!

I feel like bard things happen in my life due to my interest in the arts honestly. As for bard characters that I admire, definitely Jack Black. That man is an amazing human being and an absolute god on the sax-o-boom.