In folk music circles, ballads are songs that tell a story. What makes a ballad traditional is that it has no known author, exists in more than one version, and is learned aurally: we learn ballads from hearing others sing them in our families, in our communities, on recordings or at workshops like this one.

Many ballad streams fed the repertoire in the United States. English, Scottish and Irish ballads were carried across the ocean to us. Murders, sensational and otherwise, sparked new songs about them. Rich African singing traditions became African-American and mixed with other streams of song here. Ballads and corridos came across the Canadian and Mexican borders as well.

Come to this workshop to sing a ballad, sing along on refrains, hum under your breath, or just to listen. We will sing as many as we can in the time allotted. Trot out your "Frog Went a Courtin'," "Frankie and Johnny," or "Pretty Polly."

Sharyn Dimmick founded a group for ballad singers in Berkeley more than a decade ago, which still meets monthly on an irregular schedule with dates set by those attending. Sharyn heard her first ballads at age three or four from ten-inch records and went on to learn ballads from whatever sources she could find. She recorded the classic ballad "Barbara Allen" on her 2009 CD "Paris," along with the wicked "Little Sadie" murder ballad. She also tackled two big ballads, "Sheath and Knife" and "Bonnie Susie Clelland" on her 1998 cassette release "I Am Your Winter Lover." Her major interests include Scots ballads and Afro-American blues ballads, such as "Duncan and Brady." and "Poor Lazarus."