Not so much along the lines of the OP, but with the tension between "snobs" and "idiots" in mind, I found this interesting.
Mr.Gumby wrote:Playing in with others is one skillset, it requires a degree of adaptability and an ability to have a fair number of tunes at the ready, or play them on the fly. It is one side of playing albeit not the be all, end all of music. A session is mostly a social occasion. Noisy pubs are not particularly conducive to great music but if you look at playing there as an opportunity to be with friends, replenish some dark corners of your repertoire and exercise your memory and your fingers in the process, it's not so bad.
The notion of a pubsession where every man and his dog can walk in and take a place, that's a fully artificial one. You see a lot of festivals that are mostly organised pubsessions (Ennis trad fest was on last week). That is something I wouldn't fancy at all but some people swear by it, think it's the greatest thing since sliced bread.
I happened to be out last Saturdaynight, playing a few hours in Friel's. I don't play out all that much but I felt good coming home late in the night, after enjoying the company and digging around my brain for long forgotten tunes that came up. But I would never walk into a room of strangers and presume to play or join uninvited.
I think that this gets to something very important in this discussion, namely (apologies to Mr. Carver) What We Talk About When We Talk About Trad. Ultimately, I think the varying definitions of a session and tradition music in general are what causes these clashes.
There's a fairly broad spectrum of public pub sessions out there, but you can break them down into three rough categories (any given session may not fit exactly in, but most would).
Type 1 is an open free-for-all. Everyone gets to play, everyone gets to lead a few tunes or sing a song, few are discouraged from participating, and those are usually more on personal than musical grounds. The tune selection is broadly Irish or "Celtic," but anything that can reasonably be termed "folk" is usually welcomed, if not encouraged. Quebecois, Scottish, Cape Breton, old-time, you name it, someone will probably try to play it. Instrumentation is very flexible, but these sessions often attract lots of percussion, chordal, and non-traditional instruments. Most if not all players did not grow up playing Irish music, or dropped it at some stage. The level of play is variable, but it's rare to find a truly exceptional melody player in one of these sessions, unless they're a paid leader. For most players in these sessions, playing in a session is the primary, and often only, way they interact with trad music. The important thing to most is a sense of inclusion, and the "everyone working together" ethos of the modern folk movement.
Type 2 is a more "traditional" session, in the sense that traditional Irish music is the sole or overwhelming focus. It's still open, but only to those who play commonly accepted trad instruments. Backing instruments are limited; if there's already a bodhran player there, another may not be very welcome. It's still a very social event, but the players tend to be fairly serious about the music. Beyond personal disputes, a player might get gently talked to (or just looked at funny) if they're not up to the level of the rest, or if they try to play a lot of non-Irish music. There is often a leader or two, formal or informal, who are highly competent. Many of the players also listen to trad at home, play music among friends at private social gatherings, frequent concerts, go to festivals, and may play gigs outside the session scene. For others, sessions are the main way they interact with trad. The important thing to most is sharing Irish music with friends and fellow musicians, and drinking a few pints besides.
Type 3 is more or less closed, and highly focused on the music. The players are usually exceptional, or at least fairly high-level. These are often quasi-gigs, organized by the musicians and pub owner. It could, however, also be a gathering of friends who simply want to play in a pub rather than a kitchen. The group playing is focused on playing good music and socializing with each other. They may not want anyone to join in, and they certainly don't want everyone to. If they let someone join it's because they know them, they're great craic, or they are also highly competent and will add to the musical level of the session. It helps to have more than one of those points in your favor. Most players are deeply into trad, and sessions are a small part of their overall interaction with the music. There is little to no interesting in inclusion or socializing for the sake of it; what's important is the music and the bond between friends.
Many session-related issues seem to arise when people who are used to one type try joining another. Someone used to a type 1 session will think that players at a type 3 are snobs or jerks for not being more inclusive. A type 3 session might be appalled at the musical level of a type 1 session, and the din of a large type 2. Those used to type 2 will find type 3 sessions cold, but type 1 session unruly.
The issue is compounded by where you find these different sessions. The majority of posters on this forum and others like it live in areas outside of the main hotspots of trad (Ireland, many big British cities, a few US cities like NYC, Chicago, and Boston). There are probably a few type 1 sessions around them, maybe some type 2 as well. When they move or travel to one of those hotspots, they sudden come across a plethora of sessions, mostly types 2 and 3. These may seem unfriendly or downright rude, full of snobs and purists. Going by what they know from their sessions at home, they still try to join in, and are then seen as rude or presumptuous. This is especially true for bodhran, guitar, and bouzouki players, who suddenly find themselves very unwelcome. Hence, the stereotypes of the gawking idiot tourist and the snobby, disinterested local.
Ultimately, the "snobs" and the "idiots" are both right in their own spaces. It'd be just as rude to pop yourself down in a type 3 session and thump a bodhran as it would be to insult a well-meaning but untalented bodhran player at a type 1. Each has its uses, each attract its own crowd, and everyone can have a good time in their own session. The key is caution in any session not your own. I certainly wouldn't play a tune just to annoy the "snobs;" that's being a jerk. I also don't think that some of the gatekeeping that sometimes happens in trad is healthy, either. The "pure drop" is more than healthy enough to survive the hordes of "folkies" and dilettantes. But those more casual trad players are entitled to their fun as well. As with good neighbors and fences, simply keeping a respectful distance is better than flinging insults.