We used to call this "woodshedding", when you really need to learn something difficult and 15 minutes at a time wasn't going to get the job done. Now that most of us are in lock-down; we are making the best of a bad situation. Plus, it's free except for whiskey!! I have a bunch of mini projects that I'd like to tackle. Hornpipe on the button box, learn to sing Rocky Road to Dublin in one breath but mostly I'm focusing a trio that my mate will be tackling on piano accordion. It will be Wise Maid, Morrison's and Sligo Maid. I can play the first two to some degree but I've just had a few days on Sligo. Still lots of work to go.

Anyone else doing similar projects?

My duet partner and I are no longer getting together, but we're doing the equivalent of work-at-home music. We've organized all our tunes on Google Sheets. We keep 10 current pieces to learn, in various stages, and we track our progress. Each of us checks them off as we are ready to move on to new music. This way, the current pieces are always evolving. All of the music is entered into MuseScore, and we can play along with each other's part. A midi is a poor substitute for a live duet, but it's better than playing solo.

The important part of this system is that we are collaborating, not working in isolation. And it's encouraging to see that we're both still making progress. I've got a new-to-me book, 150 Gems of Irish Music for Tin Whistle by Grey Larsen, and we'll attempt some of those pieces in the coming weeks.

Skype lessons and revisiting my small stock of tunes to try to play them more musically

I've kind of been put off playing altogether. It's as if it doesn't really matter how good I am if I can't play with people. But I'm going to try to pull myself together and brush up on some of those difficult things.

I have to prioritise, so I'll be playing fiddle primarily, but flute and whistle once I start adding time in my day to my musical activities.

_________________
"Only connect!"

https://youtu.be/ezbWVysJAOY
https://tapm.bandcamp.com/

I have always made playing music an end in itself, not particularly motivated by playing in public. I do get a buzz playing with others, if things 'click', but again it is not the be all end all. I have been playing out less in recent years and mostly turn down invitations to play at concerts nowadays (unless unavoidable). So in that sense not an awful lot is different now. I do normally tend to go out to listen and usually bring new tunes home or get reminded of tunes I have gone out of playing for a while. Over the past week I have caught up with a backlog on tunes I heard over the past few weeks, learned them and written the new ones down (I tend to learn tunes and then forget I learned them at all so about a year and a half ago I started using a Moleskine mss book to write new acquisitions in, so I can see what I have). Other than that, just playing away and generally coming out of hibernation with the light returning after winter.

Learning new tunes seems, to me, a fluent affair, some tunes will 'stick' quite readily while others never get much playing at all. Hearing a lot of music helps, often I will find the tunes that 'stick' are ones that I have heard for years without realising it, quietly seeping into the subconscious until they get 'woken up', while others, perhaps learned from a book, just sit there until I hear them played. Of the latter for example is one I learned perhaps twenty years ago, a slightly odd reel, contrary, if you like, that I played for a bit but that never really stuck. I never heard anyone play it until two weeks ago I heard Patsy Hanly and a bunch of Carberrys play it on the television. It came back immediately and I have been playing it a lot since. All it needed was waking up.

_________________
My brain hurts

Lots of good advice and it's interesting to hear how everyone deals with this situation so differently. I have the conundrum where I enjoy playing with different people but I'm typically not good enough to jump into a random jam. I'm also one of those weird-Os that loves winter and since we live in the mountains in BC; we do get a proper winter. These are the times that I generally get a ton of shop projects and practicing done and since we are still just barely coming out of winter, not much has changed except the lack of work and no other humans.

I tried to have a Zoom conference session with a couple friends but playing over each other didn't work and the delay, however slight, screwed everything up.

So, It's back to solo play and try to nail down these tunes.

Oh, my new best friend is a metronome app on my phone. If anyone struggles at all with timing then I highly recommend this. Not all the time but now and again to see where you're at. I have a nasty habit of speeding up my part B of many jigs and reels.

I have this a lot--I sit down and try to learn a new tune and sometimes it's like walking though cement, and other times I sit down with a tune and in five minutes I have it. It's true from me with instrument I play well and it's true with the flute, which I don't play well

Lately Ive been hypnotized by Mike Rafferty's version of "the Hard Road To Travel." Damn, he was good

Yes, Mike Rafferty was good. And to think his sainted mother tried to steer him away from the flute for fear it would make him blind.

Bob

_________________
Not everything you can count, counts. And not everything that counts, can be counted

The Expert's Mind has few possibilities.
The Beginner's mind has endless possibilities.
Shunryu Suzuki, Roshi

I haven't regularly sessioned in years, the Pipe Band takes up most of my music time.

I want to start attending a local session that I recently found out about- right in town- and now that the session is suspended I have ample time to work on their repertoire so as to be more prepared whenever the session resumes.

They have a large tune-list on their FaceBook page which will keep me busy for quite some time.

_________________
Richard Cook
c1980 Quinn uilleann pipes
1945 Starck Highland pipes
Goldie Low D whistle

I am in no way remotely good enough to play in any sessions anyway. So learning new tunes and working on them is rewarding enough for me and I play occasionally with my wife who plays accordion (but she is not as much into ITM as I am, even though she learned a couple of tunes). Part of the next paycheck is set aside for the CDs of Conal O'Grada which I will buy together with his flute-learning-book from his homepage. So I try to work on my flute-playing. Trying to learn "The Green Mountain" reel at the moment. But in fact my practice routine hasn't changed as I work from home for 5 years already (my wife even longer).

Love "The Green Mountain." One of my favorites.

It's a nice easy, flowy tune. It is interesting there are loads of versions an if you folow them, you can see the tune slowly morph into the Maid behind the Bar. Or at least take on elements that lead there. I recently picked up yet another version from the Tulla, with quite a different second part.

Last time I was out playing there was a concertinaplayer who played a jig version of it. Took a bit before I copped on (hmm..sounds familiar, what's that again..). He played a jig version of the Star of Munster after it. Both worked surprisingly well and once you realise what is happening, easy to pick up.

_________________
My brain hurts

I wasn't familiar with the Green Mtn reel but now that I've listened to it a bunch I think it's worth adding to the repertoire. Now to choose which version. The session has eleven different versions for sheet music. Is there a favourite or a "standard" that I should look at Sedi, PB&J or Mr G?

I'm learning the one that Conal Ó'Gráda recorded. I don't know which one of the versions on the session comes closest.

Mother's Day in Ireland I think has passed but here in the USA the day is still approaching. Here's a tune for Mother's Day. I love the tune.

X:1
T:Mo Mháthair (My Mother)
T:(Key D major)
C:Waltz
N: CD - Jack and Jimmy Coen: 'Traditional Irish Music on Flute and Guitar'
N:No repeats, played twice thru ABAB (nice and slow)
M:3/4
L:1/8
K:D
AGFDF|afd|efded|^cBA|B^cdd|FABBAFEEFE|
AGFDF|afd|efded|^cBA|B^cdd|BdAFEFDDED|
defefd|DFABdd|^cBA|defedBAAFE|DEEFE|
AGFDF|afd|efded|^cBAB^cdd|BdAFEFDDED|

Or you can scroll thru an old thread for other versions.
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=100270&hilit=my+mother