Right again, Rob. As a music teacher myself, I’m in the business of encouraging beginners, hopefully pointing them in the right direction regarding how to approach sessions in the process. After all, every one of us starts from square one; I suppose the eternal question is, how to best integrate the beginners and the more experienced in a session environment? Is it possible to keep everyone happy at once?
Less-advanced players frequently complain about surliness or grumpiness among the more experienced players at the session, usually without taking the time to examine their own behavior to see if there’s anything they might have done to engender such a reaction, and could perhaps improve upon in future to gain more acceptance. Advanced players frequently start out on the defensive, having already parried one too many misguided thrusts into the circle. Patience worn thin, they shoot first, and let God sort 'em out later. Anytime people’s egos and self-image are in play, there will be these sorts of conflicts. Whatever are we to do?
It’s a good general topic for discussion, but not exactly the topic of this particular thread. I would say that accompanists are a special case, and the whens, wheres, and hows of the use of accompaniment in trad will be debated forever. The particular case of the too-intrepid inexperienced backer, if I may be so bold, was what Ro3b was addressing in his initial rant - the question lies right at the crossroads of sessions etiquette and accompanists’ special duties.
Special duties? As I said in an earlier post, the accompanist has great power over what happens in the session. A good accompanist can lift a session in such a mighty way. Hardly anything to me is more thrilling than hearing a guitar, bouzouki, or bodhran kick in at the right moment and send the whole thing into overdrive. By the same token, nothing is more of a drag than a stumbling, fumbling chancer, missing the beat and the point while brows all around him are furrowing. It’s horribly distracting to have someone waffling away on a guitar, questing for the key or worse, playing with great self-assurance in the wrong one, or playing just behind or ahead of the other musicians’ feet. The rhythm is such an important component of the playing of this dance music of ours; an instrument that is predominantly of a rhythmic character really does have above-average power to make or break the session, and with great power comes great responsibility.
America is the land of the guitar. 100 years ago, everyone would gather around the piano; today, it’s the guitar. The best ones are made here (debatable, I know, but I’m willing…), and there’s one in practically every closet. Net result? A nearly endless supply of folks with a guitar and a few chords, some of whom are going to turn up at Irish sessions and give it a go. Hell, I’m one of them, though I started learning tunes on the mandolin before it ever occurred to me to bring the guitar to the session. And yes, in the interest of full disclosure, I most certainly wrecked a few sessions in the early days. What I really wish is that someone had laid it all out for me, like Ro3b did in his initial post. So often, in the complex interaction of people’s egos and ideas at a session, what’s lacking is a bit of clarity, a clear statement of what’s expected rather than a cold shoulder or harsh words. Ro3b is doing folks a favor, in my opinion, laying it out straight like he did.
It’s so much easier now, with the internet, to find information about sessions, etiquette, tunes, and everything else related to what we’re up to. Taking all of that into consideration, it’s getting harder and harder to justify the sort of willful ignorance that leads to boorish behavior at the session.
Rob
