Here’s a thread for us all to name those tunes that sessions hate to play.
You know? The ones that we all love, but make the old-hands cringe and moan about playing.
And yet, these are the great tunes which should be regarded as life and bones of ITM (specially when played on a whistle) - regardless of the moods of old jaded players notions, whims and prejudices
I’ll start with :
The Kesh
Morrison’s jig
The silver Spear,
The lilting Banshee,
The Kerry Polka,
Si Bheag Si Mohr,
The Butterfly …
The dingle regatta.
Off to California.
Clare jig.
The Galopede.
Mountains of Pomeroy.
The Ashplant.
Sligo maid.
There is one tune that I am getting sick of hearing and that is ‘Drowsy Maggie’. It is not a bad tune as such but I am sick of f*%$le players treating it as the sprint finish in a set and ruining any kind of lilt to the tune by inflicting too much speed.
I’m going to go out on a limb and put my favorite ballads/songs (in no paticular order) on the list:
The Foggy Dew
She Moved Through the Fair
Mo Ghile Mear
Spancil Hill (pick your favorite version)
Boolavogue
Buachaill on Eirne
Rising of the Moon/Wearing of the Green
Lily of the West/Lakes of Pontchartrain
Casadh an tSugain
The Immigrant
Roisin the Beau
Whiskey in the Jar
My Lagan Love
Eirigh Suas a Storin
Citi’ na gCumman
I like all the above, some because they are beautiful, some for the story they tell and some because they are fun to sing real loud.
I’m no expert on music history, so some of my selections might not be strictly Irish or songs or ballads. Comments welcome. However, I, for one, think we (this forum and the sessions and workshops I’ve attended in the USA) focus a bit too much on dance music and sometimes overlook all the wonderful “other” music of Ireland.
These are the meat and potatoes of the session, the lingua franca. There’s nothing wrong with moving on to other less familiar tunes, for you certainly don’t wan’t to be stuck playing the same-old-same-old each and every time, turning the session experience into a predictable grind. But there’s no good reason to complain about it either if someone trots out the standards. That’s just bad manners, and it marginalises less seasoned players. They have a tough enough time of it as it is without the attitude.
Not that I’m a player’s player, but the way I look at it, if I can’t breathe new life into the old standards, then maybe it’s better I go back to the drawing board.
Yeah, it’s funny … I know it’s supposed to be conventional wisdom that experienced players turn up their noses at the old warhorse tunes. But honestly, I’ve very seldom found this to be true.
I think the problem is not the tunes themselves, but limited repertoire. In our main session, I’d guess there are 1000+ tunes in circulation among us, and a few hundred that get played more often. Everyone has favorites they bring to the table. It’s only if a tune gets overplayed week after week that there may be some grumbling. But that’s true of anything. Otherwise, a warhorse is just a tune like any other.
The irony is that if you DON’T know these tunes the session regulars will say, “What, don’t you know that? How can someone pretend to play Irish Trad and NOT know THAT tune?!”
Yeah, same here. What I have come across is an unshakeable expectation on the part of the more beginner-level players that the basic tunes will be ill-received. And that’s because they go to advanced sessions and hear everything but. I tell 'em to play what they know, and to hell with the begrudgers. Those will be few if any, and may be regarded to likely have personal problems.
Dunno how it goes with other locales.
That reminds me: I gotta trot out some new sets, myself. I fear the war-drums of dissent may sound soon.
Which leads nicely on to “what is the most inappropriate tune you’ve heard or been asked to play on a whistle?”
(Not that the theme to the Brady Bunch is anappropriate in any way.)
It’s been said that the ukelele is a good “bullshit detector”. If you can play a tune on a uke and make it sound good, then it’s a good tune. Does the same apply to the whistle?
There’s a Boys of the Lough live recording in which Cathal introduces either the Connachtman’s Rambles or the Geese in the Bog* by explaining that they’re tunes that ‘are very well known’ in the tradition but which aren’t played much.
*No one else seems to make this association, but I cannot hear the name of this tune without thinking of bog (a UK euphemism for toilet) in a pub, from which disconcerting waterfowl-like ‘honks’ have emerged the other customers’ dismay.
I also can’t hear the word “Atholl” without thinking I’m being insulted by a man with alisp, for similar reasons.
I like playing this song in a scattered crowd of people that’s not really paying attention to me because all of a sudden a good percentage of the baby boomers in the crowd will jerk their heads around.
I’ve been learning that one and it is a nice tune for the whistle. The music I have shows the tune in A minor with no F nats in the score at all, so you could play it as written without half-holing. I play it in B minor on the whistle. What note do you half-hole?
At the session I go to there are a couple of people who pride themselves in playing tunes no-one else knows: what’s the point of that? They sit there with their eyes closed sawing away and we’re supposed to be impressed. The point of a session is that other people can join in and for that you need the old staple tunes.
If people want to play a tune no-one else knows then instead of charging through at full gallop, why not slow it down and teach it? I suppose it would take a lot of confidence to do that, but I for one would really appreciate it. The the group could slowly widen its repertoire of tunes everyone knows.
Yes and no. Too much of that can surely ruin a session. But it’s also your opportunity to acquire those new tunes. Bring a recorder and get them down, and be sure to get the tune names from the players if they have them. Then go home and do your homework. The next time, you can close your eyes and join the conspiracy.
Also keep in mind that tunes no one else knows at your session may be common session tunes elsewhere. Find out where those players are sourcing their tunes from, and go to the source if you can. That’s a great way to grow your repertoire.
There are many points to a session, and listening can be just as important as playing. I’ve got a good sized tune hoard, but if I spend, say, 1/3 of session time just listening, that’s often time well-spent.
Well, the flippant answer is that sessions aren’t lessons. With experienced players, sometimes 2 or 3 reps of a tune at normal speed are all they need to start playing along. This is also a good skill to acquire. But it’s always OK to ask for a slow run-through of a tune you particularly like after a set is finished. That’s just good session courtesy.
Finally, if the tune-solo guys are a constant problem, by all means talk to them. Maybe they’re not aware of what they’re doing, or maybe they need to be told that excessive showing off is out of place. Maybe they’re frustrated that no one else is learning their tunes. Good communication is usually helpful in these cases.
