Looking to start playing with others

[Skinty]

So far I've only ever played alone at home but I'm thinking of going out and playing with other people now. Trouble is that I'm not really sure how to go about it.

When I was a teenager I spent all my spare time playing the electric guitar in my bedroom and improvising. I became confident enough to jam along to music without having to know what key it was in and so it was relatively easy to then go out and meet fellow guitarists to play with. I've since given up the guitar but I never had the chance to improvise in a large group, only with one or two other musicians.

I'm wondering how to get the same confidence on the flute though. It would be great if there was some music that I could download and practise playing along with. Perhaps I could try playing along with recordings on youtube but the sound quality isn't ever that good. Are most sessions in the key of D or do I have to learn some extra fingering? Do most people play established tunes in sessions or do people wholly improvise?

Will I need to be learn to read music so that I can memorise some tunes? I was taught to sight read at school but that was a long time ago and I would have to practise connecting the musical notes I see with the positions on the flute. Does anyone know of any sheet music on the web for the irish flute with which I could practise sight reading? I bought a book several years ago of irish jigs for the flute and whistle but it's currently in storage in Germany along with the rest of my flutes and mandolin. But I bought a lovely keyless flute last weekend with a tuning slide which I am really pleased with.

It was suggested that I approach the Scots Music Group and they seem ideal but I missed the beginning of their term and enrollment is closed. That would have been a great way to meet people.

Any suggestions or links would be most appreciated! Thanks

(Oh yeah, I'm wanting to play folk music in case you hadn't guessed)

[Gromit]

You could try learning tunes by ear which is what a lot of people do (or a mix of by ear and the dots).

I pick up tunes this way from different sources - Cd, you tube, session recordings, Comhaltas site - http://comhaltas.ie/music/detail/comhal ... _ni_luasa/

This ones good for flute - http://irishflute.podbean.com/

You can slow the music down with various software

No improvising in Irish trad but variations are played

Loads of music dots and abc on The Session - https://thesession.org/discussions

[dcopley]

You might want to take a listen to the BBC Virtual Session. Fairly limited collection of tunes but very nice to play along with and it displays the sheet music.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/r2music/folk/sessions/

[Cathy Wilde]

I'd also suggest that you pick a few tunes that are fairly common and learn those. Play them simply, cleanly, and in time so others will recognize them and join in with you. I always feel so sorry for people who come to a session armed with all these obscure tunes that no one else knows, or their rhythm's all out of whack because they're trying to play above their level of learning. They bravely try to play the tunes solo, and then fall apart, and then they go away so discouraged. That's no fun for anyone.

Oh, and don't freak yourself out by trying to learn 500 tunes before you go. Get some jigs and a couple of simple common reels or a polka or two, and get on down there. Be prepared to listen *much* more than you play, and bring a recording device or a notebook and get the names of some of the tunes the group plays that you like. Then work on those for next time. It's a process. In a few years you'll have all kinds of tunes.

Good luck, and have fun!

[Skinty]

Thanks for the links and suggestions.

I think I will have to find out what songs they play in the local pub (Sandy Bell's) then go off and learn them. Otherwise I might learn a load and find that no one else knows them.

I read a couple of monster threads from thesession.org about improvisation that I found via google and it's clarified a lot for me. Earlier, I didn't really mean improvisation like a self indulgent rock guitar solo or a jazz piece. I was thinking more like playing to complement everyone else. But improvising like that can be very difficult so it makes sense that people have learnt particular tunes and are playing variations.

Even tuning my flute was a new experience. I never really bothered all the while I was playing by myself, as long as the instrument was in tune with itself. I need to find the most consistent method for tuning it.

I could also try developing my skill in picking up new tunes by ear. It's not something that I've ever worked on before but it could be quite useful. Even just playing for a long period at a time might need some work. I love my new flute but it does leave me light-headed after a few minutes. I blame my small lung capacity. Good for scuba diving but not much else.

I think it will be easier when I bring my mandolin back in spring because it will be lot easier to learn and play a few chord progressions so I can still do stuff when I am not playing the flute.

[an seanduine]

My go-to resource for tuning a flute can be found here: http://iflute.weebly.com/find-a-flute-or-whistle.html
There are also some mp3's of various drones you can play against to make sure your intonation is good.
Learning by ear is always good.
As a beginner at a session LESS is always better. If you don't know the tune cold. . .best not play it. Listen attentively and then go home and work out your local session's version.

Good Luck.
Bob

[s1m0n]

I could also try developing my skill in picking up new tunes by ear. It's not something that I've ever worked on before but it could be quite useful.

Yes, do this. If you want to play in the trad idiom, no other skill you could develop will prove as useful. This is a core skill for playing IR~ and many other kinds of trad. Any trad with a living tradition, in fact.

[sbfluter]

If you go to your local session, bring a recording device. I have a Zoom recording device and find that it does well even under poor conditions. But you can use an iPhone, too. Record some of their tunes and then learn them by ear at home. This way you learn them the way that they are actually played at your session. Once you know a few, bring your instrument to the session (if it's an open session) and play along when they play those tunes.

This way of learning is far better than sheet music because a) sheet music learners tend to learn how it's written down and then struggle to play the way it's actually played in the group, b) you learn the tune the way it's actually played in the group from the get-go so you don't end up struggling your first time playing with them, and c) the more tunes you learn by ear the easier it gets to pick up a new tune fast.

[ChrisCracknell]

And, depending on which session on what day of the week, Sandy Bell's probably has a _very_ wide repertoire. Get down there without your instrument, listen to them and maybe try chatting to some of them. And there are some other sessions - there is one that used to be linked to the SMG and, I think one that still is - try to track these down (thesession.org) and go visit them to check out the scene.

[benhall.1]

I think I will have to find out what songs they play in the local pub (Sandy Bell's) then go off and learn them. Otherwise I might learn a load and find that no one else knows them.

I very much doubt that the people in Sandy Bells won't know your tunes. Which night are you thinking of going along?