Are there tunes you will not play anymore?

[Cathy Wilde]

I hear you. Aaaand .... I still remember an entire theaterfull of Irish musicians being knocked over when Paddy Keenan opened his solo set with the Kesh (ala Bothy Band) at Swannanoa some years back. There was an audible gasp as we all "got" how great that tune can be. I still can't tell you how or why, but Paddy pulled something out of it that was entirely different.

Must remember that ... I certainly won't ever forget the moment!

[magroibin]

Paddy Keenan opened his solo set with the Kesh (ala Bothy Band) at Swannanoa some years back. There was an audible gasp as we all "got" how great that tune can be.

Yes Cathy! This supports my earlier point. If you don't try to do something different/fun/varied/etc... then you will just be repeating the same old tune. But by putting a bit of creativity into it each time you can fend off the boredom and find new joy in an old tune.

(But if the inspiration doesn't strike it's always a good excuse to get that pint topped up!)

[tommykleen]

I hear you. Aaaand .... I still remember an entire theaterfull of Irish musicians being knocked over when Paddy Keenan opened his solo set with the Kesh (ala Bothy Band)...!

Mind you, Paddy, playing that tune, is like the opening chord of Hard Day's Night. We all remember where we were when we first heard The Bothy Band start out that album with The Kesh

Oh wait, maybe I should glower. Here you go: .

[bensdad]

Reg Hall had a lovely turn of phrase (which all you recovering Catholics will understand) about listening to the player "visit the stations of the tune."
So it's the Bucks, what will she do with the triplets in the third part?
It's the Gold Ring, how does he do with the cranns in the fifth part
etc.

[m muir]

I try to keep all the tunes in my repertoire going because I find that if I let any go by the wayside I find it almost impossible to remember how to play them through again without any mistakes after a few weeks. Almost as if I'm learning them from scratch. Is that just me? Maybe it's an age thing!

[An Draighean]

I try to keep all the tunes in my repertoire going because I find that if I let any go by the wayside I find it almost impossible to remember how to play them through again without any mistakes after a few weeks. Almost as if I'm learning them from scratch. Is that just me? Maybe it's an age thing!

No, it's not just you. I also attribute it to age.

[benhall.1]

I try to keep all the tunes in my repertoire going because I find that if I let any go by the wayside I find it almost impossible to remember how to play them through again without any mistakes after a few weeks. Almost as if I'm learning them from scratch. Is that just me? Maybe it's an age thing!

I would say it's more of a "how long have you been playing?" thing than an age thing. It seems like once you've been playing for 20 years or so (at a guess), most of the tunes kind of just stick. Otherwise I'd have no hope.

[misterpatrick]

Speaking of the Kesh and of session playing. Here's a great little clip talking about developing variations for the Kesh. And overall great video if you haven't seen it. Starts at about 17:30. https://vimeo.com/131638804

[bogman]

There are tunes I would never start but there are no tunes I know that I would sit out. That's a pretty arrogant thing to do in my opinion.

[tommykleen]

There are tunes I would never start but there are no tunes I know that I would sit out. That's a pretty arrogant thing to do in my opinion.

Ok....what if someone starts a tune that you enjoy playing but they play it way too fast!. Like, they are just murdering it with speed. Are you going to blister through that tune with them, chucking your hard-earned piping technique to the curb for the sake of keeping up? I'd prefer to just sit out and let them tear it off. Sometimes you just have to sit out. I try to maintain a benign continence until its over.

[bogman]

To be fair Tommy, the question was "Are there tunes you will not play anymore?". There are tunes I'd skip if the playing's too poor to play along with, but that not fault of the tune.

[tommykleen]

Aye. I digress...

For me it is an almost physical, visceral feeling when these tunes come around and around and around. Beyond thought or attitude.

There are times when I try to make a go of it mind you. Like when everyone is blasting a way at Cooley's I might take the opportunity to see if I can Andy Conroy the tune, for my own, tight, education. It's unobtrusive and keeps me in good social standing as a team player and a good sport.

[bogman]

Aye, the dementor style soul draining can be testing at times!

[NicoMoreno]

I'm not sure I've ever been in a situation (*at a session) where a tune I really don't like has been played really well... it seems like they usually go hand in hand with being played less well. After which I can say "Oh I didn't recognize that" or "Oh, it was too fast for me" or, actually what's most common is that the session is also really big and people don't notice if I sit out. Or I'll just play it anyway, and try to add something.

Bottom line for me is that if I'm not adding to the music, I would rather sit out.

[Cathy Wilde]

I try to maintain a benign continence until its over.

Beats benign incontinence, I guess.

I'm trying to learn to let go, especially when I'm not adding to the general quality. It's hard! Especially when I sit there and am reminded that often, the music does just fine without me ... many times I'm surprised to see even not-so-great music find its way to something kind of lovely, or at least unique. Other times, it doesn't ... but there we are, I'm just a passenger.

And not having everyone playing all at once all the time is so much nicer for the listener. Otherwise it's like two hours of shouting.

Sometimes, if the tunes have been rushy and shouty for two or three sets and I've used the downtime to re-hemp every joint, I'll toss out a hornpipe that nobody knows to break things up a bit and make people return to their heads – and with luck, some semblance of rhythm. I'm continually amazed by the awesome restorative power of a hornpipe.

That's when it's great to be a piper. You can do stuff like that and get away with it because by God, you're a piper.