How many session players on board?

[Azalin]

About attending sessions, I think you will end up feeling left out and not accepted if you have a bad attitude about the session, as simple as that. I'm sure many sessions which are said to be snobish and closed would be a lot warmer to new musicians if they had the right approach.

But I'm sure there are sessions where musicians won't let anyone in, no matter what you do, and I think that's being snob and unfriendly.

[jking]

no Az i dont think i have. I will have to make it over to Vancouver sometime as i hear they have some great sessions there sometimes.

[Cathy Wilde]

Let's not forget that different sessions have different personalities, too. It's really, really interesting to go to a big workshop or camp or some such and see how people group and ungroup and regroup differently based on not only playing levels and expectations (i.e., are you there to learn new tunes, play familiar ones, hang out with the big dogs, help the beginners, or what?), but session styles as well.

Anyway, it's good to be sensitive to that.

[Baglady]

I can and have played four sessions a week.

I have sessioned with Dathi Sproule, Terry Tully, Frankie Gavin, Paddy Keenan, Larry Nugent, Isaac Aldersen, Tom Dahill, and many others of verying degrees of fame and talent. I have played in huge 30+ sessions and small intimate house sessions. I have played for dance sessions and high speed reel-a thons.

WOW! as I am writing this I am realizing just how much of a Session Hound I am.

I started out as that newbie on the guitar who the self proclaimed session leader (Hitler) would sit directly in front of to make sure I undertood that I was on the outside of the circle. And have progress to a point where one of the top guitarists in the area will put down his frets and pick up his flute and he and his fiddler partner and I will spin out a rack of reels and all they have to do is call the tune change and we go along smooth as glass and in the groove.

I have people asking me to play my pipes. Highland pipers are usualy just barely tolerated. I have been told "You don't need an instrument" after I have sung a Sean Nos. I have been applauded by the dancer as I have left a dance hall after playing in a pick-up ceili band.

With talent, persistence, hard work, and sensitivity sessioning can become exciting and rewarding. But you have to be willing to take each session as it's own entity. Learn from each and look forward to the next with curiosity for what it may bring.

Remember that sessioning is it's own genre. A Sessioner will develop a very separate group of skills. The most important of which is the ability to enjoy yourself.

[TomB]

I have never been to a session. I don't know if any sessions exist anywhere near me. If I did find one I certainly would not attempt to play. My only contact with people playing live music is at the 2 or 3 festivals I get to attend each year. That makes it a bit hard to learn the music the way its played. I mentioned on another thread that I only get to hear music on CDs or MP3 downloads. Many times I don't know if the individuals are playing in a traditional style or if the they are trying but failing miserably. This leaves me learning alone with my Bill Ochs book and a few CDs and MP3s. I envy some of you that have such regular contact with others.

Ron

Ron: Forgive me for jumping in here and for taking this a bit off topic, but there are a great many sessions in your area- at least there were a couple of years ago, and I'm fairly certain that most are still going. Here is a link to a listing- I really don't know if it's up to date, but it wouldn't be difficult for you to verify some of them. Best of luck.

http://members.aol.com/pfod/irishdance/sessions.htm

http://members.aol.com/pfod/irishdance/

All the Best, Tom

[Azalin]

I have sessioned with Dathi Sproule, Terry Tully, Frankie Gavin, Paddy Keenan, Larry Nugent, Isaac Aldersen, Tom Dahill, and many others of verying degrees of fame and talent. I have played in huge 30+ sessions and small intimate house sessions. I have played for dance sessions and high speed reel-a thons.

Wow, nice online CV, be sure to give the link to your next employer

[colomon]

A word to clarify things for those who are not session hounds: the thing about this sort of music is that if you're brave enough to do it, it is easy to sit in session with many of the top names. It isn't a reflection of your talent at all, just your ability to get around and meet people and not horribly offend them.

I know I've sat in loads of sessions with very famous people (and lots that should be more famous than they are), but it was only a very few times that I managed to contribute anything musically interesting to the event.

(And it cracks me up to see Isaac on that list... well-deserved, sure, but when I think of him, it's hard for my mind's eye not to see the 16-year-old Isaac jamming with a 14-year-old Tyler Duncan in a back room at the Midwest Fleadh a few years back...)

[Bloomfield]

I went to sessions every week for over a year before I ever thought of playing in one. I go for the music and often the music is better if I don't join in.

[E = Fb]

Hey Az,

In English we say "It's shobbish", not "It's snob". You have revealed your French roots.

Il est un peu snob = he's a bit snobbish



tom.

[stiofan]

I occasionally go to a couple of slow sessions here in San Francisco that are associated with the local CCE group, though it's been awhile, and I'm hoping to make it to the next one. The slow sessions I go to are ideal for less-experienced players to learn some tunes and sort of learn the ropes before going on to a bonafide "fast" session, and there are usually a few more-experienced players to learn from--both tunes and the customs of session playing. It's an inviting atmosphere, a supportive group, and almost always a rewarding experience. Being somewheres between an advanced beginner and an intermediate-level player, I'm just not quite up to par with most of the sessions here in SF and vicinity that are suited for more experienced players, though I occasionally go to these sessions to listen, learn a bit and marvel at the talent that this town draws, especially a particular Sunday night session that attracts some really talented locals, as well as top-notch Irish players here on holiday, and those giving the ex-pat life here in the States a go of it. It really feels authentic, or at least as much as you can find on this side of the Atlantic. Another local pub also has a Sunday session that appears to be not quite as demanding, but of a good, sound quality as well. Every now and then I'll get together with a friend or two and we'll play together at my house, which I really like as well--low key, no "audience," and we can do what we feel like--playing tunes as we would at a session, or to work on specific parts of a tune--somewhere between a session and practicing together. We had a whistle gathering at my place last January of mostly C&Fers that I really enjoyed, and it reminds me that much of this music began in kitchens, living rooms, woodsheds, wherever folks could meet up and play together. I also share Tony's sentiments about playing solo, and in fact most of my playing is usually at home by myself, but I also appreciate the chemistry of playing with others as well. Anyway, since I divide my time for music between whistle-playing ala ITM, and my "other" music life with the cello, I'm not quite as active in sessions as I'd like to be, but there are only so many hours in the day, and I haven't developed the coordination to play power reels with one hand and Bach with other quite yet. Overall, I feel fortunate to live in a town where a rank beginner can find a place to bang out a few tunes and learn the wily ways of session playing, and yet a few blocks away some of the most talented players around can be found ripping through a set of tunes, full throttle, as well as gigs by world-class bands on their left coast tours. Life is good, so it seems.

[Guest]

Used play go to them but over the years - a long time since it all began! - I quit.

[Baglady]

I have sessioned with Dathi Sproule, Terry Tully, Frankie Gavin, Paddy Keenan, Larry Nugent, Isaac Aldersen, Tom Dahill, and many others of verying degrees of fame and talent. I have played in huge 30+ sessions and small intimate house sessions. I have played for dance sessions and high speed reel-a thons.

Wow, nice online CV, be sure to give the link to your next employer

Oh, don't I wish I could get payed for sessioning.
I'm lucky to get the occasional free drink or a fattening fried appitizer. On a really good night a small tip goes toward the tab (If Tom doesn't pocket it).
But all I have really gained from sessions is 20 extra pounds on my behind.
And a large group of friends.
And a whole bunch of fun things to do and places to go.
And a relativly cheap form of self expression and artistic fullfillment. And....Uh...other stuff.

[Baglady]

A word to clarify things for those who are not session hounds: the thing about this sort of music is that if you're brave enough to do it, it is easy to sit in session with many of the top names. It isn't a reflection of your talent at all, just your ability to get around and meet people and not horribly offend them.

I know I've sat in loads of sessions with very famous people (and lots that should be more famous than they are), but it was only a very few times that I managed to contribute anything musically interesting to the event.

(And it cracks me up to see Isaac on that list... well-deserved, sure, but when I think of him, it's hard for my mind's eye not to see the 16-year-old Isaac jamming with a 14-year-old Tyler Duncan in a back room at the Midwest Fleadh a few years back...)

Exactly what I wanted to convey.
These guys are up for a good tune and a good pint as much as anyone.
As long as you behave yourself you can sit at the feet of the Masters and learn cool stuff.

And it helps to know who the masters are i.e.:
Once at a small session the founder of sessioning in MN, Marty McHugh, was making a now unusual appearance and we are all enjoying a fine session being lead by a fine box player...When in comes a clueless whistle wannabe who has been terrorizing sessions of late. The whistler starts trying to lead off some lame tunes he learned in the slow session, and on any other night he might have been tolerated but this time we here all focused on Marty and most of us didn't notice this guy until he slammed his whistle into it's case and stomped out the door.

Do your homework and be a good team player and you will have some very cool stuff happen.

[Baglady]

fortunate to live in a town where a rank beginner can find a place to bang out a few tunes and learn the wily ways of session playing, and yet a few blocks away some of the most talented players around can be found ripping through a set of tunes, full throttle, as well as gigs by world-class bands on their left coast tours. LIfe is good, so it seems.

Ditto!

St. Paul's strong and growing Irish community has been and is still a secret to most of the world it seems. And maybe I am breaking some kind of unwriten rule by talking about it here. But it is welcoming to anyone who is willing to put in the effort.

[burnsbyrne]

I have attended two sessions as a spectator. I must say that I have no idea how anybody can play when they can't hear themselves.
Mike