Session in a Changing Ireland: Volume for its Own Sake

[Cayden]

Interesting, I was told she did (have a fiddle) but that she insisted on taking the Stroh when playing out as she thought the volume would be better.

[Cathy Wilde]

I don't think the notion that the quest for volume is new and modern is actually right. Volume was the reason whistle players got flutes, the concertina came in and soon after that the accordeon was adopted, there's nothing new there. Why did Julia Clifford take a Stroh fiddle to sessions and did Ceilibands took to safety in numbers?

Amen. And why was the Pratten flute invented ... ???? Surprise! To be LOUDER! i.e., to cut through an orchestra or other loud musical gatherings.

As for pubs of the day, they didn't even have Setanta football on the TV, let alone jukeboxes.

I think "turn it to 11" is one of those basic human instincts. However, lately I've been experimenting with trying to play more softly. I THINK it's working somewhat ... when certain runaways can't hear me they have to play more softly -- and thus listen harder -- themselves. Overall it seems to create a quieter more interactive experience, at least among the musicians.

Doesn't help much in a crowd, though ... so then it's time to find a quieter pub or someone's living room.

To Rob's point, I think the microphone can indeed be your friend.

It's the bad monitor mix that leads you to trouble.

[Cathy Wilde]

You can't expect pub goers to be quiet and appreciative just because you're there playing I am afraid.

Yep. Especially when you're not being hired to do it. You're just having a "musical conversation," the same way the quartet of folks in the corner might be talking about football. Everyone has to share.

We're blessed at one local to have a little side room they call the "Shebeen" and if no one's in there -- or if someone is in there but doesn't mind -- that's where we encamp. It's wonderful; even has a fireplace and they'll turn off the house music for us. Often folks will wander in to listen and enjoy themselves quite a bit, but the beauty is, they have a choice. They don't have to shout to talk over us, we don't have to "shout" to play over them.

I wish it was always so easy; I've been in many situations where it isn't. So needless to say we try to nurture this one -- we make sure we're as good customers as the non-musicians. We eat, we drink, we tip, and we're grateful they give us a nice place to play so we don't have to clean our houses to have each other over.

[flutefry]

Intended private message deleted.

Hugh

[jim stone]

Cathy, please check your private messages, thanks, Jim

[mahanpots]

I wonder, Cocusflute, what everybody there at the pub that night thought of the music. Did it add a great deal to their evening? If they were into the music, then perhaps it's up to you to shift your perception and tap into their energy somehow. If they weren't into the music, well that would have been a shame, especially with two "all-Irelanders" there.

Maybe Ireland needs more pubs to spread the patrons out a little more. And if you think about it, perhaps they can be designed in a way that would be more acoustically successful in dealing with large crowds of loudly talking people.

Myself, I can't stand to try to carry on a conversation where you have to be inches from the other person's face in order for them to hear you. I avoid those places as a patron, and when I happen to be playing music in such a place, even with amplification, it's often very difficult.

Michael

[pancelticpiper]

I guess I'm lucky, because our local sessions are in rather quiet pubs.
Sunday they actually had a football game on a TV behind the bar, but the volume wasn't very loud on the TV. People who wanted to watch the game sat at the bar near the TV, people who wanted to listen to the session could sit over by where we were. Our respective volumes didn't interefere. (By the way we had fiddle, guitar, flute, pipes, concertina, and bodhran.)

[Rob Sharer]

Our Sunday session takes place in a pub which, while a lovely place, gets very "sporty" on certain afternoons. We survey the situation when we arrive, then choose one of three places in the pub to secure the greatest acoustical advantage/proximity to the Guinness/view of passing birds. Haven't had to threaten the jocks with watts yet, since we try to be flexible in our expectations and response to the enviroment. Usually works out fine. Cheers,

Rob

[I.D.10-t]

Too bad it would be difficult to convince libraries to host late night sessions as a part of a traditions program or something. Serve some cookies and coffee, good lighting, clean floors, etc.

[Blackwood]

realitically most people are not going to pubs to listen to music (sad as that might be) they are going there to have a good time..pubs with music is more for atmosphere to them than anything else. I have noticed a general trend though in that there used to be lots of people who used to to venues to listen to music...but their numbers seem to be dwindling..i see it at all kinds of venues....background music...why? simple, availability, we are part of the new content generation, content is easily accessible anywhere anytime...no longer do people need to travel to seek out the content they seek, all is available at a push of a button...the times they are a changing...

[colomon]

Too bad it would be difficult to convince libraries to host late night sessions as a part of a traditions program or something. Serve some cookies and coffee, good lighting, clean floors, etc.

You might be surprised if you actually tried to contact the library. A lot of libraries would be open to something like that, if it brought well-behaved people into the library and didn't disturb the normal patrons. (Two of the libraries my wife has worked at allowed role-playing games, for instance.)

[sbfluter]

Our session is in a coffee house. The coffee house happens to serve (locally brewed) beer and (2-buck Chuck) wine. If people don't want to hear the music they can sit in the back. If people want to have secret bluegrass jams they can sit way in the back outside.

[Flutered]

background music...why? simple, availability, we are part of the new content generation, content is easily accessible anywhere anytime...

Therein lies the nub of Cosus's complaint - he was paid to play in a pub where obviously the patrons didn't give a fig for his music - it was just background ambience. The manager of the establishment should just put on a few CD's if that's the atmosphere they want.... but I don't see what Cocus has to complain about - paid to play so just keep quiet and play or don't turn up next time.

Everybody should know by now that's the way modern Ireland has gone - more, quicker, louder and faster. ITM is very much a minority musical genre here, albeit reasonably healthy. My children play a bit of trad. but when they buy CD's or switch on the radio/TV - it's a non stop diet of the music of the day.

But you can live with that - where I play most weeks, recently there was a big dance for the local college going on in an adjacent room. The music was booming in and out as the doors opened from time to time but then a few times, various lads and lassies, came out for a break and danced for a few tunes that we were playing between ourselves. They were half pissed of course, but happy to dance either way!

[Ro3b]

Just MHO, but a milk-and-cookie session at my local library sounds like something I'd want to be far away from. Sessions that lack a certain amount of chaos and uncertainty get boring for me pretty quickly; if that means running the risk of noisy crowds, creepy drunks, and crazy interlopers with alphorns, I'm ok with that.

[Denny]

peanut butter, chocolate chip
and goat's milk?