You said this:benhall.1 wrote:Well, since I haven't said that once, I'm not sure where you got it from. What I said, from the start, is that, if one tries to play that tune in with others before you've also given it a bit of a listen, it won't work. In addition, I happen to think that getting a regular, live tune, initially, from the dots, will slow down the process of actually knowing the tune. Where I totally agree (could hardly emphasise more) is that it's just as bad when you get someone wedded to a particular version to the exclusion of even being able to hear differences from place to place and even from night to night in the same place.
Which is essentially total nonsense.when someone has learnt a tune from the dots, and before they've played it with people, keeping an open ear and mind and adjusting as they do so, they can't play it with other people. Full stop. Don't care who they are. Don't care how good they think they are. You know the tune when you know it. And, for session purposes, that means having played it in sessions.
A few weeks ago I was leafing through the Seámus Ennis book and was drawn into 'The Woods of Kilkenny', a tune I didn't know and can't to this moment not recall having heard at all, ever. I played it twice through and had it (it is admittedly not a very difficult tune).
Want me to record it so you can check whether or not I 'have it' . I have no doubt in my mind whatsoever I can sit down with anyone 'in session' and play it without a problem (I haven't played out since I learned the tune).