Note: this
helpful narrative is aimed at those who already have a good store of
tunes and feel ready to join in a session. Beginners or those who can
play well but lack enough tunes to play in a session can check out
the “resources for learners” section of our website http://www.spiddalsessions.org.
Comments
are welcome!
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| The best place to learn about playing in sessions is in the Seisiún Foghlaimeora! |
Always
ask first – it's just polite! Even if
the atmosphere is very friendly and welcoming, it is polite to ask
before joining a session. It gives the musicians a chance to say
hello and give you any information you might need, such as whether
tonight they are exclusively playing 16th
Century dance tunes or whether they are partial to playing in
E♭ .
Follow
the leader – even in the most chaotic
of sessions the discerning observer will notice there are one or two
musicians directing the music and these are the ones to watch for
cues for when the tune is changing or ending. Often they will ask
someone to start a tune and then that person is leading the set and
should be watched for subtle eye movements or the sudden shouting out
of keys or names of tunes.
Listen
carefully – you might think you know
a tune, but it might be a different tune or a different version than
the one you learned. Also there are many regional variations to the
way tunes are played; tunes can be played “single” or “double”
(each part played once or twice) and some tunes have different parts
or are played in different keys. Tunes will be played at different
tempos and with different emphasis, sometimes twice, sometimes three
times or even more if the tune is going well! Listening is always
important, but never more so than when you are first becoming
aquainted with a particular session and the local style of playing.
If
you don't know the tune, don't play it
– at least at first. All sessions are different in the level of
tolerance to people tootling and scraping along with tunes they half
know or don't know at all. Obviously a learner session is the ideal
place for this, as long as you are not knowing the same tune everyone
else is learning. It's true that the session is the best place to
pick up new tunes, but you need to be fairly confident of your abilty
to pick up the tune fast! Keep an eye on the other musicians for cues
about this, as well as all other matters, but don't assume that if
there's one person sitting in the corner who doesn't appear to know
the tunes but is merrily playing along anyway, that means it's OK for
you to do the same.
Spiddal
Sessions hosts a learner session all year 'round at 8pm Fridays in
the cafe through An Nead, Main Street, Spiddal. The session is open
to all levels and is an informal weekly gathering of learners,
facilitated by professional musicians. The “Seisiún Foghlaimeora An Spidéil” is an open group and the tunes and pace of learning
are dictated by the learners themselves and this is an excellent
place to get used to playing with others.
