The Session >> Discussions >> Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
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Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Discuss at will......................because to me a sess. is not a sess. with out a laugh and a joke....................some people take it to serious or is it not serious enough for you?
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
I think it's great fun to type sentences with long....................dramatic...........................................................pauses.
To answer your question, I seek out that session experience that has some light-hearted moments mixed in with the serious pursuit of some killer tunes. Perhaps that makes me a stick in the mud, but I save up all week to escape and play music. I can tell jokes and stories anytime.
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Ours are never too serious. Always a joke, story, crazy song...My sole purpose in going to sessions is to goof around. That being said, it isn't much fun if the tunes aren't played seriously. The better the music, the greated the fun.
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Saint, I think you're lucky living in Ireland with crowded pubs where the tunes just emerge out of rumble of conversation, and everyone at some time gets to start their own tune amongst the supportive " good man yerself " and 'lovely" and "fair play to you a' etc etc. Sometimes only a few join in, sometimes the lot, and some little conversations keep going through the set. I love that and oh how I miss it.
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
The session I used to attend regularly, not so much these days as it's now 40 miles away, never got too serious. Usually a very high caliber of musicians. But no one takes themselves too seriously. The last time I went, several regulars played the tune of a Grateful Dead song before we got rolling. It sounded quite good actually and the comic value was priceless. I think it's possible to have good trad music without taking yourself too seriously.
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
I'm not really up on on the Grateful Dead, but I want to say Uncle John's Band. I recognized the melody, but trying to remember now I can't be positive. The piper that's one of the session anchors is (more so used to be before discovering ITM) a big Deadhead.
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
A session is a social event.
It always amazes me when people moan about the noise in a pub, or the fact people aren't paying attention to the music - as if everyone has to stop to listen to their performance.
I agree with Saint - a good session has good tunes, good ale and some good banter, otherwise stay at home or find a pub with no punters.
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
The bigger and more serious the tunes.................... the more fun they are to play..............................Anyway, as I've said before, the fun is in fecking about with the tunes
Of course a session is primarily supposed to be "fun"!
The whole causal “come ye all” set up indicates that it should be taken light heartedly. They are not exclusive clubs.
Any musician that attends sessions does it as a bit of light relief compared with doing all their formal gigs, recordings, rehearsals et cetera.
That doesn’t mean to say that some seriously good music does not occur. And it is a fab free seminar on all matters, often including ITM!
The nearest atmosphere to a session I can think of is a good after-show-party. Everyone relaxed, having a drink and a smoke, a chat, a laugh, a few tunes, no horrid Fender/ Peavey equipment, choice to play or not, maybe no fans/ audience. A good place to meet fellow musicians, often from musical areas (rock, jazz, “classical” or wotteffah) one wouldn’t often run into brought together by a common interest in ITM and knocking out (and picking up) a tune or two
Perhaps the crux of this is whether the performer (sorry!) uses the session as their only musical outlet in which case they are likely to be a little more nervous, defensive and serious about the purpose of them (and therefore invest in the purity/ conservation of the so-called Traditional “Irish” Form). I do find players who only attend ITM sessions are a little more spiky and precious about having fun at a session. They seem to see them more like a puritan’s revivalist meeting, complete with silent contemplation (like at the end of a set where no comments or suggestions are proffered) and unquestioning blind faith in the dogma (see endless rants on this forum!), whereas musicians with a broader base can afford to be more blasé and relaxed, and, indeed, have more FUN!
P.S. Talking of purism, an ellipse (...) should only ever be three full stops anything else is illiteracy.
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
"musicians with a broader base can afford to be more blasé and relaxed, and, indeed, have more FUN!"
I think that's a bit kind of condescending. And you do more than mere imply that sessions are inferior to forms of musical performance: "a bit of light relief compared with doing all their formal gigs".
(PS, an ellipse should never ever be three full stops, the kerning is all wrong. Try "alt colon" … on a mac anyway, don't know about a PC)
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
yes a session should be fun. The sort of session I really don't like is one where the regulars take themselves much too seriously and don't welcome outsiders joining in.
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
The whole point of a session is to have fun. Don't listen to anyone who prattles on about "taking the music seriously so as to preserve the tradition." You don't do that at sessions and anyway the music can look after itself. If you're not having a good time, or if someone's trying to steer the thing in an overly-serious direction or keeps on preaching about "doing it right, "you're better off going home, switching on Casualty and drinking Doom Bar straight from the bottle.
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Llig Leahcim,
I’m sorry if that came across as condescending.
Indeed, I have learnt lots from many people attending sessions during these last couple of years or so, especially in regard of a practical understanding modal matters.
It is because sessions are less formally organized that one can have more casual enjoyment, maybe because you’re not in a “performance” as you so often say.
But unless you are used to doing other music and gigs, you won’t fully appreciate how pleasantly unique sessions are.
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
The advantage of following a tradition is that you stand on the shoulders of giants. For years, musicians have worked to perfect a mix of music, fellowship, etc, that allows people to play for the joy of it. That mix is called a session, and I find their recipie works quite well.
(oops, almost forgot to get into the spirit of things............................................................................)
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
General conversation in the pub when we're playing doesn't bother us, but we do like people to be quiet when a singer starts up. And, to be fair, people do go quiet and listen, but perhaps that's because we have singers worth listening to (99% of the time, anyway!).
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Wanting a session that is 85% tunes and 15% laughs and jokes doesn't make me a music snob or a purist..................................... nor does it mean I take the stuff too seriously.................................. It only means I REALLY want to play tunes.
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Well, if it becomes hard work, stop going.
Unfortunately, my brother-in-law - a fine fiddler - stopped going to sessions in upstate New York because:
a - it was a fifty mile drive each way
b - every time he went, the tunes were the same, even though he'd tried to pass on one or two whenever he made it, to people who recorded the session, but didn't bother to learn them.
Sadly, Pat has all but given up playing for lack of sessions or people to play with.
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
For me a great session involves people who take the music seriously getting together for some relaxed tunes. The fact that the musicians take the music seriously means that at some point in the evening the music begins to take precedence over the 'craic' and while the session is still fun it becomes more than just a casual social occasion.
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
I just don't get this "music begins to take precedence over the 'craic'" thing. The music is part of the craic. You don't sit around having a laugh with your mates and then get all serious for three tunes, then have a laugh again. That's just bloody stupid. You laugh while you play. It's fun to play. For fecks sake
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Rocky Roader - sorry to hear about your brother. Tell him to move out to Arizona - we'd love to have him! One of the best etiquette lessons anybody ever taught me was when you meet a new player, remember what tunes they know. Go learn a few of theirs and the next time you meet, you'll be able to have a lovely musical conversation. I have learned many tunes that way and made quite a few friends as well.
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Gigs are work. I got a job already. I play very few gigs. I play sessions because they're all about the music and they're fun, i.e. not work. Gigs are not all about the music, believe it or not, because they're all about the audience you are getting paid to entertain. I’m sure you get lucky instances where an audience cares about the music as much as you do, but regardless, you’re being paid for entertainment. The audience comes first. This is also why sessions are inherently fun (or should be) because when things are all about the music, and not about money dictating that the audience comes first, how can they not naturally be relaxed and fun?
So yeah, relax, lighten up, tell a dirty joke or something. Where's the whoopie cushion?
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
llig leahcim sometimes I dont completely agree with everything you say... but your comment above is the most sesible thing Ive ever read on this site.....
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
I just don't get this "music begins to take precedence over the 'craic'" thing. The music is part of the craic. You don't sit around having a laugh with your mates and then get all serious for three tunes, then have a laugh again. That's just bloody stupid. You laugh while you play. It's fun to play. For fecks sake
AMEN! That's why it's called ***playing*** music.
Amazing how so often these threads are full of half-formed thoughts. Glad we have Michael around to keep the collective head screwed on straight....
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
A lot of the disagreement (if it really is that) may stem from a transatlantic cultural difference. Having lived on both sides of the ocean, I find the notion of non-school age people playing music without compensation is seen as a real novelty (oddity, even?) in North America, where it was a much more natural thing to do in Ireland.
This means that some folks in NA need to make a conscious planned effort to "have fun" when they go to sessions, but across the pond the fun just happens.
Just a theory.....................................................
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Our session was pretty fun last night. One guy cut his finger but he could still play a bluegrass tune on his fiddle without his left index finger. The whole joint stopped to listen to the 3-fingered fiddler. It was pretty funny.
And then since a lot of regulars were gone I, as a rank beginner and a pretty p*ss-poor flute player, taught them a new tune for which they seemed pretty interested, much to my own surprise.
Heck, they even slowed down a few times during the evening so I and the other less advanced players could keep up a little better and not feel an urge to go home.
There was lots of applause throughout the evening because once in a while the groove got really good and we just had to clap for the joy of it. No dirty looks for spontaneous expressions of enjoyment.
Yes, I think they are supposed to be fun otherwise why do it? I certainly wouldn't keep coming back if it was some kind of pious endurance exercise in musical purity.
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Perhaps this might be more informative if the question was posed thusly: "who thinks a session should not be "fun" - it should be soley for the purposes of preserving the tradition, and for playing music in a semi-religious, meditative state. Seeking perfection within the music."
(sound of crickets chirping....)
That's what I thought. We have the "Fun First" crowd telling everyone to lighten up - but the "Music First" crowd saying we should tighten up. Really it comes down to the balance between the two schools right? Nobody wants a silly slap-stick, three-stooges session where anything goes; and nobody want a dour session where nothing goes, and anything other than tunes is shat upon. We're arguing in circles again - but hey that's what we do here at the Org right?
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
I wouldn't go if they weren't fun. In one of the best sessions I ever went to, we played St Anne's reel, another tune then back to St Anne's for about 20 mins non stop and it was great. I with Jusa Nutter Eejit in thinking that a good session is a balance between good music and good fun
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Playing good music with friends IS the fun. I don’t go to chat, though I love to shoot the schist. I don’t go to drink, though I love the drop. I go to play music, and when we do a lot of that, it makes me euphoric.
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
I would agree with Mr llig, a lot of fun can be had from "feckin' about with the tunes". And yet.....
Why, at so many sessions, do the players sit in an enclosed circle, talk to each other for 15 minutes between sets, before going "I suppose we better play something". That bit is confusing.
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
It is always all or nothing, isn't it? There could never be an in between.
The only reason musicians would notice a crowd is to show off?
Absolute hydraulics (rhyming slang) Could it not be because they have eyes and are not blind? No, stupid of me to even suggest that. It has to be showing off.
What a complete load of crap.
And, the point I was making was why did the musicians appear to be reluctant to play? Afraid of being accused of showing off, is that the reason?
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Well, see that's my point, too bliss. We talk to the punters too, because they're part of the fun. We play tunes because everybody in the room enjoys that (not to show off, nor to perfect our art--there are better circumstances for doing that). The "enclosed" circle is just so we can hear each other's instruments over the dull roar of so many people in the same room having fun together. And the circle is more like an amoeba--occasionally opening up, occasionally swallowing a punter or newcomer, occasionally regurgitating a person, always changing size and shape as people come and go and the energy in the room ebbs and flows.
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
I have to reign this back a bit and remind people that humour is not universal. And playing and having fun playing diddley music is not universal. People who play diddley are a clique. There's no consideration for people who don't get it and neither should there be.
Played some reels the other day, 15 or 20, can't remember, it took a while, exhausting. almost all of them in Gmaj. We each played a few and passed it on, like you do. The whole thing spontaneously evolved into "let's play a bunch of tunes that start and sound similar". It was an absolute hoot. Every time another one came out, the grins of recognition were infective. It never started in a blaze of excitement, though it sure built up to it. And it was never ever gonna finish in an exciting coda, it just petered out, like they do. Half an hour or so? And after, evryone just reached for their pints, like you do.
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
See Beg F, you've now got them into arguing about performance.
The "circle" was not the crux of my post. The RELUCTANCE TO PLAY was. The so called pleasure of playing for one's own enjoyment, oft times appears to be a grind, to the musicians in a circle/square/parallelogram/ sitting in a row facing the wall/sitting in a row facing the drinkers. Whatever.
Why the reluctance to play? Remember this started with me agreeing with Mr Llig about the fun of "feckin' about with the tunes".
Now, could you all stop being so defensive when you see my name.
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Oh come on now Bliss, sometimes folks are just a bit shy about starting....they need some "easing in" time before getting wound up (unlike the folks who post here who can wind up at the drop of a hat....;-}
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
“...the notion of non-school age people playing music without compensation is seen as a real novelty (oddity, even?) in North America,...”
I think you’re right-ish there, grego. I’m thinking about exchanges I’ve had with non-musicians who’ve just found out that I play an instrument. The next line is “So, d’you play in a band?” or “Do you perform?”
When I explain that the best part of it is getting together with friends to play some tunes, some folks really don’t get it. I’ve even been told that it seems strange. I guess a lot of people just can't grasp how much FUN it is.
In most of the America that I know, public school music programs are overwhelmingly dominated by marching bands, which exist for footbal games and parades, which means that lots of kids grow up with mainly two conceptions of playing music – marching band and rock band, both of which are pretty distant from the notion of playing music as a participatory social endeavor.
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Cheshire, I know you were agreeing with me, and then you began to explain/defend the "circle". You just couldn't help it.
And if anyone decides to read my original post, I said "talk for 15 minutes between sets". That is all night long, long after being warmed up. If you wander into their midst, you feel as if you have interrupted some mystical ritual.
Not a lot of fun in that, especially as they seem to lack a sacrificial virgin.
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Oh, I could help it. All I was doing was pointing out there's another reason for playing besides showing off--'cause it's not showing off if you're just playing music amongst friends.
And so being afraid of showing off is not a reason for being reluctant to play--at least not one that I run into much or ever.
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
[The dust settles. Two men are left standing. One has a tipper in one hand and an empty pint glass in the other. The second man ogles the winsome tapstress and drawls, "Bit dry in here, ma'am. Any chance you could fill my friend's glass over there and bring me one to wet my whistle?"]
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Maybe sometimes the melody players are quiet because they're thinking about higher things like what tune to play next, or how they might put a set together. Bodhran players on the other hand, don't have to think about that stuff. It's a bit like when you get sink estates with lots of people who have no jobs. Without a job to think about they get bored, and that's when they start going around vandalising stuff and setting alight to buildings and stealing cars etc.
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Can we PLEASE stop calling people who happen to be in the pub but not playing music "punters." It is very rude. And Dow, young man, you are lamentably wrong about bodhran players. They DO have to think about that stuff. It's just that they don't.
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Steve, a punter is anyone who's paying ( even if it's only for his drink ) as opposed to playing/participating/performing.
It's just us and them; sassenachs, goyem, heathens, emmets, barbarians, it's all just names for the others, as opposed to us.
Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Discuss at will......................because to me a sess. is not a sess. with out a laugh and a joke....................some people take it to serious or is it not serious enough for you?
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by Saint
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
I think it's great fun to type sentences with long....................dramatic...........................................................pauses.
To answer your question, I seek out that session experience that has some light-hearted moments mixed in with the serious pursuit of some killer tunes. Perhaps that makes me a stick in the mud, but I save up all week to escape and play music. I can tell jokes and stories anytime.
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by Jusa Nutter Eejit
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Ours are never too serious. Always a joke, story, crazy song...My sole purpose in going to sessions is to goof around. That being said, it isn't much fun if the tunes aren't played seriously. The better the music, the greated the fun.
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by feardearg
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
The better the music, the GREATER the fun. Sorry.
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by feardearg
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
...........................yes..........................
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by mcdevincabe
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Saint, I think you're lucky living in Ireland with crowded pubs where the tunes just emerge out of rumble of conversation, and everyone at some time gets to start their own tune amongst the supportive " good man yerself " and 'lovely" and "fair play to you a' etc etc. Sometimes only a few join in, sometimes the lot, and some little conversations keep going through the set. I love that and oh how I miss it.
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by chuneboi slim
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
The session I used to attend regularly, not so much these days as it's now 40 miles away, never got too serious. Usually a very high caliber of musicians. But no one takes themselves too seriously. The last time I went, several regulars played the tune of a Grateful Dead song before we got rolling. It sounded quite good actually and the comic value was priceless. I think it's possible to have good trad music without taking yourself too seriously.
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by meemtp
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Casey Jones? Uncle John's Band? Dark Star? Sugar Magnolia?
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by dafydd
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
I'm not really up on on the Grateful Dead, but I want to say Uncle John's Band. I recognized the melody, but trying to remember now I can't be positive. The piper that's one of the session anchors is (more so used to be before discovering ITM) a big Deadhead.
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by meemtp
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Actually now that I think about it, it may have been Sugar Magnolia. Who knows, it was highly entertaining anyhow!
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by meemtp
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
......................................zzzzzzzzz................................................
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by Henk Bos
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
A session is a social event.
It always amazes me when people moan about the noise in a pub, or the fact people aren't paying attention to the music - as if everyone has to stop to listen to their performance.
I agree with Saint - a good session has good tunes, good ale and some good banter, otherwise stay at home or find a pub with no punters.
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by Sugarfoot Jack
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
The bigger and more serious the tunes.................... the more fun they are to play..............................Anyway, as I've said before, the fun is in fecking about with the tunes
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by llig leahcim
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun...
Of course a session is primarily supposed to be "fun"!
The whole causal “come ye all” set up indicates that it should be taken light heartedly. They are not exclusive clubs.
Any musician that attends sessions does it as a bit of light relief compared with doing all their formal gigs, recordings, rehearsals et cetera.
That doesn’t mean to say that some seriously good music does not occur. And it is a fab free seminar on all matters, often including ITM!
The nearest atmosphere to a session I can think of is a good after-show-party. Everyone relaxed, having a drink and a smoke, a chat, a laugh, a few tunes, no horrid Fender/ Peavey equipment, choice to play or not, maybe no fans/ audience. A good place to meet fellow musicians, often from musical areas (rock, jazz, “classical” or wotteffah) one wouldn’t often run into brought together by a common interest in ITM and knocking out (and picking up) a tune or two
Perhaps the crux of this is whether the performer (sorry!) uses the session as their only musical outlet in which case they are likely to be a little more nervous, defensive and serious about the purpose of them (and therefore invest in the purity/ conservation of the so-called Traditional “Irish” Form). I do find players who only attend ITM sessions are a little more spiky and precious about having fun at a session. They seem to see them more like a puritan’s revivalist meeting, complete with silent contemplation (like at the end of a set where no comments or suggestions are proffered) and unquestioning blind faith in the dogma (see endless rants on this forum!), whereas musicians with a broader base can afford to be more blasé and relaxed, and, indeed, have more FUN!
P.S. Talking of purism, an ellipse (...) should only ever be three full stops anything else is illiteracy.
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by yhaalhouse
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
"musicians with a broader base can afford to be more blasé and relaxed, and, indeed, have more FUN!"
I think that's a bit kind of condescending. And you do more than mere imply that sessions are inferior to forms of musical performance: "a bit of light relief compared with doing all their formal gigs".
(PS, an ellipse should never ever be three full stops, the kerning is all wrong. Try "alt colon" … on a mac anyway, don't know about a PC)
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by llig leahcim
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
If you're going to do punctuation pedantry, at least get it right!
An ellipse is formed of the points on a curve where the sum of the distances to two fixed points is constant.
Ellipsis.
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by Ceratonia
Ellipsis
Oops!
Cheers...
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by yhaalhouse
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
yes a session should be fun. The sort of session I really don't like is one where the regulars take themselves much too seriously and don't welcome outsiders joining in.
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by cathycook
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
The whole point of a session is to have fun. Don't listen to anyone who prattles on about "taking the music seriously so as to preserve the tradition." You don't do that at sessions and anyway the music can look after itself. If you're not having a good time, or if someone's trying to steer the thing in an overly-serious direction or keeps on preaching about "doing it right, "you're better off going home, switching on Casualty and drinking Doom Bar straight from the bottle.
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by Steve Shaw
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
I could have sworn I did those speech marks right. Oh well.
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by Steve Shaw
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Steve don't worry "its Fun"
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by Saint
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Llig Leahcim,
I’m sorry if that came across as condescending.
Indeed, I have learnt lots from many people attending sessions during these last couple of years or so, especially in regard of a practical understanding modal matters.
It is because sessions are less formally organized that one can have more casual enjoyment, maybe because you’re not in a “performance” as you so often say.
But unless you are used to doing other music and gigs, you won’t fully appreciate how pleasantly unique sessions are.
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by yhaalhouse
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
The advantage of following a tradition is that you stand on the shoulders of giants. For years, musicians have worked to perfect a mix of music, fellowship, etc, that allows people to play for the joy of it. That mix is called a session, and I find their recipie works quite well.
(oops, almost forgot to get into the spirit of things............................................................................)
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by AlBrown
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
General conversation in the pub when we're playing doesn't bother us, but we do like people to be quiet when a singer starts up. And, to be fair, people do go quiet and listen, but perhaps that's because we have singers worth listening to (99% of the time, anyway!).
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by Trevor Jennings
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Wanting a session that is 85% tunes and 15% laughs and jokes doesn't make me a music snob or a purist..................................... nor does it mean I take the stuff too seriously.................................. It only means I REALLY want to play tunes.
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by Jusa Nutter Eejit
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Well, if it becomes hard work, stop going.
Unfortunately, my brother-in-law - a fine fiddler - stopped going to sessions in upstate New York because:
a - it was a fifty mile drive each way
b - every time he went, the tunes were the same, even though he'd tried to pass on one or two whenever he made it, to people who recorded the session, but didn't bother to learn them.
Sadly, Pat has all but given up playing for lack of sessions or people to play with.
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by RockyRoader
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
For me a great session involves people who take the music seriously getting together for some relaxed tunes. The fact that the musicians take the music seriously means that at some point in the evening the music begins to take precedence over the 'craic' and while the session is still fun it becomes more than just a casual social occasion.
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by The Tune Composer
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
I just don't get this "music begins to take precedence over the 'craic'" thing. The music is part of the craic. You don't sit around having a laugh with your mates and then get all serious for three tunes, then have a laugh again. That's just bloody stupid. You laugh while you play. It's fun to play. For fecks sake
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by llig leahcim
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Rocky Roader - sorry to hear about your brother. Tell him to move out to Arizona - we'd love to have him! One of the best etiquette lessons anybody ever taught me was when you meet a new player, remember what tunes they know. Go learn a few of theirs and the next time you meet, you'll be able to have a lovely musical conversation. I have learned many tunes that way and made quite a few friends as well.
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by Jusa Nutter Eejit
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Oh Saint yes.... I whole heartedly agre with you.
The session I go to has some of the funniest characters in the parish.
The true irish "characters" are getting scarce though....... its all gone way too serious.
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by session savage
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Gigs are work. I got a job already. I play very few gigs. I play sessions because they're all about the music and they're fun, i.e. not work. Gigs are not all about the music, believe it or not, because they're all about the audience you are getting paid to entertain. I’m sure you get lucky instances where an audience cares about the music as much as you do, but regardless, you’re being paid for entertainment. The audience comes first. This is also why sessions are inherently fun (or should be) because when things are all about the music, and not about money dictating that the audience comes first, how can they not naturally be relaxed and fun?
So yeah, relax, lighten up, tell a dirty joke or something. Where's the whoopie cushion?
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by SWFL Fiddler
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
llig leahcim sometimes I dont completely agree with everything you say... but your comment above is the most sesible thing Ive ever read on this site.....
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by session savage
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
I just don't get this "music begins to take precedence over the 'craic'" thing. The music is part of the craic. You don't sit around having a laugh with your mates and then get all serious for three tunes, then have a laugh again. That's just bloody stupid. You laugh while you play. It's fun to play. For fecks sake
AMEN! That's why it's called ***playing*** music.
Amazing how so often these threads are full of half-formed thoughts. Glad we have Michael around to keep the collective head screwed on straight....
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by Will Harmon
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
A lot of the disagreement (if it really is that) may stem from a transatlantic cultural difference. Having lived on both sides of the ocean, I find the notion of non-school age people playing music without compensation is seen as a real novelty (oddity, even?) in North America, where it was a much more natural thing to do in Ireland.
This means that some folks in NA need to make a conscious planned effort to "have fun" when they go to sessions, but across the pond the fun just happens.
Just a theory.....................................................
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by grego
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Our session was pretty fun last night. One guy cut his finger but he could still play a bluegrass tune on his fiddle without his left index finger. The whole joint stopped to listen to the 3-fingered fiddler. It was pretty funny.
And then since a lot of regulars were gone I, as a rank beginner and a pretty p*ss-poor flute player, taught them a new tune for which they seemed pretty interested, much to my own surprise.
Heck, they even slowed down a few times during the evening so I and the other less advanced players could keep up a little better and not feel an urge to go home.
There was lots of applause throughout the evening because once in a while the groove got really good and we just had to clap for the joy of it. No dirty looks for spontaneous expressions of enjoyment.
Yes, I think they are supposed to be fun otherwise why do it? I certainly wouldn't keep coming back if it was some kind of pious endurance exercise in musical purity.
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by sbhikes
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Perhaps this might be more informative if the question was posed thusly: "who thinks a session should not be "fun" - it should be soley for the purposes of preserving the tradition, and for playing music in a semi-religious, meditative state. Seeking perfection within the music."
(sound of crickets chirping....)
That's what I thought. We have the "Fun First" crowd telling everyone to lighten up - but the "Music First" crowd saying we should tighten up. Really it comes down to the balance between the two schools right? Nobody wants a silly slap-stick, three-stooges session where anything goes; and nobody want a dour session where nothing goes, and anything other than tunes is shat upon. We're arguing in circles again - but hey that's what we do here at the Org right?
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by Jusa Nutter Eejit
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
I wouldn't go if they weren't fun. In one of the best sessions I ever went to, we played St Anne's reel, another tune then back to St Anne's for about 20 mins non stop and it was great. I with Jusa Nutter Eejit in thinking that a good session is a balance between good music and good fun
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by snowyowl
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Playing good music with friends IS the fun. I don’t go to chat, though I love to shoot the schist. I don’t go to drink, though I love the drop. I go to play music, and when we do a lot of that, it makes me euphoric.
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by fidkid
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
I would agree with Mr llig, a lot of fun can be had from "feckin' about with the tunes". And yet.....
Why, at so many sessions, do the players sit in an enclosed circle, talk to each other for 15 minutes between sets, before going "I suppose we better play something". That bit is confusing.
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by bodhran bliss
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Because a session is liek a conversation with your mates.
you don;t turn towards the rest of the crowd so they can hear perfectly well at the expense of hearing your friends.
You sit in an enclosed circle - I thought it would be obvious - unless your there to show off to the crowd - who don;t understand it anyway.
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by BegF
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
It is always all or nothing, isn't it? There could never be an in between.
The only reason musicians would notice a crowd is to show off?
Absolute hydraulics (rhyming slang) Could it not be because they have eyes and are not blind? No, stupid of me to even suggest that. It has to be showing off.
What a complete load of crap.
And, the point I was making was why did the musicians appear to be reluctant to play? Afraid of being accused of showing off, is that the reason?
Sometimes I despair.
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by bodhran bliss
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Well, see that's my point, too bliss. We talk to the punters too, because they're part of the fun. We play tunes because everybody in the room enjoys that (not to show off, nor to perfect our art--there are better circumstances for doing that). The "enclosed" circle is just so we can hear each other's instruments over the dull roar of so many people in the same room having fun together. And the circle is more like an amoeba--occasionally opening up, occasionally swallowing a punter or newcomer, occasionally regurgitating a person, always changing size and shape as people come and go and the energy in the room ebbs and flows.
Ommmmmmmmmmmmmm....
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by Will Harmon
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
I have to reign this back a bit and remind people that humour is not universal. And playing and having fun playing diddley music is not universal. People who play diddley are a clique. There's no consideration for people who don't get it and neither should there be.
Played some reels the other day, 15 or 20, can't remember, it took a while, exhausting. almost all of them in Gmaj. We each played a few and passed it on, like you do. The whole thing spontaneously evolved into "let's play a bunch of tunes that start and sound similar". It was an absolute hoot. Every time another one came out, the grins of recognition were infective. It never started in a blaze of excitement, though it sure built up to it. And it was never ever gonna finish in an exciting coda, it just petered out, like they do. Half an hour or so? And after, evryone just reached for their pints, like you do.
Was it a crowd pleaser? Who gives a feck
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by llig leahcim
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
See Beg F, you've now got them into arguing about performance.
The "circle" was not the crux of my post. The RELUCTANCE TO PLAY was. The so called pleasure of playing for one's own enjoyment, oft times appears to be a grind, to the musicians in a circle/square/parallelogram/ sitting in a row facing the wall/sitting in a row facing the drinkers. Whatever.
Why the reluctance to play? Remember this started with me agreeing with Mr Llig about the fun of "feckin' about with the tunes".
Now, could you all stop being so defensive when you see my name.
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by bodhran bliss
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
But, but, but...I was ***agreeing*** with you, bliss. (And look who was being defensive
)
I misunderstood because I don't run into a reluctance to play at most sessions I've been to. Thank goodness.
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by Will Harmon
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Oh come on now Bliss, sometimes folks are just a bit shy about starting....they need some "easing in" time before getting wound up (unlike the folks who post here who can wind up at the drop of a hat....;-}
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by Jusa Nutter Eejit
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
“...the notion of non-school age people playing music without compensation is seen as a real novelty (oddity, even?) in North America,...”
I think you’re right-ish there, grego. I’m thinking about exchanges I’ve had with non-musicians who’ve just found out that I play an instrument. The next line is “So, d’you play in a band?” or “Do you perform?”
When I explain that the best part of it is getting together with friends to play some tunes, some folks really don’t get it. I’ve even been told that it seems strange. I guess a lot of people just can't grasp how much FUN it is.
In most of the America that I know, public school music programs are overwhelmingly dominated by marching bands, which exist for footbal games and parades, which means that lots of kids grow up with mainly two conceptions of playing music – marching band and rock band, both of which are pretty distant from the notion of playing music as a participatory social endeavor.
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by Bob himself
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Cheshire, I know you were agreeing with me, and then you began to explain/defend the "circle". You just couldn't help it.
And if anyone decides to read my original post, I said "talk for 15 minutes between sets". That is all night long, long after being warmed up. If you wander into their midst, you feel as if you have interrupted some mystical ritual.
Not a lot of fun in that, especially as they seem to lack a sacrificial virgin.
# Posted on October 19th 2007 by bodhran bliss
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Oh, I could help it. All I was doing was pointing out there's another reason for playing besides showing off--'cause it's not showing off if you're just playing music amongst friends.
And so being afraid of showing off is not a reason for being reluctant to play--at least not one that I run into much or ever.
# Posted on October 20th 2007 by Will Harmon
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
I agree with the above.
# Posted on October 20th 2007 by bodhran bliss
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
[The dust settles. Two men are left standing. One has a tipper in one hand and an empty pint glass in the other. The second man ogles the winsome tapstress and drawls, "Bit dry in here, ma'am. Any chance you could fill my friend's glass over there and bring me one to wet my whistle?"]
# Posted on October 20th 2007 by Will Harmon
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
"Tin Whistle"? I have something called "joint grease". Turns out it is for the Susato whistle, I thought..............
# Posted on October 20th 2007 by bodhran bliss
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Maybe sometimes the melody players are quiet because they're thinking about higher things like what tune to play next, or how they might put a set together. Bodhran players on the other hand, don't have to think about that stuff. It's a bit like when you get sink estates with lots of people who have no jobs. Without a job to think about they get bored, and that's when they start going around vandalising stuff and setting alight to buildings and stealing cars etc.
# Posted on October 20th 2007 by Dr. Dow
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
........................yes..........................................
# Posted on October 20th 2007 by piobagusfidil
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
................but fun for who?..............the players and/or the audience?......
# Posted on October 20th 2007 by piobagusfidil
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Come back to Britain Dow, we need you. Leader of the Tory Party, or the BNP. A new career awaits you.
Incidentally, the most famous person in ITM for arranging tunes, and putting sets together is a bodhran player called Lunny.
It's a funny old world.
# Posted on October 20th 2007 by bodhran bliss
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
.......................... is it an audience, or are they simply voyeurs?
# Posted on October 20th 2007 by wyogal
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Can we PLEASE stop calling people who happen to be in the pub but not playing music "punters." It is very rude. And Dow, young man, you are lamentably wrong about bodhran players. They DO have to think about that stuff. It's just that they don't.
# Posted on October 20th 2007 by Steve Shaw
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Any how, people have fun in many ways, my idea of fun could be your idea of tedium,and so it is with humour..........
# Posted on October 21st 2007 by piobagusfidil
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Really? You're not just pulling my leg?
# Posted on October 21st 2007 by Will Harmon
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
Steve, a punter is anyone who's paying ( even if it's only for his drink ) as opposed to playing/participating/performing.
It's just us and them; sassenachs, goyem, heathens, emmets, barbarians, it's all just names for the others, as opposed to us.
# Posted on October 25th 2007 by Guernsey Pete
Re: Is a session supposed to be fun......................................
PS Steve, you're a good bloke for following my request, and I think I envy your location.
# Posted on October 25th 2007 by Guernsey Pete