They moved us out of our little corner and put us back on stage again! ....supposedly for fire regs, then I got closer to the truth.
There's some music college nearby and all the students make it their sunday pilgrimage to come down and marvel at our stunning live performances. Yeah, that's fair enough.
But to make more seating available, he put us all back up on a little stage. But our corner is better. One of the regular players went off early cos he couldn't hear the changes.
I moaned and whined a bit to yer man, and he's agreed to give us back our corner. There we're in among the pub, the sound bounces off the walls, and the ceiling, which is lower right there, and as we're all sat at the same level, all the players can hear everything.
Also, our inaugural thursday gathering was in a triangular shaped bar of a pub with 3 bars! Very quaint, I can assure you! ...but quite strange to get the whole crew sat round as a session.. and then have a few audience punters in listening....and, like someone said here yesterday, without them feeling they're intruding.
We all strive for perfection, but is it achievable in terms of the best place to site yer session in a pub? If any of ye's are about to set up a session in a new pub, what rules of thumb would you have, regardless of the geography of the individual premises?
Eg,
Near the Bar.
Away from the Loos/door.
Away from the telly/pool table(s)
Smack Dab in the Middle...of the pub.
I like corners. Don't really care where they are, but at least that way you can generally hear each other. Of course, it does limit the size the group can naturally grow to without spillout, but I like small sessions anyway. ;)
i believe that sessions work best when you have a reasonably manageable number of experienced players seated around one or more tables towards a corner of a room. there should ideally be space all round this "circle" for the less experienced players to sit so that they are still part of the action. the fewer soft furnishings there are to soak up the sound, the better.
if the publican wants to spread the music to parts of the pub that are too far away for the acoustic sound to carry, then a decent ambient microphone suspended over the central table works fairly well - enough gain to pick up the music once it starts to motor along but not enough to pick up the details of the chat round the table between sets.
i'd agree that you wouldn;t want to be in the way of the "corridor" to the loos or blocking access to the bar. i'd add that you all want to be on a level floor - i found it distinctly uncomfortable to be sitting a foot or so below the "anchormen" at the session last night to which danny refers.
Certainly it's a bad idea to set up near a bar, pool table, loos; too much traffic and noise, and nearby floor space is simply better occupied by listening punters, who are a part of the session too. Corners seem to work best in terms of hearing each other. Thursdays set-up in the snug was very nice; enough room for a few interested punters to get right into the music, the players close enough to friendly faces nearer the bar that they didn't necessarily have to get up from the tunes to order up the beers, and minimal interference caused to/by folk in the other rooms. But if more people get interested, then you'll need that bigger bar!
Sunday looked very uncomfortable, impractical, and UNdemocratic; who'd want to be a visitor or a newbie at a session where the anchormen were raised up above you on a stage, and you couldn't hear what was going on? And it didn't sound as good to the room; the acoustics there aren't as good to start with, and you were separated from listeners by the traffic through the pub. I'd also get rid of that fountain in the money corner and the red bodhran in the relationships corner.
Etiquette question: why is Feng-Shui spelled fengshwee when it's pronounced fongshway?
Alternatives suggested by the spell-checker for bodhran: bushman, bothering, odorant. Could you get a nuanced percussion instrument by bothering an odorant bushman?
The weekly session in Burlington is on this small sh*tty little stage right next to the door. The acoustics are terrible and the musicians by the door get bumped into. In the winter we freeze our fingers off because there is no protection from the constant arctic wind from people constantly entering and leaving the building. It's really bad. But since I'm taking a temporary (or permanent) leave of absence from this session it's a moot point for me. But Danny, I can understand wanting to move back to a good spot away from the stage.....
nastyweegirl asks:
Q: why is Feng-Shui spelled fengshwee when it's pronounced fongshway?
A: Beacuse in Chinese speech, the Roman alphabet can only attempt to 'romanize' the actual sounds. There have been several systems to clue Westerners in to the pronounciation of Chinese and none of them are very logical (or effective). Kind of like trying to play Irish music from reading dots on paper
BTW 'feng shui' literally means 'wind water' - implying the movement of Nature's fluid elements through a man-made environment - like your back yard or your living room. (Hopefully not TOO much water through your living room, maybe just a little table fountain...)
Like "funky" only with an "ohng" sound instead of the u, and a "aye" sound instead of the y, is how it was explained to me. Has something to do with the fairies, doesn't it?
Bob - so now explain why because is spelled beacuse (sic) when it's pronounced bicoz (sorry couldn't resist, and now I'll have to be extra vigilant with my spelling). I know we fail miserably when transliterating from other writing systems (wi downt eeven spel awr own werds the wey there pronounsd fer cryin awt lawd); it was a rhetorical question I suppose, I was just coming all over George Bernard Shaw for a minute, that's all.
Not only do you need to be in a good spot for the tunes to work but who sits next to whom is also very important. If I'm not sitting beside Johnboy I'm not as comfortable.
I like to be able to hear all the lead instruments but I also want to be in front of the bouzouki or guitar so I can get into the vibes of the accompaniment. Especially when it's as good as Johnboy or the likes of Paul Airey from Anglesea. This really lifts my playing.
Sessions on stages - aarrgghhh!
Sessions in the middle of a room [Like upstairs in Maddens in Belfast] YUK!
Sessions by the pool table - noooooooooooooooooooo! Watch that bloody cue you!
Sessions in the snug - aaaaahhhhh lovely!
Sessions in the snug with direct access to the bar - heaven!!!
Yeah, good point about who sits next to whom, Breandan. Flutes and fiddles together. Boxes/pipes at the end of the table. Guitars, banjos at the other end, not in among the flutes and fiddles, as with bodhran(s), of which one is fine, two max. AND, bodhranists, please, could you make sure you point the inside of the drum AWAY from session players. That's good etiquette to do so. Eggs, spoons, rainsticks, etc...in the beer garden, please....
Session Feng-Shui
Session Feng-Shui
They moved us out of our little corner and put us back on stage again! ....supposedly for fire regs, then I got closer to the truth.
There's some music college nearby and all the students make it their sunday pilgrimage to come down and marvel at our stunning live performances. Yeah, that's fair enough.
But to make more seating available, he put us all back up on a little stage. But our corner is better. One of the regular players went off early cos he couldn't hear the changes.
I moaned and whined a bit to yer man, and he's agreed to give us back our corner. There we're in among the pub, the sound bounces off the walls, and the ceiling, which is lower right there, and as we're all sat at the same level, all the players can hear everything.
Also, our inaugural thursday gathering was in a triangular shaped bar of a pub with 3 bars! Very quaint, I can assure you! ...but quite strange to get the whole crew sat round as a session.. and then have a few audience punters in listening....and, like someone said here yesterday, without them feeling they're intruding.
We all strive for perfection, but is it achievable in terms of the best place to site yer session in a pub? If any of ye's are about to set up a session in a new pub, what rules of thumb would you have, regardless of the geography of the individual premises?
Eg,
Near the Bar.
Away from the Loos/door.
Away from the telly/pool table(s)
Smack Dab in the Middle...of the pub.
Danny.
# Posted on September 21st 2003 by Rudall the time
Re: Session Feng-Shui
I like corners. Don't really care where they are, but at least that way you can generally hear each other. Of course, it does limit the size the group can naturally grow to without spillout, but I like small sessions anyway. ;)
# Posted on September 21st 2003 by Zina Lee
Re: Session Feng-Shui
we have a snug at the sunday sessions - our own little bar etc - thats nice - on the way to the loos tho - that can be a little annoying
# Posted on September 21st 2003 by bb
Re: Session Feng-Shui
i believe that sessions work best when you have a reasonably manageable number of experienced players seated around one or more tables towards a corner of a room. there should ideally be space all round this "circle" for the less experienced players to sit so that they are still part of the action. the fewer soft furnishings there are to soak up the sound, the better.
if the publican wants to spread the music to parts of the pub that are too far away for the acoustic sound to carry, then a decent ambient microphone suspended over the central table works fairly well - enough gain to pick up the music once it starts to motor along but not enough to pick up the details of the chat round the table between sets.
i'd agree that you wouldn;t want to be in the way of the "corridor" to the loos or blocking access to the bar. i'd add that you all want to be on a level floor - i found it distinctly uncomfortable to be sitting a foot or so below the "anchormen" at the session last night to which danny refers.
# Posted on September 21st 2003 by teetotaller
Re: Session Feng-Shui
Certainly it's a bad idea to set up near a bar, pool table, loos; too much traffic and noise, and nearby floor space is simply better occupied by listening punters, who are a part of the session too. Corners seem to work best in terms of hearing each other. Thursdays set-up in the snug was very nice; enough room for a few interested punters to get right into the music, the players close enough to friendly faces nearer the bar that they didn't necessarily have to get up from the tunes to order up the beers, and minimal interference caused to/by folk in the other rooms. But if more people get interested, then you'll need that bigger bar!
Sunday looked very uncomfortable, impractical, and UNdemocratic; who'd want to be a visitor or a newbie at a session where the anchormen were raised up above you on a stage, and you couldn't hear what was going on? And it didn't sound as good to the room; the acoustics there aren't as good to start with, and you were separated from listeners by the traffic through the pub. I'd also get rid of that fountain in the money corner and the red bodhran in the relationships corner.
Etiquette question: why is Feng-Shui spelled fengshwee when it's pronounced fongshway?
Alternatives suggested by the spell-checker for bodhran: bushman, bothering, odorant. Could you get a nuanced percussion instrument by bothering an odorant bushman?
# Posted on September 22nd 2003 by nastyweegirl
Re: Session Feng-Shui
The weekly session in Burlington is on this small sh*tty little stage right next to the door. The acoustics are terrible and the musicians by the door get bumped into. In the winter we freeze our fingers off because there is no protection from the constant arctic wind from people constantly entering and leaving the building. It's really bad. But since I'm taking a temporary (or permanent) leave of absence from this session it's a moot point for me. But Danny, I can understand wanting to move back to a good spot away from the stage.....
Joyce
# Posted on September 22nd 2003 by JMH
Re: Session Feng-Shui
Constant blasts of arctic wind can't be good for the instruments either!
# Posted on September 22nd 2003 by Andee
Re: Session Feng-Shui
nastyweegirl asks:
Q: why is Feng-Shui spelled fengshwee when it's pronounced fongshway?
A: Beacuse in Chinese speech, the Roman alphabet can only attempt to 'romanize' the actual sounds. There have been several systems to clue Westerners in to the pronounciation of Chinese and none of them are very logical (or effective). Kind of like trying to play Irish music from reading dots on paper
BTW 'feng shui' literally means 'wind water' - implying the movement of Nature's fluid elements through a man-made environment - like your back yard or your living room. (Hopefully not TOO much water through your living room, maybe just a little table fountain...)
Bob
# Posted on September 22nd 2003 by Laughtonb
Re: Session Feng-Shui
So that's why we had bad feng shui when our session was near the loo last night. The smell of other people's wind and water.
...Sorry...
# Posted on September 22nd 2003 by Rudall the time
Re: Session Feng-Shui
in a corner, on a slightly raised stage, away from all of the above , but near the outside door for a breath of air.
Now pronounce Fonnchoi please
Jennifer
# Posted on September 22nd 2003 by Jenthur
Re: Session Feng-Shui
Like "funky" only with an "ohng" sound instead of the u, and a "aye" sound instead of the y, is how it was explained to me. Has something to do with the fairies, doesn't it?
# Posted on September 22nd 2003 by Zina Lee
Re: Session Feng-Shui
Bob - so now explain why because is spelled beacuse (sic) when it's pronounced bicoz (sorry couldn't resist, and now I'll have to be extra vigilant with my spelling). I know we fail miserably when transliterating from other writing systems (wi downt eeven spel awr own werds the wey there pronounsd fer cryin awt lawd); it was a rhetorical question I suppose, I was just coming all over George Bernard Shaw for a minute, that's all.
# Posted on September 22nd 2003 by nastyweegirl
Re: Session Feng-Shui
> now explain why because is spelled beacuse (sic) <
Careful now, you could beacused of pedantry.
Come to think of it, "coming all over Bernard Shaw" might pass for pederasty...were he a wee boy of course.
Nasty - pederasty... I think there's the germ of a limerick in here.
# Posted on September 23rd 2003 by Jeeves Tones
Re: Session Feng-Shui
and keeping it up for a minute
would be no mean feat, innit?
# Posted on September 23rd 2003 by nastyweegirl
Re: Session Feng-Shui
Not only do you need to be in a good spot for the tunes to work but who sits next to whom is also very important. If I'm not sitting beside Johnboy I'm not as comfortable.
I like to be able to hear all the lead instruments but I also want to be in front of the bouzouki or guitar so I can get into the vibes of the accompaniment. Especially when it's as good as Johnboy or the likes of Paul Airey from Anglesea. This really lifts my playing.
Sessions on stages - aarrgghhh!
Sessions in the middle of a room [Like upstairs in Maddens in Belfast] YUK!
Sessions by the pool table - noooooooooooooooooooo! Watch that bloody cue you!
Sessions in the snug - aaaaahhhhh lovely!
Sessions in the snug with direct access to the bar - heaven!!!
# Posted on September 25th 2003 by breandan
Sessions in the snug with direct access to the bar - heaven!!!
that must be the cue for another plug for the Blythe Hill Tavern!
# Posted on September 25th 2003 by nastyweegirl
Re: Session Feng-Shui
Yeah, good point about who sits next to whom, Breandan. Flutes and fiddles together. Boxes/pipes at the end of the table. Guitars, banjos at the other end, not in among the flutes and fiddles, as with bodhran(s), of which one is fine, two max. AND, bodhranists, please, could you make sure you point the inside of the drum AWAY from session players. That's good etiquette to do so. Eggs, spoons, rainsticks, etc...in the beer garden, please....
# Posted on September 27th 2003 by Rudall the time