A session is really much more for the players, so it would be natural for the players to enjoy that more.
In the case of a performance, where people paid money specifically to hear the music, they're more likely to enjoy it than the players, who are probably playing the same damn tunes that they've been playing for years...
But everyone knows that all generalizations are always false...
We seem to have more fun than punters. But it is the setting in Pubs, I think. Punters are not there on an "music appreciation" field trip. I am we enrich their experience as background music.
In another setting this Memorial Weekend (US), I went to a Civil War re-enactment. There were some Confederates playing a banjo, guitar and bones who allowed me to sit among them with my whistle. We had a great reaction from the crowd that gathered.
I took my guitar, mandolin and whistles to a Memorial Day Picnic and taught a guitar-playing friend the backing to a few simple tunes. Another crowd pleaser.
People love this stuff. I think they like it in pubs, too. We just aren't the focus of their attention.
I've known folk who work their butts of in work and life, and aren't players, but look forward to the time they get to go hear some live music and enjoy the craic. And 'dancers', well, where would they be without the music to underscore and lift their passions and get them moving?
I had some guests staying with me for a week, and brought them along to my session last night. Neither plays ITM, and while they both like listening to it, neither loves it the way I do. Three hours into the session, however, the husband half of the pair declared that he was planning to take up the fiddle.
So maybe the reason that sessions are more fun for the players than for the punters is that the punters who really enjoy it, don't stay punters.
but we've all been to concerts and looked around thinking, "how many of these folk would be here if they (or their partners) didn't play themselves?" haven't we ......?
... reminding me of a concert I attended, where the entire first couple of rows were virtually all musicians, and, when an asTOUNDing musical moment took place, the whole row of joined seats actually rocked back, as EVerybody pushed down with their feet, shakin' their heads at the same time ('what just happened here?!"). Though it was jazz, another much-maligned musical medium, the night was magic. For players.
Too true, TD&M. I think a lot of punters that become players do so because they can tell how much fun the players are having.
And yes, Conán, maybe they play the same damn tunes because they love them. But how many times have you been at a trad concert and realized that even though the music sounds good, the players look completely bored, and then you realize that the joke they just told was the same one that they told last time they were in town. That's not exactly a player/punter situation, though.
I think it is more fun for the players; if there's no buzz then there's no point. Punters pick up on the buzz (often described as raw talent) from people enjoying playing music. Punters can also be tricked and mesmerised by sleight of hand (often described as slick and polished performances). I have been to many sessions where a real performer gives it their all and this can and does attract the attention of even the most peripheral punter, albeit briefly. I have also been to many performances where the laid-back attitude of the seasoned performer fails to stop the exodus to the bar/toilet/smoke/taxi.
Does anyone else find that a good session of music means that time loses all meaning (not timing mind you, that would be a completely different thing!) and the evening goes over all too quickly? That is for me a good indicator that I've enjoyed the "ITM".
Adults have been too beaten down by whatever to express it much, but our local session often gets kids bobbin and jiggin to the tunes. If you can get kids to react in public (favorably) something is working well.
ITM... for all?
ITM... for all?
Simple question... Do you think ITM has more appeal to the players than the punters?
# Posted on May 29th 2007 by drone
Re: ITM... for all?
Simple answer - yes
# Posted on May 29th 2007 by Conán McDonnell
Re: ITM... for all?
Complex answer - no?
A session is really much more for the players, so it would be natural for the players to enjoy that more.
In the case of a performance, where people paid money specifically to hear the music, they're more likely to enjoy it than the players, who are probably playing the same damn tunes that they've been playing for years...
But everyone knows that all generalizations are always false...
Pete
# Posted on May 29th 2007 by Reverend
Re: ITM... for all?
Mmm maybe the reason they play the same damn tunes is because they love it!
# Posted on May 29th 2007 by Conán McDonnell
Re: ITM... for all?
We seem to have more fun than punters. But it is the setting in Pubs, I think. Punters are not there on an "music appreciation" field trip. I am we enrich their experience as background music.
In another setting this Memorial Weekend (US), I went to a Civil War re-enactment. There were some Confederates playing a banjo, guitar and bones who allowed me to sit among them with my whistle. We had a great reaction from the crowd that gathered.
I took my guitar, mandolin and whistles to a Memorial Day Picnic and taught a guitar-playing friend the backing to a few simple tunes. Another crowd pleaser.
People love this stuff. I think they like it in pubs, too. We just aren't the focus of their attention.
# Posted on May 29th 2007 by feardearg
Re: ITM... for all?
There you go again, forgetting the dancers!
# Posted on May 29th 2007 by ceolachan
Re: ITM... for all?
I've known folk who work their butts of in work and life, and aren't players, but look forward to the time they get to go hear some live music and enjoy the craic. And 'dancers', well, where would they be without the music to underscore and lift their passions and get them moving?
# Posted on May 29th 2007 by ceolachan
Re: ITM... for all?
I had some guests staying with me for a week, and brought them along to my session last night. Neither plays ITM, and while they both like listening to it, neither loves it the way I do. Three hours into the session, however, the husband half of the pair declared that he was planning to take up the fiddle.
So maybe the reason that sessions are more fun for the players than for the punters is that the punters who really enjoy it, don't stay punters.
# Posted on May 29th 2007 by Tall, Dark, and Mysterious
Re: ITM... for all?
but we've all been to concerts and looked around thinking, "how many of these folk would be here if they (or their partners) didn't play themselves?" haven't we ......?
# Posted on May 29th 2007 by Bren
Re: ITM... for all?
... reminding me of a concert I attended, where the entire first couple of rows were virtually all musicians, and, when an asTOUNDing musical moment took place, the whole row of joined seats actually rocked back, as EVerybody pushed down with their feet, shakin' their heads at the same time ('what just happened here?!"). Though it was jazz, another much-maligned musical medium, the night was magic. For players.
# Posted on May 29th 2007 by drone
Re: ITM... for all?
Too true, TD&M. I think a lot of punters that become players do so because they can tell how much fun the players are having.
And yes, Conán, maybe they play the same damn tunes because they love them. But how many times have you been at a trad concert and realized that even though the music sounds good, the players look completely bored, and then you realize that the joke they just told was the same one that they told last time they were in town. That's not exactly a player/punter situation, though.
pete
# Posted on May 29th 2007 by Reverend
Re: ITM... for all?
"I think a lot of punters that become players do so because they can tell how much fun the players are having."
That's true for me for sure---it's not the only reason I wanted to learn to play, but it was definitely a factor.
# Posted on May 29th 2007 by kennedy
Re: ITM... for all?
I think it is more fun for the players; if there's no buzz then there's no point. Punters pick up on the buzz (often described as raw talent) from people enjoying playing music. Punters can also be tricked and mesmerised by sleight of hand (often described as slick and polished performances). I have been to many sessions where a real performer gives it their all and this can and does attract the attention of even the most peripheral punter, albeit briefly. I have also been to many performances where the laid-back attitude of the seasoned performer fails to stop the exodus to the bar/toilet/smoke/taxi.
Does anyone else find that a good session of music means that time loses all meaning (not timing mind you, that would be a completely different thing!) and the evening goes over all too quickly? That is for me a good indicator that I've enjoyed the "ITM".
Cheers
# Posted on May 29th 2007 by CiaranMulholland
Re: ITM... for all?
I see non-musicians delighted by live music every time I'm around it (in one way or another).
It's one of the reasons that we enjoy playing so much.
# Posted on May 30th 2007 by morning star
Re: ITM... for all?
Adults have been too beaten down by whatever to express it much, but our local session often gets kids bobbin and jiggin to the tunes. If you can get kids to react in public (favorably) something is working well.
# Posted on May 30th 2007 by wormdiet