I was just wondering what is the most common instrument played around your area?For my area its the accordion.I can think of 10 accordion players off my head.Theres some well known ones to ,like David Munnelly,Fiachna O'Mongain and Vincent McGrath.So what about you?
It was a simple statistical analysis of all the people who had placed "pins" on my online players map. It shows that fiddles are pretty prominent everywhere. It will be interesting to hear other people's regional differences too!
My Suburb (Drimnagh): There's a good mix. Martin Nolan (piper) lives here and so does Sean Garvey (Accordion). The Banks and Martin families have plenty of instruments between them (fiddle, piano, banjo, mandolin, pipes, flute, concertina) and in my place we've got (banjo, mandolin, guitar, accordion, flute/whistles.)
Dublin in general: Fair share of everything but many pipers on the block these days and the fiddle has its good share of exponents too.
Fiddlers by far. Not violinists, either. After that, guitars. They have to take turns while the fiddlers all play at the same time all night long. You'd think if they kept rubbing that stick against that piece of wood like that all night it might catch on fire, but no. Never does.
That's not to say that I don't often have multiple fiddlers there, but man, you could get lost in the sea of 9 fiddles, only to drown in the mud. And even if all the fiddlers are very talented, it can get muddy. Just listen to that "My Love Is In America" recording of the Boston College Irish Fiddle Festival - the tracks where they're all playing together like some fiddle-only orchestra (OK, and a bodhran) are pretty messy.
Tampa session has a gang o'fiddlers, much as everyone's reporting here. We have less overall musicians here...but the same percentage of fiddlers as everyplace else, it seems.
Or violinists aspiring to be fiddlers. The only reason I don't clean the rosin off my fiddle is because I enjoy the look of horror on the classicos faces when I whip it out. [/sarcasm]
Flutes, fiddles, whistles, banjos and guitars (in approximately that order). I always brag that I am one of the ten best button accordion players in the state of Rhode Island, because I know most of them, and it only takes one hand to count them. And pipers are like hens teeth.
In my town of 28,000 souls lost smack in the center of the absolute middle of no where on the North American continent, our current, local session regulars include:
Mind you, even at the open session, not all of these show up every week. And some of us are multi-instrumentalists (e.g., one fiddler alternates on button box, and another on mandolin, banjo, and flute). The bodhran players take turns, and the 2nd guitarist (also a zouk player) rarely ever shows up.
Our session has also included other concertina and whistle players, and a harp player. But these sit in only sporadically.
Two of the zouk players are fairly new to the instrument, so they more often stick to whistle and drum. Also, one of the drummers just bought a concertina--apparently we've lured him over to the light. And the fiddle/box player just received a flute.
In short, our session can at times be a wonderful game of musical chairs, and it looks to be increasingly diversifying in healthy directions.
Here in Coventry our regulars are
6 fiddles
3 button accordions
3 banjos
2 whistles
2 bodhrans
1 flute
Unfortunately we rarely see harps or pipers. Looks like the fiddles win again.
Last Thursday night's register reveals:
1 spoons
2 banjos
1 bones
2 bodhrans
2 whistles
1 low whistle
3 flutes
1 box
3 fiddles.
So I suppose it was flutes and whistles. Usually fiddles are most numerous.
Last night's session (Friday) at the Barley Mow in Bristol
6 fiddles
1 guitar
1 banjo
A little skewed, that one. We're usually likely to have also at least some of the following,
1 set of pipes
1 or 2 mandolins
1 or 2 whistles
1 bodhran
1 flute
2 concertinas
1 box of some sort
Question: do singers count in this survey? Generally, I think not, unless they only lilt, or if you have one or two regulars with recognised slots.
At our Los Angeles ("Auld Dubliner" in Long Beach actually) we can have as many as a half-dozen fiddles, a box, a flute, three pipes, three whistles, two guitars, two hammer dulcimers, and a bodhran. Usually not all these are there at once.
I guess I should show up at Finn McCool's and see what's going on there.
We have a strong uilleann club going and there we can have a dozen or more pipes going.
Players in your area....
Players in your area....
I was just wondering what is the most common instrument played around your area?For my area its the accordion.I can think of 10 accordion players off my head.Theres some well known ones to ,like David Munnelly,Fiachna O'Mongain and Vincent McGrath.So what about you?
# Posted on November 9th 2007 by dinn2
Re: Players in your area....
Fiddlers! There's loads of em round here (Bath nd Bristol)!
# Posted on November 9th 2007 by mehitabel23
Re: Players in your area....
Fiddles are in dominance in San Diego
# Posted on November 9th 2007 by Michael Eskin
Re: Players in your area....
Probably more quaility bodhran players in Cork than anywhere (not me).but fiddles all the way
# Posted on November 9th 2007 by Saint
Re: Players in your area....
Yep, fiddles around Denver too...
You might be interested in this thread that I did a little ways back. http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display/15328
It was a simple statistical analysis of all the people who had placed "pins" on my online players map. It shows that fiddles are pretty prominent everywhere. It will be interesting to hear other people's regional differences too!
Pete
# Posted on November 9th 2007 by Reverend
Re: Players in your area....
Singer/songwriters!!!! Guitars, out there by a mile, oodles of them.
# Posted on November 9th 2007 by Clear Drops
Re: Players in your area....
Ive lived in different parts of the USA and have found fiddlers to be the rarest at most sessions... keep in mind I am not counting violinists.
# Posted on November 9th 2007 by The Merry Highlander
Re: Players in your area....
My Suburb (Drimnagh): There's a good mix. Martin Nolan (piper) lives here and so does Sean Garvey (Accordion). The Banks and Martin families have plenty of instruments between them (fiddle, piano, banjo, mandolin, pipes, flute, concertina) and in my place we've got (banjo, mandolin, guitar, accordion, flute/whistles.)
Dublin in general: Fair share of everything but many pipers on the block these days and the fiddle has its good share of exponents too.
# Posted on November 9th 2007 by PaddyCmusic
Re: Players in your area....
And concertina!
# Posted on November 9th 2007 by PaddyCmusic
Re: Players in your area....
more fiddlers than all the rest put together here on the roof of the Pennines.
Census of this week's local session
9 fiddles
2 banjos
2 boxes
1 piper
1 guitar
1 Mandolin
1 Bodhran
# Posted on November 9th 2007 by millionyears_bc
Re: Players in your area....
Fiddlers by far. Not violinists, either. After that, guitars. They have to take turns while the fiddlers all play at the same time all night long. You'd think if they kept rubbing that stick against that piece of wood like that all night it might catch on fire, but no. Never does.
# Posted on November 9th 2007 by sbhikes
Re: Players in your area....
Wednesday's session was a good mix (keep in mind that this is my controversial 'closed' session)
1 fiddle
1 pipes
1 banjo
1 flute
1 bouzouki
1 guitar
1 bodhran
That's not to say that I don't often have multiple fiddlers there, but man, you could get lost in the sea of 9 fiddles, only to drown in the mud. And even if all the fiddlers are very talented, it can get muddy. Just listen to that "My Love Is In America" recording of the Boston College Irish Fiddle Festival - the tracks where they're all playing together like some fiddle-only orchestra (OK, and a bodhran) are pretty messy.
Pete
# Posted on November 9th 2007 by Reverend
Re: Players in your area....
What can I say? It's a great instrument. [shrug]
Tampa session has a gang o'fiddlers, much as everyone's reporting here. We have less overall musicians here...but the same percentage of fiddlers as everyplace else, it seems.
Or violinists aspiring to be fiddlers. The only reason I don't clean the rosin off my fiddle is because I enjoy the look of horror on the classicos faces when I whip it out. [/sarcasm]
# Posted on November 9th 2007 by SWFL Fiddler
Re: Players in your area....
Fiddles, guitars, mandolins.
# Posted on November 9th 2007 by PatrickJWK
Re: Players in your area....
Flutes, fiddles, whistles, banjos and guitars (in approximately that order). I always brag that I am one of the ten best button accordion players in the state of Rhode Island, because I know most of them, and it only takes one hand to count them. And pipers are like hens teeth.
# Posted on November 9th 2007 by AlBrown
Re: Players in your area....
In my town of 28,000 souls lost smack in the center of the absolute middle of no where on the North American continent, our current, local session regulars include:
5 bodhranistas
4 fiddlers
4 whistlers
3 bouzouki (melody) players
2 fluters
2 guitarists
2 mandolinists
1 concertinist
1 guitarist
1 banjoist
1 button accordionist
1 u. piper
1 hammered dulcimer player
Mind you, even at the open session, not all of these show up every week. And some of us are multi-instrumentalists (e.g., one fiddler alternates on button box, and another on mandolin, banjo, and flute). The bodhran players take turns, and the 2nd guitarist (also a zouk player) rarely ever shows up.
Our session has also included other concertina and whistle players, and a harp player. But these sit in only sporadically.
Two of the zouk players are fairly new to the instrument, so they more often stick to whistle and drum. Also, one of the drummers just bought a concertina--apparently we've lured him over to the light.
And the fiddle/box player just received a flute.
In short, our session can at times be a wonderful game of musical chairs, and it looks to be increasingly diversifying in healthy directions.
# Posted on November 9th 2007 by Will CPT
Re: Players in your area....
Here in Coventry our regulars are
6 fiddles
3 button accordions
3 banjos
2 whistles
2 bodhrans
1 flute
Unfortunately we rarely see harps or pipers. Looks like the fiddles win again.
# Posted on November 10th 2007 by FiddleFi
Re: Players in your area....
Last Thursday night's register reveals:
1 spoons
2 banjos
1 bones
2 bodhrans
2 whistles
1 low whistle
3 flutes
1 box
3 fiddles.
So I suppose it was flutes and whistles. Usually fiddles are most numerous.
# Posted on November 10th 2007 by Key Maniac Lad
Re: Players in your area....
Last night's session (Friday) at the Barley Mow in Bristol
6 fiddles
1 guitar
1 banjo
A little skewed, that one. We're usually likely to have also at least some of the following,
1 set of pipes
1 or 2 mandolins
1 or 2 whistles
1 bodhran
1 flute
2 concertinas
1 box of some sort
Question: do singers count in this survey? Generally, I think not, unless they only lilt, or if you have one or two regulars with recognised slots.
# Posted on November 10th 2007 by lazyhound
Re: Players in your area....
Fiddlers/ whistle players/guitarists
# Posted on November 10th 2007 by wormdiet
Re: Players in your area....
Almost always more fiddles than any other instruments. perhaps they are breeding....
# Posted on November 10th 2007 by mehere
Re: Players in your area....
fiddles here
they're all mad too
# Posted on November 11th 2007 by Bren
Re: Players in your area....
GUITARS ....mostly prima donna electricinistas..I know I am going mad
# Posted on November 12th 2007 by Joze
Re: Players in your area....
At our Los Angeles ("Auld Dubliner" in Long Beach actually) we can have as many as a half-dozen fiddles, a box, a flute, three pipes, three whistles, two guitars, two hammer dulcimers, and a bodhran. Usually not all these are there at once.
I guess I should show up at Finn McCool's and see what's going on there.
We have a strong uilleann club going and there we can have a dozen or more pipes going.
# Posted on November 13th 2007 by Richard D Cook