Tune list?
Forget it!
When you have people just turning up from all over, one or whoever is at the sesh just plays what ever tunes crop up!
Tune lists suck!
Have done the tune list thing but whilst it might be good up to a point it becomes a mill-stone if you feel you need to play those tunes - boring. A basic list is certainly helpful for newcomers if they are beginners.
Yeah, I've found a similar thing as Donough. Sessions that have tune lists tend to ONLY play those tunes, in those sets, and get upset/uncomfortable if someone comes in and plays different tunes or mixes up the sets.
a list of tunes as ones that are likely to come up is good, I think, but sessions that have set-in-stone tune lists, or even worse (like the last place I lived), the sheet music for each book in the order that they should be played... I don't like it.
Thanks Trevor and Mix. My impression is that is much what you would hear at a festival in England from a bunch of the players who were not at the 'irish' session.
Oh look, at any regular session there will be a shared set of
tunes that the regulars all know. Because otherwise, it would just
be people taking turns playing solos. It's interesting to find
out what some of these are. I'd love to see some lists from
non-tourist sessions in Clare and Galway.
A tune list doesn't have to be a programme. And at sessions where there is a list like Trevors I can't imagine the regulars ever referring to it - they'll either play their old favourites (which are on the list) or bring along new tunes (which aren't) just as they would in any other session.
But where having a list like that is really useful is in sessions that attract a lot of visitors. When you visit a strange session it is very useful to know where the common ground lies.
''d love to see some lists from
non-tourist sessions in Clare and Galway'
I can tell you that where I play there are a few favourites that come up every few weeks, certainly not every week. Those aside, it all depends on who comes in and the tunes will vary wildly from one week to the next.
No, it's not a "session" programme, and we don't feel any special need to play "those" tunes. The list (which I compiled with Trevor) is certainly not intended to be "tablets of stone".
On the contrary "new" tunes are introduced all the time, and some tunes that were once played frequently may have now fallen out of favour.
In any case, the list is only a "first draft" - compiled mostly from my somewhat fickle memory (with some assistance from TJ) of what had been played there in the past year. We plan to add to the list as and when memory prompts us.
Skreech has summed it up perfectly - it's mostly intended as a guide for potential visitors. Anyone turning up on spec could launch into one or more of the tunes on the list with the reasonable expectation that others would join in. And there's nothing to stop a visitor playing a tune that's not on list - he or she just might have to do a solo, though ...
Trevor's list looks like a typical English session - a mix of English, Irish and Scottish tunes with other random stuff thrown in. Much more varied than your typical Irish session but heaps of dag too!
You've hit on another reason for having the list, Dow.
You're in the district on a Tuesday with some time to spare. You look at what's on the the list, decide that you don't like it, and don't bother to turn up ...
The list does contain quite a few tunes of that ilk, some of which would certainly cause me no loss of sleep if I never played them again!
But such tunes are by their very nature simplistic, which encourages newcomers and youngsters to get involved - which has got to be a good thing...
... indeed, some who first began playing at this session (at its previous venue) have since gone on to become accomplished musicians.
One final point. When we moved to this pub from our previous venue at the begininning of this year, the pub was virtually empty - we were told that Tuesday was the quietest night of the week. Now it's full of punters.
So we must be getting something right!
Last week, a bunch of people travelled down from Cheltenam (some 45 miles distant!) - a difficult journey involving train bus and Shank's pony ....
Not to PLAY in the session, mind - just to LISTEN to the music!
Only this morning was I looking at the lovely pictures you took to my leaving for The Antipodes, backing 2002.
I think your post is well justified; I take it to be a guide to those visiting as to what tunes they might expect, as opposed to that these will be played in this order, or you will be shot, so to speak.
I may be in the wrong space to add that on one night Pru, brilliant guitarist he is, took me up to have a tune with Phil Dawson, fiddler and banjoist of some skill I must add!
Poor Pru! He sat there very patiently…there where six (yes 6!) bodhrans, and six (yes 6!) guitars, all hungry for lead musicians. I asked why he didn’t play? As he put it, well, we were the two!
Andy, who had the pub at that time, very generously stood our drinks, as the £100 bar tab for musicians had already been exceeded! I kid you not! Sometimes the tab would be drunk before a session had taken off.
To Jeremy, in advance, I apologise if this is the wrong spot for this addendum, but it is most definitely in trim with the subject posted.
It's a small world! I know both of two musicians that you mentioned by name (Phil Dawson & Pru).
There is an Irish session fortnightly at this pub, which I guess is the session to which you are referring. Not to be confused with the Tuesday session which is the subject of Trevor's post!
FYI (and also Hup) the current list contains three tunes of Aussie origin:
- Mudgee Schottische
- Orotoba Waltz
- Whistling Prince
For Galway sessions, they vary wildly depending on the particular group of musicians. Each pub and each night generally has a different set of regulars, and there's little overlap for the tunes that are common to each session. At the session I usually played at (was not touristy), I don't think anyone knew hardly any of the names of what they play anyhow, so it wouldn't be so easy to make a list of tunes they often play.
I've mainly found the phenomenon of having a set tune list that comes in a bound booklet of the particular version of the tune they want you to play in the US. Actually, no where else. Only the US. Last two places I lived in that country (Greensboro, NC, and Lexington, KY) were like that and the book of dots thing drove me up the wall.
There is something like this here in Hobart. A flute player, originally from Queensland, printed a book of session tunes. That was before I got here.
Some people still don't play outside that repertoire and that's the inherent danger of only playing from a list. Seriously, I've had comments like it's not in Xxxxxx's book!
The idea of having a list of tunes that might be played can be an asset, but as you and others have stated, it could also put a barrier to listening to and learning other tunes.
When I started out I quickly realised that there were a lot more tunes than in the local session. I literally travelled the length and breadth of Britain and Ireland to find new different music.
In so doing I met so many lovely people as well as finding tunes.
As a beginner, and an occasional visitor to the Tuesday session, I find the list helpful to identify a few tunes to focus on, to get started.
It's also handy as a reference for those half-remembered tune names from the night before!
There is limited value as a beginner in learning tunes that nobody else plays, so the combination of the list and a few visits helps with focus.
There is obviously no obligation on anyone to use it for anything other than a convenient reference, that I've seen.
I find it happens naturally after a few drinks - but the result depends on the brew. Spirits = starboard: wine = port. So long landlubbers. I'm all at sea
Session Tune Lists
Session Tune Lists
I don't know how many sessions do this, but we have placed here the tune list used by our Tuesday session at the Kingsdown Vaults in Bristol. See http://www.thesession.org/sessions/display/2813/comments#comment570013
# Posted on March 2nd 2011 by Trevor Jennings
Re: Session Tune Lists
A lot of unfamiliar tune names, which is good. I have a bunch of
tunes with no names in my head and probably some of these
will match up.
# Posted on March 2nd 2011 by Hup
Re: Session Tune Lists
Tune list?
Forget it!
When you have people just turning up from all over, one or whoever is at the sesh just plays what ever tunes crop up!
Tune lists suck!
# Posted on March 2nd 2011 by yhaalhouse
Re: Session Tune Lists
No, they don't suck. They guide newcomers, which is good for us all.
# Posted on March 2nd 2011 by Greg the Piano Tuner
Re: Session Tune Lists
Have done the tune list thing but whilst it might be good up to a point it becomes a mill-stone if you feel you need to play those tunes - boring. A basic list is certainly helpful for newcomers if they are beginners.
# Posted on March 2nd 2011 by Donough
Re: Session Tune Lists
Yeah, I've found a similar thing as Donough. Sessions that have tune lists tend to ONLY play those tunes, in those sets, and get upset/uncomfortable if someone comes in and plays different tunes or mixes up the sets.
a list of tunes as ones that are likely to come up is good, I think, but sessions that have set-in-stone tune lists, or even worse (like the last place I lived), the sheet music for each book in the order that they should be played... I don't like it.
# Posted on March 2nd 2011 by fiddletreegypsy
Re: Session Tune Lists
I mean the sheet music for each tune bound into a book.
# Posted on March 2nd 2011 by fiddletreegypsy
Re: Session Tune Lists
Thanks Trevor and Mix. My impression is that is much what you would hear at a festival in England from a bunch of the players who were not at the 'irish' session.
# Posted on March 2nd 2011 by David50
Re: Session Tune Lists
I'd never even consider going to a session with a pre-set program.
# Posted on March 2nd 2011 by Prof. Prlwytzkofski
Re: Session Tune Lists
Oh look, at any regular session there will be a shared set of
tunes that the regulars all know. Because otherwise, it would just
be people taking turns playing solos. It's interesting to find
out what some of these are. I'd love to see some lists from
non-tourist sessions in Clare and Galway.
# Posted on March 2nd 2011 by Hup
Re: Session Tune Lists
A tune list doesn't have to be a programme. And at sessions where there is a list like Trevors I can't imagine the regulars ever referring to it - they'll either play their old favourites (which are on the list) or bring along new tunes (which aren't) just as they would in any other session.
But where having a list like that is really useful is in sessions that attract a lot of visitors. When you visit a strange session it is very useful to know where the common ground lies.
# Posted on March 2nd 2011 by skreech
Re: Session Tune Lists
''d love to see some lists from
non-tourist sessions in Clare and Galway'
I can tell you that where I play there are a few favourites that come up every few weeks, certainly not every week. Those aside, it all depends on who comes in and the tunes will vary wildly from one week to the next.
# Posted on March 2nd 2011 by Prof. Prlwytzkofski
Re: Session Tune Lists
No, it's not a "session" programme, and we don't feel any special need to play "those" tunes. The list (which I compiled with Trevor) is certainly not intended to be "tablets of stone".
On the contrary "new" tunes are introduced all the time, and some tunes that were once played frequently may have now fallen out of favour.
In any case, the list is only a "first draft" - compiled mostly from my somewhat fickle memory (with some assistance from TJ) of what had been played there in the past year. We plan to add to the list as and when memory prompts us.
Skreech has summed it up perfectly - it's mostly intended as a guide for potential visitors. Anyone turning up on spec could launch into one or more of the tunes on the list with the reasonable expectation that others would join in. And there's nothing to stop a visitor playing a tune that's not on list - he or she just might have to do a solo, though ...
# Posted on March 2nd 2011 by Mix O'Lydian
Re: Session Tune Lists
Trevor's list looks like a typical English session - a mix of English, Irish and Scottish tunes with other random stuff thrown in. Much more varied than your typical Irish session but heaps of dag too!
# Posted on March 2nd 2011 by Dr. Dow
Re: Session Tune Lists
You've hit on another reason for having the list, Dow.
You're in the district on a Tuesday with some time to spare. You look at what's on the the list, decide that you don't like it, and don't bother to turn up ...
... so we we saved you some shoe-leather! Lo!
# Posted on March 2nd 2011 by Mix O'Lydian
Re: Session Tune Lists
Yeah. But dag can be good too if you're in the mood for it and it's not being taken too seriously
# Posted on March 2nd 2011 by Dr. Dow
Re: Session Tune Lists
Hence the expression 'rattle them dags' :}
# Posted on March 2nd 2011 by gam
Re: Session Tune Lists
Point, taken, Dow ..
The list does contain quite a few tunes of that ilk, some of which would certainly cause me no loss of sleep if I never played them again!
But such tunes are by their very nature simplistic, which encourages newcomers and youngsters to get involved - which has got to be a good thing...
... indeed, some who first began playing at this session (at its previous venue) have since gone on to become accomplished musicians.
One final point. When we moved to this pub from our previous venue at the begininning of this year, the pub was virtually empty - we were told that Tuesday was the quietest night of the week. Now it's full of punters.
So we must be getting something right!
Last week, a bunch of people travelled down from Cheltenam (some 45 miles distant!) - a difficult journey involving train bus and Shank's pony ....
Not to PLAY in the session, mind - just to LISTEN to the music!
# Posted on March 2nd 2011 by Mix O'Lydian
Re: Session Tune Lists
G’day Trevor!
Only this morning was I looking at the lovely pictures you took to my leaving for The Antipodes, backing 2002.
I think your post is well justified; I take it to be a guide to those visiting as to what tunes they might expect, as opposed to that these will be played in this order, or you will be shot, so to speak.
I may be in the wrong space to add that on one night Pru, brilliant guitarist he is, took me up to have a tune with Phil Dawson, fiddler and banjoist of some skill I must add!
Poor Pru! He sat there very patiently…there where six (yes 6!) bodhrans, and six (yes 6!) guitars, all hungry for lead musicians. I asked why he didn’t play? As he put it, well, we were the two!
Andy, who had the pub at that time, very generously stood our drinks, as the £100 bar tab for musicians had already been exceeded! I kid you not! Sometimes the tab would be drunk before a session had taken off.
To Jeremy, in advance, I apologise if this is the wrong spot for this addendum, but it is most definitely in trim with the subject posted.
All the best
Brian x
# Posted on March 2nd 2011 by briantheflute
Re: Session Tune Lists
@briantheflute
It's a small world! I know both of two musicians that you mentioned by name (Phil Dawson & Pru).
There is an Irish session fortnightly at this pub, which I guess is the session to which you are referring. Not to be confused with the Tuesday session which is the subject of Trevor's post!
FYI (and also Hup) the current list contains three tunes of Aussie origin:
- Mudgee Schottische
- Orotoba Waltz
- Whistling Prince
# Posted on March 2nd 2011 by Mix O'Lydian
Re: Session Tune Lists
For Galway sessions, they vary wildly depending on the particular group of musicians. Each pub and each night generally has a different set of regulars, and there's little overlap for the tunes that are common to each session. At the session I usually played at (was not touristy), I don't think anyone knew hardly any of the names of what they play anyhow, so it wouldn't be so easy to make a list of tunes they often play.
I've mainly found the phenomenon of having a set tune list that comes in a bound booklet of the particular version of the tune they want you to play in the US. Actually, no where else. Only the US. Last two places I lived in that country (Greensboro, NC, and Lexington, KY) were like that and the book of dots thing drove me up the wall.
# Posted on March 3rd 2011 by fiddletreegypsy
Re: Session Tune Lists
Hi Fiddletreegypsy!
There is something like this here in Hobart. A flute player, originally from Queensland, printed a book of session tunes. That was before I got here.
Some people still don't play outside that repertoire and that's the inherent danger of only playing from a list. Seriously, I've had comments like it's not in Xxxxxx's book!
The idea of having a list of tunes that might be played can be an asset, but as you and others have stated, it could also put a barrier to listening to and learning other tunes.
When I started out I quickly realised that there were a lot more tunes than in the local session. I literally travelled the length and breadth of Britain and Ireland to find new different music.
In so doing I met so many lovely people as well as finding tunes.
All the best
Brian x
# Posted on March 3rd 2011 by briantheflute
Re: Session Tune Lists
As a beginner, and an occasional visitor to the Tuesday session, I find the list helpful to identify a few tunes to focus on, to get started.
It's also handy as a reference for those half-remembered tune names from the night before!
There is limited value as a beginner in learning tunes that nobody else plays, so the combination of the list and a few visits helps with focus.
There is obviously no obligation on anyone to use it for anything other than a convenient reference, that I've seen.
# Posted on June 23rd 2011 by malcolmbebb
Re: Session Tune Lists
I think it would be a mistake to try to try to be looking up half remembered tunes names. Much better to be focusing on half remembered tunes.
# Posted on June 23rd 2011 by ...
Re: Session Tune Lists
I find it happens naturally after a few drinks - but the result depends on the brew. Spirits = starboard: wine = port. So long landlubbers. I'm all at sea
or is it washed up!!
# Posted on June 23rd 2011 by Fiddlemad