I just had the most fun I’ve had in a long time!!! I went to a festival in Calabasas, CA. Will told me to tell about it when I got home, and Zina said that it would be OK if I posted as discussion. So, here goes.
OK, things started out not as wonderful as I expected. We got there a bit later then planned, and so I arrived a little too late to start a workshop by Sean Cleland. But, I had loads of fun walking around just looking at all the awesome stuff they had there. They had a tent full of instruments, and anyone could go around and play them. I found a wooden flute, and to my delight and surprise, I found that I could play it a little. I can’t wait till I buy mine! After I wandered for a bit, I headed off to a session led by Seamus Connolly and Frank Simpson. I felt a bit awkward not really having played in that many sessions before (1 small one), so I just hung around the back with my whistle. No tunes that I knew came up, but someone from the session did! Kira (fiddlek), spotted me and invited me over a little ways to play some tunes with her and someone else. Thanks Kira! That was loads of fun, because she let me start most of the tunes, which meant that I could play with them instead of waiting about 10 minutes before a tune that I knew came up. Fun! After playing and chatting a while, me and a friend of mine went to a fiddle workshop by Seamus Connolly. That was a bit disappointing. We got there about five minutes late, so we missed a bit. Also, this was my first workshop, so I was kinda unsure of what to do. It turned out that before we came, sheet music had been passed out for the tune they were learning. We went and got it, but the whole workshop was above my level, so I had trouble following along. Oh well. My troubles were at an end when I next took a workshop by on the whistle by Frank Simpson. Not only was I more comfortable playing the whistle, but Frank was real easy to work with. I learned two awesome new tunes called the Maho Snaps & the Boys on the Hilltop. I’ll look in the archives to see if they’re there, and post them if they’re not. After that, I headed down to another workshop by Seamus on the recommendation of heike, another thesessioneer that I met there! This on was also way above me, but it was interesting, and when I couldn’t follow along, I just sat back and listened. Everything at Seamus’s workshop was done from sheet music, which was hard for me. After that, the workshops were over, so I headed with some friends down to a stage where they had music all day long. There, I saw the Barra McNeils!! I had never heard them (apart from audio samples) before, so I was blown away! They are now right up there with my favorite bands. They were phenomenal! Double fiddles, awesome piano, accordion, flute, dancing, whistle, and really good vocals too. They had a bass player too. His mic was turned up way to high at first, but they fixed that later. That’s about it for Saturday! Cool, huh?!
OK, on to Sunday! I was all ready to just jump right back in, and I ended up taking all the workshops and events possible. I started out by going to a fiddle workshop by David Greenberg. He was so much fun, and a great, funny teacher too. He did have music for the tunes, but he taught them pretty much by ear. I was so impressed by his fiddling that I went over to a demonstration by him and five other fiddlers. They all said something about what they were going to play, and then played some tunes in their style. That was fun! Sean Cleland was also there. After that, I headed down to catch a bit of Kira’s band, the Blue Gillies. They were really good. After that (about 5 minutes) I headed over to a session led by bohola! Now that was fun!! There were about 30 or so players there, and more people watching. Once again, I hung towards the back. They started out with 3 jigs that I didn’t know. But, next set, they started with Cooley’s, which I do know! I got to play in the session! Yay! Kira came up and joined in then too. The next set was five slides, and I actually knew the last two, O’Keefe’s and Going to the Well for Water. My luck continued with the next (last) set, when they played the Merry Blacksmith. I had a blast at the session, and recorded the whole thing on tape, so now I can go back and learn them all! I told Kira about the workshops yesterday with Seamus, and how they went, and she recommended taking one from Sean Cleland instead, which I hadn’t done yet. Luckily, he was doing one when I didn’t have anything else planned, so I decided to do that. But first, I went to another Frank Simpson workshop on whistle ornamentation. That was great, and I recorded it too. So, once that was done, I went to Sean Cleland’s workshop. He was the best fiddle teacher I had all weekend, and he taught the tune entirely by ear, which was nice. I learned Bill Sullivan’s Polka. The workshop was a bit below my level, but I still enjoyed it immensely, and got quite a bit out of it. I also recorded Sean playing the tune, so I could take it home. That was pretty much it. Sounds like a fun weekend, doesn’t it?! I made some friends, got some new tunes, some session playing, and got a whole lot of info, not to mention having loads of fun!
Man, now I’m more enthused than ever to keep on learning my instruments, and more tunes. The thing that I love about this music is that there are always people ready to help you out and play music with you (thanks Kira!) even if you’re just a beginner, like me. Too bad it was only two days. Thanks Jeremy, for making thesession.org, so I could meet Kira and heike!
Oh, and by the way, to cap everything off, I’m going to see bohola in concert tomorrow!
Well, thanks all for listening to all the great things that happened to me!
Yay, Max! That sounds like it was a blast -- you played in your first festival session, that's great!
Never be afraid to take a workshop that's "below your level" -- my own teacher always told me that if I was bored with a tune, it was my own damn fault. As you found, there's always a ton to learn at these workshops, and if you're not struggling to keep up on aspects of stuff (speed, dexterity on your instrument, reading sheet music or learning by ear, etc.) that you don't have under your belt yet, you can concentrate on the actual playing of the music.
the sessions at the Mariott were also fine. From what I heard, the friday session went till 3; I left at 10:30pm Saturday nite-had a training ride on Sunday morning. Michael Eskin's 3/4 lynch set was blazing away when I left. While I was there I think I recognized about 2 tunes out of the time I was there. Ah well, more to learn. Next year, I'm getting a room
Max your fresh perspective & optimism are so fantastic! I can think of so many other peeps who would moan & groan at exactly the same circumstances ie Merry Blacksmith or Bill Sullivan's polka.... I'm with you, staying upbeat & enthusiastic, thanks for the fabulous festival report & reminding all of us that the most important thing about this music is having fun with the ppl who love it!
Hey there Max, it was great to meet you this weekend. Your style and phrasing on whistle was very nice. Even though you only played one tune on fiddle, I can definitely say you're on the right track there too. It was a pleasure to have you join or little mini-session on Saturday morning. I'm so glad you had such a great time out there.
My own experience of the festival was very different but equally wonderful. The sessions on Friday and Saturday nights at the hotel were about the same as any other year there; some very pleasant ones, some crazy ones, and some made from pure magic that I will remember for the rest of my life. I left early on Friday(2:30am) because I had too be up early on Saturday to help with a bodhran class. Yes, I was a musical metronome for about 15 bodhran students... and it wasn't a horrible experience. They could all keep time. It was incredible. To anyone out there who took that class on Saturday morning. Major props to you! Saturday nights' sessions went on 'til almost 5. I left at about 4:30. There were many magic moments that night.
I was in one of the many bands playing at the festival so my time wasn't entirely my own, but I was able to take two of the fiddle classes on Saturday. Anyone able to take a workshop from Sean Cleland (fiddle player for Bahola) at any point in the future definitely should. He taught two tunes I knew already and used a couple of horrible analogies, but he is a wonderful teacher, no matter what level you are. I was a little disappointed by Seamus Connolly's workshop. He started by passing out sheet music and having us sightread (Don't be discouraged Max. This is very unusual.) He worked entirely off the page and was very vague about why he ornamented the way he did. The up side is that I now have two new hornpipes I'd never heard before.
For me the best part of this festival every year is the people. There are so many people that I see there every year, and usually not at all otherwise. This includes Heike, Fel, and now Max. It starts to feel like an anual family reunion, but in a good way. I think that's part of what makes this music so wonderful. It's a high energy, bouncy, groovilicious, swingy, joyous way of being with people. Yay people! Welcome to the family, Max.
I went to the Marriott for the sessions only and missed the faire part (maybe next year) -- the sessions were very crowded, with the really good stuff starting about 1 AM on Saturday night! We played till 4:30AM on Saturday, and then I drove home, arriving in Santa Barbara as the sun came up.
Really really a great time, can't wait till next year.
I'm just snatching a tiny break from work to read these posts. I'd like to add my perspective also; it's always interesting to see how different some things are perceived and why it is so hard to make everybody happy!
But I have a project to finish with a tight deadline tomorrow while I am being punished for staying up too late the last two nights (i.e. thinking - which is essential for my work - doesn't go easy)! So I'll be back with some more feedback on the festival tomorrow or later tonight.
I can second Kira on Sean's workshops. Unfortunatly, I only got to take one. I was so excited about seeing Seamus Connolly (who I had heard a lot about) that I took both of his on Saturday, instead of any from Sean. Although he was really nice, he didn't seem to make things clear, and as Kira said, everyone was reading music the whole time. I can read music, but not that fast, and it's even harder on the fiddle since I'm new at that. Oh well. The other hard thing was that in the second one I did with him, he taught a hornpipe that went all the way up to the high c. I can do that on the whistle, but not on the fiddle. When I took Sean's though, he explained everything. He told us why he was going to teach the tune by ear instead of with dots, and why it's better to learn traditional music that way. Whenever he saw someone having trouble, he went over and helped them out until they got it. I'm seeing him in concert tonight with bohola, I can't wait!
I was so caught up in all the excitement over the weekend that I forgot to eat anything until all the workshops were over for the day! The only thing that I missed that I'm really bummed about was the hotel sessions afterwards. Everybody was talking about them, and telling me that I had to go, and saying how great they were. I would have bitten my leg off to be able to go, but it just wasn't an option. There's no way my parents would want to stay up that late, but don't worry, as soon as I get my own transportation, or a place to stay I'm doing the whole thing! Every bit!
Hey, something else cool that happened at the bohola session was that they played a slide, and I picked it up! They played it about seven times through, and by about time 5 or 6, I knew enough to play along with most of it. I've never been able to learn a tune that fast before, so it was a cool break-through point for me. I recorded the whole session, so hopefully I can learn the other tunes too.
Looking forward to hearing what you thought of the festival, Heike! Thanks for spotting me out, it was great to meet you there!
BTW, I did go to the Rt Hon PatrickD'Arcy's piping classes. I got to the first one late and it was an intro with lots of questions from folks. I got to the second one late since I sat in on a bouzouki (sp?) class from the guy that plays in Bohola. Something about old dogs and new trick ( I was never late in college )
Very good info and made me think about the way I pick up music and retain it.
Pat's second class turned into a seminar-It was Steve P, Joey and myself plus a couple of others without pipes but listening in to us learning the Raveled hank of yarn. Pat is such a patient teacher and puts up with missed notes (me), play it one more time ( me) and huh?? how did you do that??? (guess who)
And the humidity in the class room was 50 ish- yee haw
So, now in some more detail.
First of all, it was great to meet you, Max! And it was great to get to play with you again, Kira (and Melanie, Joey, Dan, David, Dave and lots of people whose names I don't know). Great session on Saturday night!
I must say that my impression of Seamus Conolly is rather different, although I was not too thrilled in the beginning. The first day-time session was lead by him and lead it he did. It was almost like in a classroom, he was asking the musicians one by one to start a tune. A tune, not a set! So there was not a chance that anything remotely session-like could develop. In several cases (I think it was all jigs), when he joined in after someone had started a tune, he even slowed down the speed quite a bit (yours truly included and I don't think I'm a reckless speed player). I assume that it was all done with the good intention to give as many people a chance to start a tune and to play in as many tunes as possible, but it wasn't that much fun. His hornpipe workshop was a bit strange, since he showed some exercises for "triplet runs" at twenty notes per second. So, don't worry, Max, that was above everybody's level - or rather, fingers. And no hornpipe is (or should at least) played that fast anyways. I didn't think either it was a good idea to use a hornpipe that requires the second position. Having said that and having attended two more workshops with him, my overall verdict is that I got quite a lot out of it and that it will definitely help improve my playing.
I've taken workshops with a good number of really great fiddle players during previous festivals and so far, his (and a workshop by Eamon Doorley from Danu) were the most productive ones for me. Too many workshops are "tune learning classes" or get "stuck" on the same issues (what is a role, how do I do a role, etc.). Not that there's anything wrong with learning tunes from great musicians, but it usually ends up being a toned-down version with no or hardly any ornamentation since with quite a large number of participants at very different levels there's just no time. I can learn more authentic playing from CDs. So I usually go to this type of workshop more to watch some great musicians close-up, listen to the stories they have to tell etc.
Using the sheet music in his workshops allowed Seamus Connolly more time to work on other things than learning a tune. We were able to spend quite some time on some bowing patterns, cross-bowing, bending instead of sliding, roles (of course, they can't be left out and now I have learned x different ways to do a role in x different workshops and probably can't do one of them right), etc. He might have been able to achieve the same by using tunes that everybody knows and doing without sheet music, but then coming home with a couple of new tunes is also part of the workshops.
Seamus definitely won me over when, passing by to hand out more music, he complemented me on my playing! Guess I must be doing something right. But maybe I should also mention that he's deaf in one ear...
My weirdest festival experience was the workshop announced as "O'Carolan Music for Recorders and Flutes". I was a bit puzzled that they mentioned recorders but not whistles, but thought it's Irish music after all, so they won't toss out a whistle player. The workshop turned out to be for recorder players with four pieces by O'Carolan arranged for soprano, alto and tenor recorder. A couple of Irish flute players left after they realized that. The two whistle players (another woman and myself) were told to better skip all f naturals and b flats (which was maybe a slighly more polite way of saying that he didn't like whistles). But I think my half-holed f naturals were much better in tune than the three soprano recorders in the front row with each other, not to mention the fact that one of them insisted on playing f natural in a piece in G major. Although the pieces were labled allegretto, we played them at the speed of a slow dirge, without any phrasing, each note the same (dead) weight (it didn't help that the copy of the music was so faint that the bar lines had practically disappeared). Lesson learned: Unless it says "Fiddle/whistle inside", stay outside!
I just got home from seeing bohola. It was so cool seeing them after playing with them in the session and taking Sean's workshop. I got to talk to Sean again, and he remebered me from the yesterday, which was neat. They were all really freindly, and ready to talk to anyone. At the intermission, they didn't go backstage, they just hopped off stage, and went out to get some refreshments with everybody else. I hope they come back soon!
Hey there Max, I was curious about what you would think of Bahola. I didn't say anything yesterday about their concert on Saturday night because I knew you were going yesterday.
My impression of them was quite different. I think they must've had an off night on Saturday. Most people said they were bored with most of their sets. Everyone near me was either yawning or falling asleep. The three instrumentalists were all great players, there's no doubt there, but when all the sets are over 15min. long with only silght and gradual varriation, it gets a little tedious. The singer didn't seem to fit with the rest of the band either. She had a nice enough voice, but she used almost no ornamentation. Singing the same notes with no varriation for 15 or 20 verses, again, gets tedious.
It didn't help that Bahola followed Nightngale on stage. In my oppinion those three people in Nightngale are the best set of arrangers I've ever heard (if you guys ever get a chance to hear them, I highly recomend it). To follow that with Bahola wasn't at all good. It showed their weaknesses as band too clearly. Everyone I talked to agreed that Nightngale blew Bahola out of the water.
Did anyone out there see both shows (Saturday night and Monday night)? If so, were they quite different? Everyone made such a big deal about Bahola. Maybe my expectations were too high. I'm glad you enjoied them Max. That tells me that maybe they were just haveing an off night.
Hey Heike, did you take the workshops with Jesse Smith the year that Danu was here? That was the best workshop of all in my oppinion.
Gee, that's really too bad about Saturday night. I wanted to go then too, but I could only do one. Their set's were a bit longer than I had seen before, and you're right, they pretty much didn't do any arranging. But I can't see how anyone could be bored with it! I was blown away, and I had some freinds there (Monday night) too that loved it as well. They must have been having a bad night on Saturday. I was a little disapointed about their singer though. I thought she would play guitar too, because she did at the session on Saturday, as well as doing some guitar workshops, but she just sang. That was a bit disapointing. I do think that her singing and Pat Broader's singing blended very nicely though.
Although the singing was good, I enjoyed the tunes more than anything. I couldn't have fallen asleep even if I had wanted to! The way they were pumping out one tune after another made me wish that I was back at the festival playing in the session with them again. That's really too bad that you didn't enjoy it Kira, they must have been having a bad night. The only thing that I think would have made them even better would have been some arranging, instead of the three of them just playing all at once. I wonder why they don't try that.
I didn't get to see that much of Nightengale, just a minute or two on the Swan Lake stage. Hearing how much you liked them, I wish I had stayed for more. Oh well. There was so much going over the weekend, it was impossible to do everything.
I did take one of the workshops.
He's obviously a brilliant fiddle player but I thought he was a bit too shy to be really a good teacher. Apart from that, he showed up about half an hour late and didn't seem too motivated.
It's good to hear that he has better days - maybe it was just lack of sleep or something like that.
My first visit to this particular festival was very enjoyable. I enjoyed meeting Kira, Joey, Steve(s), John(s), Michael(s), etc... and of course seeing other folks from San Diego I know like Heike and Penny (as well as those who visit San Diego from out of town on occasion).
Now if the magical ear and rhythm fairy would come and visit me more often while I practice -- then I promise I will be more a more proficient player next year!!
Bohola doesn't "arrange", Max, because the musos who make up Bohola (it's spelled with an "o", not an "a")are more on the purist side than not -- they like to keep things as trad as possible, is the way I've heard it. Which would of course sound sparse for those without the ears to hear it (and arguments about whether that's good or bad can be hadwith someone else). Great musos, all three of them, that's for sure, but I hear that they have a rough time of it when they tour -- seems like I'm always hearing stories of them being under the weather or in the midst of some difficulties while on tour...
I think another factor in the lack of energy in the Bohola (sorry for the wrong spelling earlier) concert was the lack of many tune sets in the show. They had a shorter set because of they split the concert with Nightngale. The only straight tune set was the first one they did. Everything else was a song or a tune-song conglomerate. I remember really liking that first set though. Maybe in their full concert on Monday they did more of that.
Hi Zina. I could be wrong, but I don't think you've heard Bohola recently. They aren't exactly pure drop. They may have started out that way, but not now. Especially with the addition of the forth. The three guys are great musos. No doubt there. They are great people for a session, and Sean Cleland is up there among some of my favorite fiddle players. I enjoied Pat Broader's singing too. The forth seemed to be the weakest link, and she figured very prominently on Saturday night.
They played pretty much half and half for tunes and songs on Monday night. The songs were nice, but I loved the tunes. The reason I chose to see them in Ojai instead of at the festival was that they had the show to themselves, so they could play longer. Also at the festival, you had to pay a lot of money to get a close seat. Monday night, whoever got there first got to sit close, so we got there super early and got to watch them from the front. Was their first set the jig set with the bohola jig, Kira? (Can't remember the names of the other two.) I liked that one a lot too.
Yes it was (and neither can I, I'm terrible with names). I chose to see them on Saturday because I got in free, even though I was in the very back. Staff gets in last. I still could see them all. I was on the isle and the room isn't that big.
Nope, haven't heard Bohola live in a dog's age. I missed them last they were in Colorado (as usual, I was working). Haven't ever heard them with the lady. Two of them I know through mutual friends, and that's where I've heard the most about purer leanings. ;)
I had a great time at Solstice this year, always wanted to stay up all night in the sessions and finally got my chance. This year, my wife, who had just started a new job, couldn't take the time off, so I was on my own and didn't have to worry about getting to Soka on time. Friday night, I played until 3:30 AM, Saturday, until 4:30 AM. Had such a great time all weekend. Didn't go to a single class, just hung out under the trees and in the consignment booth. Bought a tiny Dusty Strings 9/8 Dulcetta hammer dulcimer that I had sold years ago, it came back around. Before I became a session player and developed a bad Uilleann addiction, I was teaching and performing on hammer dulcimer for about 10 years. Its the sweetest little instrument, once I got the tuning sorted out (the previous owner had changed the tuning) it has exactly the notes required for all the common session modes. The session on Saturday night with Patrick, Barry, Frank, Joey and I was just wonderful, particularly after the French-Canadian session quieted down around 1 AM. We finished up at 3:30 AM, but then found the hidden session upstairs, where I got my 3rd or 4th wind and played for another hour with the rest of the hardcore sessioneers like myself. Thanks to everyone, best weekend of sessions I've had.
A weekend of fun (Summer Solstice Festival)
A weekend of fun (Summer Solstice Festival)
Hey everybody!
I just had the most fun I’ve had in a long time!!! I went to a festival in Calabasas, CA. Will told me to tell about it when I got home, and Zina said that it would be OK if I posted as discussion. So, here goes.
OK, things started out not as wonderful as I expected. We got there a bit later then planned, and so I arrived a little too late to start a workshop by Sean Cleland. But, I had loads of fun walking around just looking at all the awesome stuff they had there. They had a tent full of instruments, and anyone could go around and play them. I found a wooden flute, and to my delight and surprise, I found that I could play it a little. I can’t wait till I buy mine! After I wandered for a bit, I headed off to a session led by Seamus Connolly and Frank Simpson. I felt a bit awkward not really having played in that many sessions before (1 small one), so I just hung around the back with my whistle. No tunes that I knew came up, but someone from the session did! Kira (fiddlek), spotted me and invited me over a little ways to play some tunes with her and someone else. Thanks Kira! That was loads of fun, because she let me start most of the tunes, which meant that I could play with them instead of waiting about 10 minutes before a tune that I knew came up. Fun! After playing and chatting a while, me and a friend of mine went to a fiddle workshop by Seamus Connolly. That was a bit disappointing. We got there about five minutes late, so we missed a bit. Also, this was my first workshop, so I was kinda unsure of what to do. It turned out that before we came, sheet music had been passed out for the tune they were learning. We went and got it, but the whole workshop was above my level, so I had trouble following along. Oh well. My troubles were at an end when I next took a workshop by on the whistle by Frank Simpson. Not only was I more comfortable playing the whistle, but Frank was real easy to work with. I learned two awesome new tunes called the Maho Snaps & the Boys on the Hilltop. I’ll look in the archives to see if they’re there, and post them if they’re not. After that, I headed down to another workshop by Seamus on the recommendation of heike, another thesessioneer that I met there! This on was also way above me, but it was interesting, and when I couldn’t follow along, I just sat back and listened. Everything at Seamus’s workshop was done from sheet music, which was hard for me. After that, the workshops were over, so I headed with some friends down to a stage where they had music all day long. There, I saw the Barra McNeils!! I had never heard them (apart from audio samples) before, so I was blown away! They are now right up there with my favorite bands. They were phenomenal! Double fiddles, awesome piano, accordion, flute, dancing, whistle, and really good vocals too. They had a bass player too. His mic was turned up way to high at first, but they fixed that later. That’s about it for Saturday! Cool, huh?!
OK, on to Sunday! I was all ready to just jump right back in, and I ended up taking all the workshops and events possible. I started out by going to a fiddle workshop by David Greenberg. He was so much fun, and a great, funny teacher too. He did have music for the tunes, but he taught them pretty much by ear. I was so impressed by his fiddling that I went over to a demonstration by him and five other fiddlers. They all said something about what they were going to play, and then played some tunes in their style. That was fun! Sean Cleland was also there. After that, I headed down to catch a bit of Kira’s band, the Blue Gillies. They were really good. After that (about 5 minutes) I headed over to a session led by bohola! Now that was fun!! There were about 30 or so players there, and more people watching. Once again, I hung towards the back. They started out with 3 jigs that I didn’t know. But, next set, they started with Cooley’s, which I do know! I got to play in the session! Yay! Kira came up and joined in then too. The next set was five slides, and I actually knew the last two, O’Keefe’s and Going to the Well for Water. My luck continued with the next (last) set, when they played the Merry Blacksmith. I had a blast at the session, and recorded the whole thing on tape, so now I can go back and learn them all! I told Kira about the workshops yesterday with Seamus, and how they went, and she recommended taking one from Sean Cleland instead, which I hadn’t done yet. Luckily, he was doing one when I didn’t have anything else planned, so I decided to do that. But first, I went to another Frank Simpson workshop on whistle ornamentation. That was great, and I recorded it too. So, once that was done, I went to Sean Cleland’s workshop. He was the best fiddle teacher I had all weekend, and he taught the tune entirely by ear, which was nice. I learned Bill Sullivan’s Polka. The workshop was a bit below my level, but I still enjoyed it immensely, and got quite a bit out of it. I also recorded Sean playing the tune, so I could take it home. That was pretty much it. Sounds like a fun weekend, doesn’t it?! I made some friends, got some new tunes, some session playing, and got a whole lot of info, not to mention having loads of fun!
Man, now I’m more enthused than ever to keep on learning my instruments, and more tunes. The thing that I love about this music is that there are always people ready to help you out and play music with you (thanks Kira!) even if you’re just a beginner, like me. Too bad it was only two days. Thanks Jeremy, for making thesession.org, so I could meet Kira and heike!
Oh, and by the way, to cap everything off, I’m going to see bohola in concert tomorrow!
Well, thanks all for listening to all the great things that happened to me!
-Max
# Posted on June 27th 2004 by Max Becher
Re: A weekend of fun (Summer Solstice Festival)
Yay, Max! That sounds like it was a blast -- you played in your first festival session, that's great!
Never be afraid to take a workshop that's "below your level" -- my own teacher always told me that if I was bored with a tune, it was my own damn fault. As you found, there's always a ton to learn at these workshops, and if you're not struggling to keep up on aspects of stuff (speed, dexterity on your instrument, reading sheet music or learning by ear, etc.) that you don't have under your belt yet, you can concentrate on the actual playing of the music.
Yay! Go, Max!
# Posted on June 28th 2004 by Zina Lee
Re: A weekend of fun (Summer Solstice Festival)
the sessions at the Mariott were also fine. From what I heard, the friday session went till 3; I left at 10:30pm Saturday nite-had a training ride on Sunday morning. Michael Eskin's 3/4 lynch set was blazing away when I left. While I was there I think I recognized about 2 tunes out of the time I was there. Ah well, more to learn. Next year, I'm getting a room
# Posted on June 28th 2004 by I_Fel
Re: A weekend of fun (Summer Solstice Festival)
Max your fresh perspective & optimism are so fantastic! I can think of so many other peeps who would moan & groan at exactly the same circumstances ie Merry Blacksmith or Bill Sullivan's polka.... I'm with you, staying upbeat & enthusiastic, thanks for the fabulous festival report & reminding all of us that the most important thing about this music is having fun with the ppl who love it!
xo Emily
# Posted on June 28th 2004 by emily_bmore
Re: A weekend of fun (Summer Solstice Festival)
Hooray! Dude, soooo jealous. Sounds like you had but the first of many great festival experiences, too
(did you show off your knowledge of esoteric flute players?)
# Posted on June 28th 2004 by Q
Re: A weekend of fun (Summer Solstice Festival)
Hey there Max, it was great to meet you this weekend. Your style and phrasing on whistle was very nice. Even though you only played one tune on fiddle, I can definitely say you're on the right track there too. It was a pleasure to have you join or little mini-session on Saturday morning. I'm so glad you had such a great time out there.
My own experience of the festival was very different but equally wonderful. The sessions on Friday and Saturday nights at the hotel were about the same as any other year there; some very pleasant ones, some crazy ones, and some made from pure magic that I will remember for the rest of my life. I left early on Friday(2:30am) because I had too be up early on Saturday to help with a bodhran class. Yes, I was a musical metronome for about 15 bodhran students... and it wasn't a horrible experience. They could all keep time. It was incredible. To anyone out there who took that class on Saturday morning. Major props to you! Saturday nights' sessions went on 'til almost 5. I left at about 4:30. There were many magic moments that night.
I was in one of the many bands playing at the festival so my time wasn't entirely my own, but I was able to take two of the fiddle classes on Saturday. Anyone able to take a workshop from Sean Cleland (fiddle player for Bahola) at any point in the future definitely should. He taught two tunes I knew already and used a couple of horrible analogies, but he is a wonderful teacher, no matter what level you are. I was a little disappointed by Seamus Connolly's workshop. He started by passing out sheet music and having us sightread (Don't be discouraged Max. This is very unusual.) He worked entirely off the page and was very vague about why he ornamented the way he did. The up side is that I now have two new hornpipes I'd never heard before.
For me the best part of this festival every year is the people. There are so many people that I see there every year, and usually not at all otherwise. This includes Heike, Fel, and now Max. It starts to feel like an anual family reunion, but in a good way. I think that's part of what makes this music so wonderful. It's a high energy, bouncy, groovilicious, swingy, joyous way of being with people. Yay people! Welcome to the family, Max.
# Posted on June 28th 2004 by fiddleK
Re: A weekend of fun (Summer Solstice Festival)
I went to the Marriott for the sessions only and missed the faire part (maybe next year) -- the sessions were very crowded, with the really good stuff starting about 1 AM on Saturday night! We played till 4:30AM on Saturday, and then I drove home, arriving in Santa Barbara as the sun came up.
Really really a great time, can't wait till next year.
--Eliot
# Posted on June 28th 2004 by Eliot
Re: A weekend of fun (Summer Solstice Festival)
Hi everyone!
I'm just snatching a tiny break from work to read these posts. I'd like to add my perspective also; it's always interesting to see how different some things are perceived and why it is so hard to make everybody happy!
But I have a project to finish with a tight deadline tomorrow while I am being punished for staying up too late the last two nights (i.e. thinking - which is essential for my work - doesn't go easy)! So I'll be back with some more feedback on the festival tomorrow or later tonight.
Heike
# Posted on June 28th 2004 by heike
Re: A weekend of fun (Summer Solstice Festival)
I can second Kira on Sean's workshops. Unfortunatly, I only got to take one. I was so excited about seeing Seamus Connolly (who I had heard a lot about) that I took both of his on Saturday, instead of any from Sean. Although he was really nice, he didn't seem to make things clear, and as Kira said, everyone was reading music the whole time. I can read music, but not that fast, and it's even harder on the fiddle since I'm new at that. Oh well. The other hard thing was that in the second one I did with him, he taught a hornpipe that went all the way up to the high c. I can do that on the whistle, but not on the fiddle. When I took Sean's though, he explained everything. He told us why he was going to teach the tune by ear instead of with dots, and why it's better to learn traditional music that way. Whenever he saw someone having trouble, he went over and helped them out until they got it. I'm seeing him in concert tonight with bohola, I can't wait!
I was so caught up in all the excitement over the weekend that I forgot to eat anything until all the workshops were over for the day! The only thing that I missed that I'm really bummed about was the hotel sessions afterwards. Everybody was talking about them, and telling me that I had to go, and saying how great they were. I would have bitten my leg off to be able to go, but it just wasn't an option. There's no way my parents would want to stay up that late, but don't worry, as soon as I get my own transportation, or a place to stay I'm doing the whole thing! Every bit!
Hey, something else cool that happened at the bohola session was that they played a slide, and I picked it up! They played it about seven times through, and by about time 5 or 6, I knew enough to play along with most of it. I've never been able to learn a tune that fast before, so it was a cool break-through point for me. I recorded the whole session, so hopefully I can learn the other tunes too.
Looking forward to hearing what you thought of the festival, Heike! Thanks for spotting me out, it was great to meet you there!
-Max
# Posted on June 28th 2004 by Max Becher
Re: A weekend of fun (Summer Solstice Festival)
Kira- thanks for introducing me to all.
BTW, I did go to the Rt Hon PatrickD'Arcy's piping classes. I got to the first one late and it was an intro with lots of questions from folks. I got to the second one late since I sat in on a bouzouki (sp?) class from the guy that plays in Bohola. Something about old dogs and new trick ( I was never late in college
)
Very good info and made me think about the way I pick up music and retain it.
Pat's second class turned into a seminar-It was Steve P, Joey and myself plus a couple of others without pipes but listening in to us learning the Raveled hank of yarn. Pat is such a patient teacher and puts up with missed notes (me), play it one more time ( me) and huh?? how did you do that??? (guess who)
And the humidity in the class room was 50 ish- yee haw
# Posted on June 28th 2004 by I_Fel
Re: A weekend of fun (Summer Solstice Festival)
I'm back!
So, now in some more detail.
First of all, it was great to meet you, Max! And it was great to get to play with you again, Kira (and Melanie, Joey, Dan, David, Dave and lots of people whose names I don't know). Great session on Saturday night!
I must say that my impression of Seamus Conolly is rather different, although I was not too thrilled in the beginning. The first day-time session was lead by him and lead it he did. It was almost like in a classroom, he was asking the musicians one by one to start a tune. A tune, not a set! So there was not a chance that anything remotely session-like could develop. In several cases (I think it was all jigs), when he joined in after someone had started a tune, he even slowed down the speed quite a bit (yours truly included and I don't think I'm a reckless speed player). I assume that it was all done with the good intention to give as many people a chance to start a tune and to play in as many tunes as possible, but it wasn't that much fun. His hornpipe workshop was a bit strange, since he showed some exercises for "triplet runs" at twenty notes per second. So, don't worry, Max, that was above everybody's level - or rather, fingers. And no hornpipe is (or should at least) played that fast anyways. I didn't think either it was a good idea to use a hornpipe that requires the second position. Having said that and having attended two more workshops with him, my overall verdict is that I got quite a lot out of it and that it will definitely help improve my playing.
I've taken workshops with a good number of really great fiddle players during previous festivals and so far, his (and a workshop by Eamon Doorley from Danu) were the most productive ones for me. Too many workshops are "tune learning classes" or get "stuck" on the same issues (what is a role, how do I do a role, etc.). Not that there's anything wrong with learning tunes from great musicians, but it usually ends up being a toned-down version with no or hardly any ornamentation since with quite a large number of participants at very different levels there's just no time. I can learn more authentic playing from CDs. So I usually go to this type of workshop more to watch some great musicians close-up, listen to the stories they have to tell etc.
Using the sheet music in his workshops allowed Seamus Connolly more time to work on other things than learning a tune. We were able to spend quite some time on some bowing patterns, cross-bowing, bending instead of sliding, roles (of course, they can't be left out and now I have learned x different ways to do a role in x different workshops and probably can't do one of them right), etc. He might have been able to achieve the same by using tunes that everybody knows and doing without sheet music, but then coming home with a couple of new tunes is also part of the workshops.
Seamus definitely won me over when, passing by to hand out more music, he complemented me on my playing! Guess I must be doing something right.
But maybe I should also mention that he's deaf in one ear...
My weirdest festival experience was the workshop announced as "O'Carolan Music for Recorders and Flutes". I was a bit puzzled that they mentioned recorders but not whistles, but thought it's Irish music after all, so they won't toss out a whistle player. The workshop turned out to be for recorder players with four pieces by O'Carolan arranged for soprano, alto and tenor recorder. A couple of Irish flute players left after they realized that. The two whistle players (another woman and myself) were told to better skip all f naturals and b flats (which was maybe a slighly more polite way of saying that he didn't like whistles). But I think my half-holed f naturals were much better in tune than the three soprano recorders in the front row with each other, not to mention the fact that one of them insisted on playing f natural in a piece in G major. Although the pieces were labled allegretto, we played them at the speed of a slow dirge, without any phrasing, each note the same (dead) weight (it didn't help that the copy of the music was so faint that the bar lines had practically disappeared). Lesson learned: Unless it says "Fiddle/whistle inside", stay outside!
But what a great weekend!
# Posted on June 28th 2004 by heike
Re: A weekend of fun (Summer Solstice Festival)
Good to hear you had a great time too, Heike!
I just got home from seeing bohola. It was so cool seeing them after playing with them in the session and taking Sean's workshop. I got to talk to Sean again, and he remebered me from the yesterday, which was neat. They were all really freindly, and ready to talk to anyone. At the intermission, they didn't go backstage, they just hopped off stage, and went out to get some refreshments with everybody else. I hope they come back soon!
-Max
# Posted on June 28th 2004 by Max Becher
Re: A weekend of fun (Summer Solstice Festival)
Hey there Max, I was curious about what you would think of Bahola. I didn't say anything yesterday about their concert on Saturday night because I knew you were going yesterday.
My impression of them was quite different. I think they must've had an off night on Saturday. Most people said they were bored with most of their sets. Everyone near me was either yawning or falling asleep. The three instrumentalists were all great players, there's no doubt there, but when all the sets are over 15min. long with only silght and gradual varriation, it gets a little tedious. The singer didn't seem to fit with the rest of the band either. She had a nice enough voice, but she used almost no ornamentation. Singing the same notes with no varriation for 15 or 20 verses, again, gets tedious.
It didn't help that Bahola followed Nightngale on stage. In my oppinion those three people in Nightngale are the best set of arrangers I've ever heard (if you guys ever get a chance to hear them, I highly recomend it). To follow that with Bahola wasn't at all good. It showed their weaknesses as band too clearly. Everyone I talked to agreed that Nightngale blew Bahola out of the water.
Did anyone out there see both shows (Saturday night and Monday night)? If so, were they quite different? Everyone made such a big deal about Bahola. Maybe my expectations were too high. I'm glad you enjoied them Max. That tells me that maybe they were just haveing an off night.
Hey Heike, did you take the workshops with Jesse Smith the year that Danu was here? That was the best workshop of all in my oppinion.
# Posted on June 29th 2004 by fiddleK
Re: A weekend of fun (Summer Solstice Festival)
Gee, that's really too bad about Saturday night. I wanted to go then too, but I could only do one. Their set's were a bit longer than I had seen before, and you're right, they pretty much didn't do any arranging. But I can't see how anyone could be bored with it! I was blown away, and I had some freinds there (Monday night) too that loved it as well. They must have been having a bad night on Saturday. I was a little disapointed about their singer though. I thought she would play guitar too, because she did at the session on Saturday, as well as doing some guitar workshops, but she just sang. That was a bit disapointing. I do think that her singing and Pat Broader's singing blended very nicely though.
Although the singing was good, I enjoyed the tunes more than anything. I couldn't have fallen asleep even if I had wanted to! The way they were pumping out one tune after another made me wish that I was back at the festival playing in the session with them again. That's really too bad that you didn't enjoy it Kira, they must have been having a bad night. The only thing that I think would have made them even better would have been some arranging, instead of the three of them just playing all at once. I wonder why they don't try that.
I didn't get to see that much of Nightengale, just a minute or two on the Swan Lake stage. Hearing how much you liked them, I wish I had stayed for more. Oh well. There was so much going over the weekend, it was impossible to do everything.
-Max
# Posted on June 29th 2004 by Max Becher
Re: A weekend of fun (Summer Solstice Festival)
Hi Kira,
I did take one of the workshops.
He's obviously a brilliant fiddle player but I thought he was a bit too shy to be really a good teacher. Apart from that, he showed up about half an hour late and didn't seem too motivated.
It's good to hear that he has better days - maybe it was just lack of sleep or something like that.
# Posted on June 29th 2004 by heike
Re: A weekend of fun (Summer Solstice Festival)
My first visit to this particular festival was very enjoyable. I enjoyed meeting Kira, Joey, Steve(s), John(s), Michael(s), etc... and of course seeing other folks from San Diego I know like Heike and Penny (as well as those who visit San Diego from out of town on occasion).
Now if the magical ear and rhythm fairy would come and visit me more often while I practice -- then I promise I will be more a more proficient player next year!!
# Posted on June 29th 2004 by Chaddock
Re: A weekend of fun (Summer Solstice Festival)
Bohola doesn't "arrange", Max, because the musos who make up Bohola (it's spelled with an "o", not an "a")are more on the purist side than not -- they like to keep things as trad as possible, is the way I've heard it. Which would of course sound sparse for those without the ears to hear it (and arguments about whether that's good or bad can be hadwith someone else). Great musos, all three of them, that's for sure, but I hear that they have a rough time of it when they tour -- seems like I'm always hearing stories of them being under the weather or in the midst of some difficulties while on tour...
# Posted on June 29th 2004 by Zina Lee
Re: A weekend of fun (Summer Solstice Festival)
I think another factor in the lack of energy in the Bohola (sorry for the wrong spelling earlier) concert was the lack of many tune sets in the show. They had a shorter set because of they split the concert with Nightngale. The only straight tune set was the first one they did. Everything else was a song or a tune-song conglomerate. I remember really liking that first set though. Maybe in their full concert on Monday they did more of that.
Hi Zina. I could be wrong, but I don't think you've heard Bohola recently. They aren't exactly pure drop. They may have started out that way, but not now. Especially with the addition of the forth. The three guys are great musos. No doubt there. They are great people for a session, and Sean Cleland is up there among some of my favorite fiddle players. I enjoied Pat Broader's singing too. The forth seemed to be the weakest link, and she figured very prominently on Saturday night.
# Posted on June 29th 2004 by fiddleK
Re: A weekend of fun (Summer Solstice Festival)
They played pretty much half and half for tunes and songs on Monday night. The songs were nice, but I loved the tunes. The reason I chose to see them in Ojai instead of at the festival was that they had the show to themselves, so they could play longer. Also at the festival, you had to pay a lot of money to get a close seat. Monday night, whoever got there first got to sit close, so we got there super early and got to watch them from the front. Was their first set the jig set with the bohola jig, Kira? (Can't remember the names of the other two.) I liked that one a lot too.
-Max
# Posted on June 29th 2004 by Max Becher
Re: A weekend of fun (Summer Solstice Festival)
Yes it was (and neither can I, I'm terrible with names). I chose to see them on Saturday because I got in free, even though I was in the very back. Staff gets in last. I still could see them all. I was on the isle and the room isn't that big.
# Posted on June 29th 2004 by fiddleK
Re: A weekend of fun (Summer Solstice Festival)
Nope, haven't heard Bohola live in a dog's age. I missed them last they were in Colorado (as usual, I was working). Haven't ever heard them with the lady. Two of them I know through mutual friends, and that's where I've heard the most about purer leanings. ;)
# Posted on June 29th 2004 by Zina Lee
Re: A weekend of fun (Summer Solstice Festival)
I had a great time at Solstice this year, always wanted to stay up all night in the sessions and finally got my chance. This year, my wife, who had just started a new job, couldn't take the time off, so I was on my own and didn't have to worry about getting to Soka on time. Friday night, I played until 3:30 AM, Saturday, until 4:30 AM. Had such a great time all weekend. Didn't go to a single class, just hung out under the trees and in the consignment booth. Bought a tiny Dusty Strings 9/8 Dulcetta hammer dulcimer that I had sold years ago, it came back around. Before I became a session player and developed a bad Uilleann addiction, I was teaching and performing on hammer dulcimer for about 10 years. Its the sweetest little instrument, once I got the tuning sorted out (the previous owner had changed the tuning) it has exactly the notes required for all the common session modes. The session on Saturday night with Patrick, Barry, Frank, Joey and I was just wonderful, particularly after the French-Canadian session quieted down around 1 AM. We finished up at 3:30 AM, but then found the hidden session upstairs, where I got my 3rd or 4th wind and played for another hour with the rest of the hardcore sessioneers like myself. Thanks to everyone, best weekend of sessions I've had.
Cheers,
Michael
# Posted on July 15th 2004 by Michael Eskin