as an irish musician, that is. Is this an issue for many members?
Neil is learning in Arabia. I'd guess he's a yes. I'm not as far away from company as he probably is, but I'm a couple of hours away and I find that to be a difficulty. I get to a session infrequently, about monthly, and I'd guess that 99% of my playing is on my own. As it happens, the session that I can get to is a fairly fast and furious affair that leaves me feeling a bit swamped.
I listen to recordings a lot, and have been to many good sessions a few years back, which I think both overcome the problem a little. And 'The Session' is a particularly useful resource in this situation.
Well, it is, but what about playing at a book store coffee shop with guitar player, or how about dances? Look ahead to times when your playing will be perfected and you can busk in public solo. This is for the future.
Yes those sessions are often too fast, with loss of rhythm, in my opinion too. Best to make one's own way, during their breaks sometimes you can start a conspiracy of tunes they don't play and then try to take over.
Well, I had the same problem and kept on going on everybodys nerves just to find out where I can find a human being to play with (the next session is too good for me)...finally I found some very nice people that do a kind of workshop once a week. They are a one hours drive away, but it is definitely worth it. And I have returned from a two-weeks holiday in Switzerland yesterday (great !!!) and I played the Flute on several Camping-sites there and to my great astonishment got many compliments...
All the best, Dagmar
Living in small USA Western towns for most of my fiddling life I've relied on recordings, probably to a fault. But at least that gave me someone to play with and a sense of what the tradition encompassed. It helped to luck into some of the older recordings--one of the best was Ceol an Clair, with Bobby Casey, Joe Ryan, John Kelly, Junior Crehan, and Patrick Kelly.
Here in Helena, Montana, I'd about given up on having anyone to play with and so just played by myself for years. I figured that's part of the tradition--a solo instrument (fiddle, in my case) carrying on the tunes. Then found that a friend also played fiddle, primarily Irish, and that led to us starting a regular session. Within a few years we ended up with around 20 musicians in the circle--not bad for a town of 25,000 souls so far removed from the centers of ITM. I've also started a slow session, done workshops to help people learn tunes, and printed a two-volume set of session tunes, all in the name of increasing the pool of musicians to play with. People come from out of town--sometimes from hundreds of miles away--to join us, and some of our regulars have found that they can sit in at sessions on either US coast just fine.
So if isolation appears to be a problem, start your own session. More people will come out of the woodwork than you would ever anticipate.
since 1999, ive been spending a few months of the year in my partners home town in remote south australia, its about as isolated from itm as i think you could get. at least for the rest of the time im based in galway where im lucky enough to play with some of the finest musicians around. attempts to play music here in s.a. have been fairly fruitless(theres a session about 7 hours away which isnt great) so ive had to play on my own almost 100% of the time. one way that ive got around having no-one to play with is to record myself playing loads of tunes, then playing along with myself, its not ideal but it is great for working on tecnique, ornaments and repitoire , this seems to keep me (slightly) musically sane until i get back into the thick of it. as far as speed is concerned a metronome is always good as a guide but i wouldnt rely on it, start off slow and steady and build it up until you 'fall off', take it back a bit and build up slowly, speed isnt everything, but if you can play fast it makes playing slower much more solid, if that makes sense,
regards, anto
Thanks for the replies. I'd thought of some of those ideas. I don't think I'm ready for the coffee shop yet, but the possibility of starting a new more local session is something I do scheme about. I will try this self taping. I also think the conspiracy of tunes idea is an excellent suggestion.
Regards, Bill.
Will's suggestion about starting your own session is a good one, and I would imagine that if you started your own then you might have some influence on the pace of the playing. A couple of years ago here in Abu Dhabi some people I know started an early evening session with one fiddle and a bodhran - within a few weeks they had 9 or 10 musicians and a pub full of listeners, some coming from Dubai - a two hour drive away. Unfortunately, with the nature of ex-pat life - they've all left now. Isolation suits me fine at the moment until I learn a few tunes that I wouldn't be embarrassed to attempt in public.
Neil
Now I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one to suffer from musical loneliness. There are just about 6-7 sessions a year in my area, and they are not adapted to beginners. So, having read these posts, I decided to start my own slow session, if I can convince at least 2 other persons to join in.
I would like to go to a summer school, but usually they don't accept beginners (in the flute classes). What level should I have before enroling to such a class, and how can I rate my own playing?
- claudine -
Hey Claudine, good idea on starting a slow session! And Bill, go for starting your own session as well. Take a look at http://www.slowplayers.org and get some ideas for a slow session, Claudine -- our own slow session is a slowplayers member session. Once you get going, join slowplayers by writing Michael Duffy, it's an easy way to spread the word and keep communications up between session members. I'm still waiting for Will to tell me he needs a website for his slow session....
isolation...
isolation...
as an irish musician, that is. Is this an issue for many members?
Neil is learning in Arabia. I'd guess he's a yes. I'm not as far away from company as he probably is, but I'm a couple of hours away and I find that to be a difficulty. I get to a session infrequently, about monthly, and I'd guess that 99% of my playing is on my own. As it happens, the session that I can get to is a fairly fast and furious affair that leaves me feeling a bit swamped.
I listen to recordings a lot, and have been to many good sessions a few years back, which I think both overcome the problem a little. And 'The Session' is a particularly useful resource in this situation.
I'd be interested to know how others manage
Cheers, Bill.
# Posted on June 29th 2002 by bd
Re: isolation...
Bill,
Well, it is, but what about playing at a book store coffee shop with guitar player, or how about dances? Look ahead to times when your playing will be perfected and you can busk in public solo. This is for the future.
Yes those sessions are often too fast, with loss of rhythm, in my opinion too. Best to make one's own way, during their breaks sometimes you can start a conspiracy of tunes they don't play and then try to take over.
Have you begun your style?
-Esteban
# Posted on June 29th 2002 by dogmageek
Re: isolation...
Well, I had the same problem and kept on going on everybodys nerves just to find out where I can find a human being to play with (the next session is too good for me)...finally I found some very nice people that do a kind of workshop once a week. They are a one hours drive away, but it is definitely worth it. And I have returned from a two-weeks holiday in Switzerland yesterday (great !!!) and I played the Flute on several Camping-sites there and to my great astonishment got many compliments...
All the best, Dagmar
# Posted on June 29th 2002 by drdagmar
Re: isolation...
Living in small USA Western towns for most of my fiddling life I've relied on recordings, probably to a fault. But at least that gave me someone to play with and a sense of what the tradition encompassed. It helped to luck into some of the older recordings--one of the best was Ceol an Clair, with Bobby Casey, Joe Ryan, John Kelly, Junior Crehan, and Patrick Kelly.
Here in Helena, Montana, I'd about given up on having anyone to play with and so just played by myself for years. I figured that's part of the tradition--a solo instrument (fiddle, in my case) carrying on the tunes. Then found that a friend also played fiddle, primarily Irish, and that led to us starting a regular session. Within a few years we ended up with around 20 musicians in the circle--not bad for a town of 25,000 souls so far removed from the centers of ITM. I've also started a slow session, done workshops to help people learn tunes, and printed a two-volume set of session tunes, all in the name of increasing the pool of musicians to play with. People come from out of town--sometimes from hundreds of miles away--to join us, and some of our regulars have found that they can sit in at sessions on either US coast just fine.
So if isolation appears to be a problem, start your own session. More people will come out of the woodwork than you would ever anticipate.
# Posted on June 30th 2002 by Will Harmon
Re: isolation...
since 1999, ive been spending a few months of the year in my partners home town in remote south australia, its about as isolated from itm as i think you could get. at least for the rest of the time im based in galway where im lucky enough to play with some of the finest musicians around. attempts to play music here in s.a. have been fairly fruitless(theres a session about 7 hours away which isnt great) so ive had to play on my own almost 100% of the time. one way that ive got around having no-one to play with is to record myself playing loads of tunes, then playing along with myself, its not ideal but it is great for working on tecnique, ornaments and repitoire , this seems to keep me (slightly) musically sane until i get back into the thick of it. as far as speed is concerned a metronome is always good as a guide but i wouldnt rely on it, start off slow and steady and build it up until you 'fall off', take it back a bit and build up slowly, speed isnt everything, but if you can play fast it makes playing slower much more solid, if that makes sense,
regards, anto
# Posted on June 30th 2002 by Anthonymcg
Re: isolation...
Thanks for the replies. I'd thought of some of those ideas. I don't think I'm ready for the coffee shop yet, but the possibility of starting a new more local session is something I do scheme about. I will try this self taping. I also think the conspiracy of tunes idea is an excellent suggestion.
Regards, Bill.
# Posted on July 1st 2002 by bd
Re: isolation...
Will's suggestion about starting your own session is a good one, and I would imagine that if you started your own then you might have some influence on the pace of the playing. A couple of years ago here in Abu Dhabi some people I know started an early evening session with one fiddle and a bodhran - within a few weeks they had 9 or 10 musicians and a pub full of listeners, some coming from Dubai - a two hour drive away. Unfortunately, with the nature of ex-pat life - they've all left now. Isolation suits me fine at the moment until I learn a few tunes that I wouldn't be embarrassed to attempt in public.
Neil
# Posted on July 1st 2002 by Dhabi
Re: isolation...
Now I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one to suffer from musical loneliness. There are just about 6-7 sessions a year in my area, and they are not adapted to beginners. So, having read these posts, I decided to start my own slow session, if I can convince at least 2 other persons to join in.
I would like to go to a summer school, but usually they don't accept beginners (in the flute classes). What level should I have before enroling to such a class, and how can I rate my own playing?
- claudine -
# Posted on July 2nd 2002 by claudine
Re: isolation...
Hey Claudine, good idea on starting a slow session! And Bill, go for starting your own session as well. Take a look at http://www.slowplayers.org and get some ideas for a slow session, Claudine -- our own slow session is a slowplayers member session. Once you get going, join slowplayers by writing Michael Duffy, it's an easy way to spread the word and keep communications up between session members. I'm still waiting for Will to tell me he needs a website for his slow session....
Zina
# Posted on July 2nd 2002 by Zina Lee
Will, I just looked at your reply a little better -- you have a collection of tunes? Can I buy one off you?
Zina
# Posted on July 2nd 2002 by Zina Lee