The Session >> Discussions >> what is the best experience you have had with an inexperienced player?
Comments
what is the best experience you have had with an inexperienced player?
what is the best experience you have had with an inexperienced player?
Hi all
I have enjoyed all the discussions that I have read and have had some chuckles at some of the situations that have been written about in some of the more recent posts regarding the playing of spoons, insensitive tuba players etc. I remember feeling (and sometimes still do feel) like I was possibly the cause of some of this type of frustration as I squeezed and squaked my way through the high parts of kid on the mountain on my very sub standard practice set of pipes as others cringed, or tried to keep up with some more pacy renditions of very common tunes.
A few years ago I was fortunate enough to find myself in the company of some brilliant players in Canberra, Australia, in the early part of my journey with the difficult pipes. These people were very open with their encouragement and at the regular Sunday session suggested that people wanting to learn new tunes and play stuff slower come earlier for a couple of hours before things really got swinging. Sean Keane and Pat Lyons were just two of the few that took the time to coach a lot of people, myself included, through the squeaky early stages of getting to know the music. There was a brilliant openness and feeling of sharing that came from this action that translated into the uninitiated understanding the etquite (cant spell) and being sensitive (not making a balls of tunes, backing off when unsure, etc) to other people playing in the session, especially when things got moving later on.
I remember the feeling I got from this inclusive aproach and how it helped me to learn more and be involved. I think being part of this has helped me to play with other people more easily. I have more often than not found that the sessions i have sat in on to be very open and friendly/fun and I am sure that is in part because of the positive introduction I had thanks to some great people in Canberra.
I think it would be good to hear about good experiences with and of less experienced players, perhaps some of us would get some more insight into how things work and how to participate in the music without comprimising others enjoyment of playing in sessions.
More music and more fun I say. Thanks Sean, Pat and others,
Re: what is the best experience you have had with an inexperienced player?
When I first began playing, Ged Foley (of the House Band and Patrick Street) led the session (in Athens, Ohio). The session was great, and I wanted to be a part of it. It took the better part of a six months before I played my first tune in that session. I went to Ged and asked for "lessons," which he politely refused. What Ged did was to arrange another time of the week so that those who wanted to be in the "main" session could learn how to play the music. It turned out there was only me and one other Fiddler, Walter. Ged would meet with us, the pure raw beginners, and take us painfully through Julia Delaney or some other standard, and week after week we would work on these tunes. It was an act of kindness and friendship of the highest order.
Of course, if a beginner even thought of playing in the main session, Ged would sometimes just stop mid tune and ask the guy to stop playing. One time Ged and another fine fiddler from Ohio (Sandy) were playing some tunes, then some more, and then about 2 hours worth -- with no one else at the session knowing a thing they were doing. I asked Ged if he could play a couple of standards -- I got an earful of Ged that night!
Ged Foley is one of the kindest, most helpful teachers I have ever had, but when it comes to session time, he leads the session with an iron fist -- the music comes first! It a model for us all.
Re: what is the best experience you have had with an inexperienced player?
I would like to say that my first experience of session playing was about 4 years ago when I had only been playing for about 2 years. It was a sort of slow session and relatively small. it was also "round-robin" style. So you can imagine my amazement when I decided to go to a "real" session, and found out just what that really was all about. Well, I am thankful that the majority of the musicians there were very gracious and let me start a few tunes here and there at my own "luxurious" (read; slow) pace, as one guitarist has described it. It made me feel part of the group. I am very serious about learning this music, and the encouragement of more proficient players is one of the things that keeps me at it. Now, 5 years later I am taking up a new instrument, and am a beginner all over again. No one who is serious about learning should ever be excluded.
Re: what is the best experience you have had with an inexperienced player?
I remember, one year at Milltown I met this wee French girl who was just learning to play the Fiddle, she was a real cracker & .............oops! .........sorry! I think I misread the question.................
Re: what is the best experience you have had with an inexperienced player?
Shame on you, Ptarmigan....actually, I wish that I had thought of that line first...(chuckle, chuckle)
This summer, I went to a fiddle camp, along with about 30 other fiddlers of all ages. In the evenings, there would always be great jam sessions, and the children would often be waiting there with their fiddles, "chomping at the bit", anxious to play a few tunes with the adults. On the Tuesday evening, the kids were milling about, each playing a different tune, warming up, waiting for someone to get things started. You can imagine the din of 7 or 8
fiddles in the same room, all playing something different! I love children, and I love all fiddle music (but just one tune at a time, please). I found a piano player and we started into one of
few tunes that all of the kids knew. Within a few bars, all of them
had joined in, (while adults exchanged looks of relief), and the session had begun. After having played the 2 or 3 tunes common to all the kids, we repeated them as a few more adults arrived to join in. Searching for another tune for the kids, I showed a few of them a very simple version of "Boil them Cabbage Down", and started into the tune. Another adult began calling out 'finger numbers' for the kids who weren't following, and within a minute or so, all the kids were in on the tune! Looking around the circle, one could see the expressions of amazement on the kid's faces, as one child after another, was struck by the realization that he/she had just learned a new tune in 30 seconds!!! I began to add some simple variations, to try to demonstrate some of the ways that the tune could be fancied up. To my surprise one child in particular, was able to hear, and pick up most of the variation.
We must have played the tune through dozens of repititions, until it fealt that our fingers would fall off.
For me, it was a touching experience to see the looks of discovery, self pride, confidence,.... on the faces of the children.
It was also a personal pleasure to be surrounded by so many children. One of the fiddlers, who was taking photos, later e-mailed me a pic. There I am, in my glory, in the midst of "the fray", and surrounded by kids. It was one of my favourite moments at the fiddle camp.
Re: what is the best experience you have had with an inexperienced player?
I attended a one on one workshop a couple of weeks ago where a lady was having trouble getting started on her hammered dulcimer. I talked with her a while showing her some scales that'd work for most of our tunes. Another instructor started a slow jam about an hour after that which she attended and with a bit of prompting she was able to join right in. The grin I kept getting was great!
Re: what is the best experience you have had with an inexperienced player?
Beginners have a habit of going down to the crossroads, so to speak. But then, let's be honest, there are a few who you meet five years on and they're still exactly where they were, bless 'em.
This summer in Milltown I befriended an-out-of-work actor from with a camper van and a 13-year-old son who was learning the fiddle. He (the son) played me a couple of tunes in his fiddle, after which he asked to have a go on my mandolin. Having discovered that the fingering was the same as the fiddle, he took about 5 minutes to get accustomed to using a pick and he was away. As I scraped out Egan's Polka on his fiddle, he played along on mandolin, thrilled at having learnt to play a new instrument in all of five minutes, and much better than I (who have played music in one form or another for over twenty years) could play his fiddle.
Re: what is the best experience you have had with an inexperienced player?
I remember you Giles, and Jackson's Morning Brush, and Sarah on fiddle. I think Sean Keane would be very surprised to discover he was downunder 6-7 years ago though!
Cheers
what is the best experience you have had with an inexperienced player?
what is the best experience you have had with an inexperienced player?
Hi all
I have enjoyed all the discussions that I have read and have had some chuckles at some of the situations that have been written about in some of the more recent posts regarding the playing of spoons, insensitive tuba players etc. I remember feeling (and sometimes still do feel) like I was possibly the cause of some of this type of frustration as I squeezed and squaked my way through the high parts of kid on the mountain on my very sub standard practice set of pipes as others cringed, or tried to keep up with some more pacy renditions of very common tunes.
A few years ago I was fortunate enough to find myself in the company of some brilliant players in Canberra, Australia, in the early part of my journey with the difficult pipes. These people were very open with their encouragement and at the regular Sunday session suggested that people wanting to learn new tunes and play stuff slower come earlier for a couple of hours before things really got swinging. Sean Keane and Pat Lyons were just two of the few that took the time to coach a lot of people, myself included, through the squeaky early stages of getting to know the music. There was a brilliant openness and feeling of sharing that came from this action that translated into the uninitiated understanding the etquite (cant spell) and being sensitive (not making a balls of tunes, backing off when unsure, etc) to other people playing in the session, especially when things got moving later on.
I remember the feeling I got from this inclusive aproach and how it helped me to learn more and be involved. I think being part of this has helped me to play with other people more easily. I have more often than not found that the sessions i have sat in on to be very open and friendly/fun and I am sure that is in part because of the positive introduction I had thanks to some great people in Canberra.
I think it would be good to hear about good experiences with and of less experienced players, perhaps some of us would get some more insight into how things work and how to participate in the music without comprimising others enjoyment of playing in sessions.
More music and more fun I say. Thanks Sean, Pat and others,
Giles
# Posted on September 14th 2002 by geb
Re: what is the best experience you have had with an inexperienced player?
When I first began playing, Ged Foley (of the House Band and Patrick Street) led the session (in Athens, Ohio). The session was great, and I wanted to be a part of it. It took the better part of a six months before I played my first tune in that session. I went to Ged and asked for "lessons," which he politely refused. What Ged did was to arrange another time of the week so that those who wanted to be in the "main" session could learn how to play the music. It turned out there was only me and one other Fiddler, Walter. Ged would meet with us, the pure raw beginners, and take us painfully through Julia Delaney or some other standard, and week after week we would work on these tunes. It was an act of kindness and friendship of the highest order.
Of course, if a beginner even thought of playing in the main session, Ged would sometimes just stop mid tune and ask the guy to stop playing. One time Ged and another fine fiddler from Ohio (Sandy) were playing some tunes, then some more, and then about 2 hours worth -- with no one else at the session knowing a thing they were doing. I asked Ged if he could play a couple of standards -- I got an earful of Ged that night!
Ged Foley is one of the kindest, most helpful teachers I have ever had, but when it comes to session time, he leads the session with an iron fist -- the music comes first! It a model for us all.
--Eliot
# Posted on September 14th 2002 by Eliot
Re: what is the best experience you have had with an inexperienced player?
I would like to say that my first experience of session playing was about 4 years ago when I had only been playing for about 2 years. It was a sort of slow session and relatively small. it was also "round-robin" style. So you can imagine my amazement when I decided to go to a "real" session, and found out just what that really was all about. Well, I am thankful that the majority of the musicians there were very gracious and let me start a few tunes here and there at my own "luxurious" (read; slow) pace, as one guitarist has described it. It made me feel part of the group. I am very serious about learning this music, and the encouragement of more proficient players is one of the things that keeps me at it. Now, 5 years later I am taking up a new instrument, and am a beginner all over again. No one who is serious about learning should ever be excluded.
# Posted on September 15th 2002 by Andee
Re: what is the best experience you have had with an inexperienced player?
I remember, one year at Milltown I met this wee French girl who was just learning to play the Fiddle, she was a real cracker & .............oops! .........sorry! I think I misread the question.................
# Posted on September 15th 2002 by Ptarmigan
Re: what is the best experience you have had with an inexperienced player?
Shame on you, Ptarmigan....actually, I wish that I had thought of that line first...(chuckle, chuckle)
This summer, I went to a fiddle camp, along with about 30 other fiddlers of all ages. In the evenings, there would always be great jam sessions, and the children would often be waiting there with their fiddles, "chomping at the bit", anxious to play a few tunes with the adults. On the Tuesday evening, the kids were milling about, each playing a different tune, warming up, waiting for someone to get things started. You can imagine the din of 7 or 8
fiddles in the same room, all playing something different! I love children, and I love all fiddle music (but just one tune at a time, please). I found a piano player and we started into one of
few tunes that all of the kids knew. Within a few bars, all of them
had joined in, (while adults exchanged looks of relief), and the session had begun. After having played the 2 or 3 tunes common to all the kids, we repeated them as a few more adults arrived to join in. Searching for another tune for the kids, I showed a few of them a very simple version of "Boil them Cabbage Down", and started into the tune. Another adult began calling out 'finger numbers' for the kids who weren't following, and within a minute or so, all the kids were in on the tune! Looking around the circle, one could see the expressions of amazement on the kid's faces, as one child after another, was struck by the realization that he/she had just learned a new tune in 30 seconds!!! I began to add some simple variations, to try to demonstrate some of the ways that the tune could be fancied up. To my surprise one child in particular, was able to hear, and pick up most of the variation.
We must have played the tune through dozens of repititions, until it fealt that our fingers would fall off.
For me, it was a touching experience to see the looks of discovery, self pride, confidence,.... on the faces of the children.
It was also a personal pleasure to be surrounded by so many children. One of the fiddlers, who was taking photos, later e-mailed me a pic. There I am, in my glory, in the midst of "the fray", and surrounded by kids. It was one of my favourite moments at the fiddle camp.
# Posted on September 15th 2002 by scottythefiddler
Re: what is the best experience you have had with an inexperienced player?
i thought of it as soon as i made the post, unfortunate wording of the heading but valid response, whoops!!!
# Posted on September 15th 2002 by geb
Re: what is the best experience you have had with an inexperienced player?
I attended a one on one workshop a couple of weeks ago where a lady was having trouble getting started on her hammered dulcimer. I talked with her a while showing her some scales that'd work for most of our tunes. Another instructor started a slow jam about an hour after that which she attended and with a bit of prompting she was able to join right in. The grin I kept getting was great!
# Posted on September 15th 2002 by jrathbun
Re: what is the best experience you have had with an inexperienced player?
Meeting some one who was not very good five years later and they knock your socks off
# Posted on September 16th 2002 by llig leahcim
Re: what is the best experience you have had with an inexperienced player?
Beginners have a habit of going down to the crossroads, so to speak. But then, let's be honest, there are a few who you meet five years on and they're still exactly where they were, bless 'em.
This summer in Milltown I befriended an-out-of-work actor from with a camper van and a 13-year-old son who was learning the fiddle. He (the son) played me a couple of tunes in his fiddle, after which he asked to have a go on my mandolin. Having discovered that the fingering was the same as the fiddle, he took about 5 minutes to get accustomed to using a pick and he was away. As I scraped out Egan's Polka on his fiddle, he played along on mandolin, thrilled at having learnt to play a new instrument in all of five minutes, and much better than I (who have played music in one form or another for over twenty years) could play his fiddle.
# Posted on September 18th 2002 by ragaman
Re: what is the best experience you have had with an inexperienced player?
I remember you Giles, and Jackson's Morning Brush, and Sarah on fiddle. I think Sean Keane would be very surprised to discover he was downunder 6-7 years ago though!
Cheers
# Posted on September 22nd 2002 by Jill