BIshop's Longe (MUlino's Basement) moved to Silent Cals
Bishop's Lounge (Mulino's Basement)
21 Center Street (rear), Northampton, Massachusetts, USA
We have moved to Silent Cals in Northampton, Ma, just up the on Pleasent Street.
Silent Cal's Session moved back to The Basement (formally Bishop's)
The session is now located at The Basement , 21 Center Street in Northampton Ma. The new pub is now open under new management, formerly Mulino's. We are in the lower level street side rear. There is plenty of parking in the rear. We are across from the well known Iron Horse Cafe.
We thank Silent Cal's for hosting us during this interim. Silent Cal's is owned by Paper City Brewery in Holyoke Ma.
I am told that everyone at this session looks like they are having a lot of fun. I guess it must be so. Mostly, I am making a comment because Ralph's comments look so lonely up there by themselves.
What is a "Session"?
An Irish "session" is a gathering of musicians (often taking place in a public venue) for the purpose of playing music together.
Playing in a good session can be fun, invaluable playing experience, and a great chance to improve your music--all at the same time. Good sessions can produce some of the best Irish music in the world, and they can do so for hours on end--under the right circumstances.
There is a popular misconception that "The Irish session" is meant to be an open forum, where anybody who can come in off the street is welcome to participate and learn to make music at the same time. In reality, while some sessions may be such open forums, this characteristic is not intrinsic to "the session" itself, and it can be a big mistake to incorrectly assume that it is.
In reality, Irish sessions are much more like other casual social gatherings than they are like open forums. Often, sessions are groups of friends getting together for a few tunes, and not as an open invitation to everyone to come and play. People who come in off the street will usually be welcomed, but they may be met with a certain amount of circumspection until they demonstrate their ability to "play well with others".
Here are some of the bigger mistakes that will alienate your fellow musicians at a typical session (in no particular order):
Playing a percussive instrument poorly, out of turn, too loudly, or generally outside the taste of the other musicians. A good rule of thumb here is: "one bodhrán and/or guitar/bouzouki at a time". More than one will often clash, irritating the melody players. In Irish music, the melody is FAR more important than the backing, and backers who assume otherwise can quickly become session-pariahs.
Playing when you don't really know the tune. It's usually ok to do so very quietly, but... be careful! Your wrong notes may distract, and irritate, the person sitting next to you.
Starting too many tunes without consulting the other musicians. It's generally a good idea (especially at an unfamiliar session) to ask the other musicians if they'd like to play a tune before you launch into it. This helps you make sure that you won't be doing something antisocial by starting a tune that the other musicians don't know or don't want to play.
When someone does one of these things at a session, it makes everybody feel uncomfortable. While it might be nice (especially for beginners) if the other musicians would politely inform you, this is difficult to do tactfully, so this isn't usually what happens. Instead, the other musicians are more likely to simply feel irritated and leave it at that.
In general, remember this: If you're not organizing the session, you are a GUEST, and all the same social guidelines apply to your "visit" that would if you walked into someone else's party. Just as you can alienate people by crashing a party and being rude, so too can you alienate them by crashing their session and being rude.
For a more extensive (and unapologetic!) look at the typical Irish session, see Barry Foy's book: Field Guide to the Irish Music Session.
I dropped by on a visit from out of town (I wasn't the only one that night). I found them very friendly and welcoming. Great players and good times. Good variety of instruments as well. It looks like it gets quite crowded as the night goes on, so get there at starting time (9pm).
Fair warning, it's very dark inside--or at least was the night I dropped by.
BIshop's Longe (MUlino's Basement) moved to Silent Cals
Bishop's Lounge (Mulino's Basement)
21 Center Street (rear), Northampton, Massachusetts, USA
We have moved to Silent Cals in Northampton, Ma, just up the on Pleasent Street.
# Posted on September 24th 2003 by Ralph Len
Silent Cal's Session moved back to The Basement (formally Bishop's)
The session is now located at The Basement , 21 Center Street in Northampton Ma. The new pub is now open under new management, formerly Mulino's. We are in the lower level street side rear. There is plenty of parking in the rear. We are across from the well known Iron Horse Cafe.
We thank Silent Cal's for hosting us during this interim. Silent Cal's is owned by Paper City Brewery in Holyoke Ma.
# Posted on October 25th 2003 by Ralph Len
Session at the Basement
I am told that everyone at this session looks like they are having a lot of fun. I guess it must be so. Mostly, I am making a comment because Ralph's comments look so lonely up there by themselves.
# Posted on December 9th 2005 by Buddy Downey
What is a "Session"?
What is a "Session"?
An Irish "session" is a gathering of musicians (often taking place in a public venue) for the purpose of playing music together.
Playing in a good session can be fun, invaluable playing experience, and a great chance to improve your music--all at the same time. Good sessions can produce some of the best Irish music in the world, and they can do so for hours on end--under the right circumstances.
There is a popular misconception that "The Irish session" is meant to be an open forum, where anybody who can come in off the street is welcome to participate and learn to make music at the same time. In reality, while some sessions may be such open forums, this characteristic is not intrinsic to "the session" itself, and it can be a big mistake to incorrectly assume that it is.
In reality, Irish sessions are much more like other casual social gatherings than they are like open forums. Often, sessions are groups of friends getting together for a few tunes, and not as an open invitation to everyone to come and play. People who come in off the street will usually be welcomed, but they may be met with a certain amount of circumspection until they demonstrate their ability to "play well with others".
Here are some of the bigger mistakes that will alienate your fellow musicians at a typical session (in no particular order):
Playing a percussive instrument poorly, out of turn, too loudly, or generally outside the taste of the other musicians. A good rule of thumb here is: "one bodhrán and/or guitar/bouzouki at a time". More than one will often clash, irritating the melody players. In Irish music, the melody is FAR more important than the backing, and backers who assume otherwise can quickly become session-pariahs.
Playing when you don't really know the tune. It's usually ok to do so very quietly, but... be careful! Your wrong notes may distract, and irritate, the person sitting next to you.
Starting too many tunes without consulting the other musicians. It's generally a good idea (especially at an unfamiliar session) to ask the other musicians if they'd like to play a tune before you launch into it. This helps you make sure that you won't be doing something antisocial by starting a tune that the other musicians don't know or don't want to play.
When someone does one of these things at a session, it makes everybody feel uncomfortable. While it might be nice (especially for beginners) if the other musicians would politely inform you, this is difficult to do tactfully, so this isn't usually what happens. Instead, the other musicians are more likely to simply feel irritated and leave it at that.
In general, remember this: If you're not organizing the session, you are a GUEST, and all the same social guidelines apply to your "visit" that would if you walked into someone else's party. Just as you can alienate people by crashing a party and being rude, so too can you alienate them by crashing their session and being rude.
For a more extensive (and unapologetic!) look at the typical Irish session, see Barry Foy's book: Field Guide to the Irish Music Session.
# Posted on April 17th 2007 by Ralph Len
Fun session!
I dropped by on a visit from out of town (I wasn't the only one that night). I found them very friendly and welcoming. Great players and good times. Good variety of instruments as well. It looks like it gets quite crowded as the night goes on, so get there at starting time (9pm).
Fair warning, it's very dark inside--or at least was the night I dropped by.
Northampton is a great town to visit as well.
# Posted on June 28th 2008 by jdteehan