First Celtic Session - Advice?

[stefeb]

Tomorrow evening I'm going to my first Celtic session. It's a two hour session, the first hour is at a slower tempo, the rest of the session is regular tempos.

I've got about 50 tunes comitted to memory, and have been playing the mandolin for about a year.

Any advice as to what I should do, and I suppose more importantly, not do would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[glauber]

Think of a session more as a meeting of friends than as a music thing. Try to make some friends. If you succeed, then you got the most important part of it.

Musically, try to listen more than play, in the beginning. Figure out where you fit. If you're playing rhythm, see what their practice is, but usually you don't want/need more than one strumming instrument going at the same time - take turns.

Session etiquette writings abound. Here (http://www.murphyroche.com/About/Our_Sessions.htm#Musicians)'s a good one. Buy and read Field Guide to the Irish Music Session (http://www.rlpgtrade.com/Catalog/SingleBook.shtml?command=Search&db=^DB/CATALOG.db&eqSKUdata=1568331940) by Barry Foy.

[rmcintos]

Pretty much what glauber said, but don't worry too much about what not to do.

Let us know how it goes.

[Ken Sager]

Have FUN!

[Joe Robinson]

One thing I always make sure I do just before showing up at a session is to tune up to standard pitch. Once there, I find it too loud to accurately get myself together, especially the unisons. Of course, you’re sunk if the rest of the crowd has tuned to something else, but usually we look to an accordion or concertina in good pitch to tune to. Other than that, play what you know, and absorb the rest. And don’t forget to have fun!

[glauber]

Irish sessions are all about having a good time with other musicians - this includes playing music, talking, drinking beer (if you're a drinker), etc. Once you figure out the balance of having fun and letting everybody else also have fun, then you're set. Whatever "rules" there are, are there to protect the group's fun (craic).

[Avi Ziv]

A couple of extra notes

1. The regulars (or leader if there is one) might offer you to start a tune. If you accept (you don't have to) try to pick a very familiar #tune, rather than an obscure one, even if it's not your absolute favorite. That way, they will figure it out after one or two measures and all join in. That is guaranteed to reduce the pressure on you to "perform" a solo tune on your first time out. For a list of common tunes, check out the tunelist at thesession.org. They are sorted by popularity.

2. Be prepared to have difficulties hearing yourself play. This is very common as fiddles, boxes, and pipes will overpower the delicate mandolin sound. This can lead to frustration and powering through the tune, both of which can detract from your technique. In time you will learn how to extract more sound, project more, select the best seat in the house, care less about your volume, and realize that session players want to blend more than be heard individually.

Have a great time and enjoy yourself. I've been doing it for a year on an almost-weekly basis and having a blast!

Cheers,
Avi

[Bob DeVellis]

Take your cues from the players who've been there before. The fact that there's a slow session before the speedier one is a very good sign that this group is beginner-friendly. In some ITM sessions, accompaniment is a no-no, just melody. But that varies. Don't jump into chords unless you're sure, and recognize that harmonization in Irish music often uses only partial chords because of the ambiguous keys the tunes are played in. So, if you know the melodies, lay off the chords unless you're sure what's considered appropriate (and you can ask).

In general, it's not a good idea to try to fake your way through tunes you're not familiar with. Just wait until something you know rolls around. You'll probably be asked to start some tunes. Pick something you feel comfortable with and start at a pace you'll be able to maintain throughout. I remember Mike Dugger, a very accomplished player with numerous CDs to his credit, talking about how when he was a beginner he'd start an A part at a brisk pace and then realize that there was no way he was going able to keep up with that pace on the B part. A lesson remembered.

Don't worry about messing up. Everyone does it from time to time and most sessions are fairly tolerant as long as someone isn't consistently throwing others off by trying to play things when he/she should just be listening.

A common problem with mandolins at sessions is that you can't hear yourself that well. Sitting near a wall where the sound will bounce back can help. Also, recognize that others may hear your instrument more clearly than you can. So, noodling around looking for the right notes at a volume that's barely audible to you may be driving others nuts. Best to avoid.

Chat, get to know folks, get information on tunes that you don't know but would like to learn, and have fun. Remember, playing even one tune reasonably cleanly and at a pace you can handle will be more fun for you and more appreciated by others than rushing through a bunch of things sloppily with poor timing and a slew of incorrect notes. I speak from experience here.

[steve V. johnson]

Joe Robinson wrote about tuning and sez: "...usually we look to an accordion or concertina in good pitch to tune to."

This is a good point. The 'free reeds' concertina and accordions -can't- retune, so asking one of them for a pitch is pretty common, and a good thing for a picker to do in a quiet moment. I like to then compare that note to my Intellitouch tuner, so I have another reference throughout the evening.

Do have some fun! I LOVE sessions, all of it. Don't worry about what not to do, make some good new friends.

All the best,

stv

[Brett]

Listen and Learn.

You will learn more at a session than you could ever learn anywhere else. I'm playing 22 years and still am amazed at some; players/tunes/stories/songs/people at sessions.

Enjoy...

[stefeb]

Thanks to all for your suggestions and advice.

I'll be sure to report when I get home.

Thanks.

[glauber]

One last thing. This may be a regional thing, but at least in my experience, most hardcore Irish music enthusiasts dislike the term "Celtic"; they think it's vague and more often associated with New-Agey stuff than with Irish dance music. They (we http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif) claim that there is no generic Celtic music: Irish, Scotish, etc each have their own characteristics and different kinds of sessions that go with them.

I hope you had a good time. I headed for my habitual session tonight for the first time in months (every week there was something that got in the way), and after 45 minutes of driving, i found the pub closed "Do (sic) to electrical problems". DOH! Better luck next week... http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif

[Bertram Henze]

Most important of all is to try and relax from the start. I had the most unneccessary adrenaline levels when I went to my first irish sessions in Ireland (being a German), but then found out that in many irish sessions there's a quite large percentage of other Germans, Danes, Italians - you name it. I must be on hundreds of photographs taken by tourists who tell their friends about 'these original irish musicians'. It is good to go to a regular place and learn the tunes they play there. A reservoir of privately learned tunes may be big - even 50 tunes, but compared to some 4000 existing irish tunes it may just be the wrong sample. Be content to have one or two popular tunes (Merrily Kissed the Quaker, Morrison Jig - that kind) in common with the others, and build it up from there. Don't try to be a superstar, because you won't succeed at first, and when you succeed eventually they'll hate you, because the music itself is to be worshipped here, not a person. Ceol agus Craic!

[withak]

LISTEN. This is the most important thing ever. It's easy on mando becuase you have zero chance of drowning anyone out, but lots of people play at sessions and don't listen at all, usually because they are concentrating on playing. Nothing is more annoying than one oblivious person playing out of time with everyone else. If you are listening as hard as you are playing then you can tell immediately if you are playing too fast or slow or if you are playing something wrong.

I'll also second the recomendation to stick with familiar stuff you if start a tune. Don't be afraid to ask if anyone else knows the tune also. Odds are no one will admit to knowing it, but if they don't specifically say that they don't know it then they'll join in when you start.

I was also going to suggest not calling it "celtic" music to anyone there, but that has already been covered. ;)

[stefeb]

I was also going to suggest not calling it "celtic" music to anyone there, but that has already been covered. ;)

Here's the listing from the sessions website:

Tradtional Celtic Music Session
Thursday, July 21st
6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
In the McCarthy Great Room
Hosted by Singer/Musician
Treása Ni Chatháin
Bring your instruments!!!
$5.00 minimum

They are calling it Celtic Music, but I do understand your point. Don't mean to major in the minors. I'm appreciative of all the responses I've received.

[glauber]

Well, that's why i said it's probably a regional thing. It's also non-standard to have a singer lead. In the end, these things are not very important; i was just warning you because you'll find a lot of people who dislike the "Celtic" label, and also you should be aware that most sessions don't feature singing. But in the end, each session is its own animal, and that's part of what makes them fun.

You really should read the Barry Foy book if you have a chance. It's funny, and it will give you a good idea of what the hardcore session culture is about.

[withak]

Here's the listing from the sessions website:

Tradtional Celtic Music Session
Thursday, July 21st
6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
In the McCarthy Great Room
Hosted by Singer/Musician
Treása Ni Chatháin
Bring your instruments!!!
$5.00 minimum
They charge admission?

[stefeb]

The admission is not for the players, but for the audience. I found that out when I got there.