coming from malaysia where hardly anyone plays itm, let alone know what it sounds like can be a little isolating at times. wish i knew more people who play flute than the very few that i’ve met occasionally, passing by on a visit. was luckly enough to be part of a semi-regular small session, but since one of the regulars went abroad, i haven’t really played with anyone for quite some time.
sigh, listening to records and watching videos are all right, but it’s just not the same as trading/learning tunes with someone in person. helps you improve. guess i’m running a little low on motivation. for those of you who are from places where trad musicians are few and far between, what do you do to keep up the motivation?
I play my music whenever I have time to play. I play the music for my enjoyment and need and I play for other people too. When I am waiting in line, at a park bench, or anywhere else I have a moment, I play. People may not know my music but they do enjoy the live music and the change in their lives. Just play.
I don’t know about Malaysia, but there are less and less people around these parts who play musical instruments and I’ve only seen one street musician in 20 years. We’re used to hearing musical instruments played but to many people this is a unique experience. Just play.
Sessions are very few and far between here. The last session was two weeks ago and mostly Cajun and oldtimey tunes were played. We joined in as most of the tunes were in A D & G, and even got to play some Irish trad. Cajun and oldtimey tunes seem quite easy to pick up on the fly compared to the Irish jigs and reels. I have to play ITM though, so I have the pipes going every day now after work. I’m happy playing at home going through old stuff at a nice pace, instead of session turbo 400 bpm, also learning some new tunes. Willie Week is fast approaching too, always a source of inspiration
Difficult…if you live in a largish town and upwards, have you tried advertising? If there’s a regular shift in population, there may be a couple of new people in the same position.
OK, Malaysia, not so likely- but possible.
Or see if you can find a -what do you have? bar, club or similar? owner who likes different styles of music, get him/her to play lots of ITM, and see if you can win converts among local instrumentalists?
Good luck with it all.
I keep going by wrestling with difficult (to me) passages, and trying to get it all right. When progress happens, this gives more motivation. We won’t go into what happens when progress seems to stall…
But the great joy is playing with other people. I’m looking forward to being ready to get out there- but scary too. May find myself isolated as well. So I feel for you. What if they hate newbies?
Have been playing at a local English folk club when I go to visit family, but it’s not the same. ‘Fa la la, dol diddle merry day, widdle down hay in the morning.’ Etc.
Old flutefan, where abouts are you in Cornwall? there are loads of sessions west of Truro, and probably East but out of my range, some less intimidating than others.
I don’t know about the session scene in those parts, but I’ve heard that there’s a guy in St. Ives with seven wives. Or maybe it’s Utah I’m thinking of.
Ah, St Buryan! I think I stayed there once, at a friend of a friend’s house, many years back. There was a fantastic sea cave, just a bit south of Land’s end, I think. And lots more natural marvels. I still dream of moving to Cornwall one day, it touched me deeply the few times I visited.
Dear Hans,
Do come. Please. It’s wildly beautiful, the air is pure- we are the first to breathe it, as it come in from the south-west- the natives are friendly and the women beautiful. The pasties are pretty good, too.