Hi everyone. I’ve lurked here a while now but just registered and started posting today. I had a great idea I thought I’d share:
Someone needs to make a “play-along” session CD. (Please tell me if it’s already been done and if so, where to get it!) I would totally fork out money for something like this to play along to on my own. And it sounds like more than a few other people could use something like it, too. It wouldn’t even have to be a big professional thing (though it’d be nice to weed out the extraneous pub-sounds). Just pack it with commonly played session tunes.
Great fun to play along with, and they even include the sheet music for those of us who still need to cheat (can’t play by ear). I don’t know if the tracks could be downloaded to CD, but this seems to be somewhere near what you’re looking for.
“ysgwd” beat me to it: The CDs for any of the “110 Best…Tunes” by Walton’s are great play-along recordings. They’re not lightning fast and the ornamentation is kept to a minimum so you can actulaly hear the songs.
A side-note: I recently acquired Sean Keane’s Fifty Fiddle Solos book (he’s fiddler for the Chieftains). It came with a “play-along” CD. But he goes so fast! Aaaargh!
Probably just me again being simplistically and silly but couldn’t you play along with any nice CD? That’s usually what I do when I get a new one (which is rarely, I play along until I have the tunes I like (and then move on).
Thanks for all the comments. The Virtual Session is probably the closest thing to what I’d like to have, though it would be nice to have a “session cd”. I have a number of studio CD’s (Planxty, Bothy Band, etc etc ad infinitum) and they usually have a couple of good tunes on them, but don’t quite make it for me. I could compose a homemade CD with the good tunes, but it’s still a studio album in most cases, lacking the “session” feeling and sound. Maybe I’m just being too picky. Anyway, thanks for the great suggestions and welcomes.
On 2002-04-03 12:35, Homechicken wrote:
Hi everyone. I’ve lurked here a while now but just registered and started posting today. I had a great idea I thought I’d share:
Someone needs to make a “play-along” session CD. (Please tell me if it’s already been done and if so, where to get it!) I would > totally > fork out money for something like this to play along to on my own. And it sounds like more than a few other people could use something like it, too. It wouldn’t even have to be a big professional thing (though it’d be nice to weed out the extraneous pub-sounds). Just pack it with commonly played session tunes.
Any thoughts?
Those pub-sounds aren’t extraneous! They’re all part of the experience! Just like having your eyes stinging and watering from all the smoke, not to mention all the other side effects of passive smoking.
I have a few sneakily recorded bits from live sessions, and I love the clink of glass and odd cuts of comments being passed. Mind you, it’s not so much fun if you weren’t there and miss the end of a funny story.
It’s a real disappointment to me that the BBC virtual sessions site doesn’t work on my meager WebTV - they use an audio that I don’t have and I can’t download. I second the need for a session or play-along CD. I also have a bunch of CD’s and there are one or two songs on them I can go with, but they have a whistler who plays differently than I, and I almost feel like I’m in competition - an expert player vs. a beginner. I have the CD that accompanies McGuire’s tinwhistle tutor, but again it’s really hard to play with - I play more “against” than “with.” It would be nice to have PEOPLE to play with, but all the musicians in this town only play either C&W or Mexican, so I am stuck playing all by my lonesome. Maybe “Snips & Clips” could have a virtual session section where some of you kind people could post some songs we could play with - some for those who can play, and some for beginners.
Many years ago there were jazz records with accompaniment that the novice or lone musician could play along with. I think they were called Music Minus One. At any rate, there now a company called Music Minus One. They seem to have mainly classical stuff but have some folk, bluegrass and jazz. No Irish.
On 2002-04-06 10:06, Kendra wrote:
It’s a real disappointment to me that the BBC virtual sessions site doesn’t work on my meager WebTV - they use an audio that I don’t have and I can’t download.
Kenrda, can you play MP3s? I can record the Virtual session to MP3 for you and email them to you if you like.
It’s not too hard in these days of CD-RW to put together your own session CD. Putting together your own CD has the advantage that it can contain the songs you’re working on in your chosen order. And, if you don’t have a CD player that can slow the tempo, you can slow down the songs to 50% or 75% (or whatever) and stick the slowed-down versions on your CD as well.
The real trick may be finding good versions of the songs you’re learning without owning a massive CD library. For example, I’m learning “Rolling in/on the Rye Grass”, which seems like a pretty simple and common tune, but I can’t easily find a free mp3 of the tune to download. (Fortunately, this tune is on 101 Best Irish Tinwhistle Tunes, so I do have a version.)
What I would find nice would be a “reference” section of Clips & Snippets (or whatever) that contained a large collection of tunes played in a very simple, unornamented manner at a slow or medium pace.
Now that you’re on your way to getting the CDs, the next stage is to copy the tracks which you like best onto a mini-disc (I thought they were expensive, but am glad I made the plunge). Even where there are several tunes on the one track, you can mark the end of each tune so that it becomes a separate MD track which you can then play in a continuous loop by selecting repeat mode, and play along with it until you’ve mastered the tune. One of the advantages of playing along like this is that you realise how many different ways a good musician plays what, at first hearing, seems to be the same phrase.