OK all you seasoned players…I would welcome your advice.
If I don’t chicken out I am going to my first session this Wednesday (it is a slow session) . I have three tunes that I know inside out. Apparently the session leader will arrange to have one or more of these played. What is your one best piece of advice for me ? (don’t say “have a beer first”…I already plan on that!)
I’m a a beginner and a long way from being invited to a session, but as a beginner, I’ve been reading a lot and I came across this:
http://www.sessioneer.com/whistle/lesson_27.asp
I don’t know if it’ll be helpful, but I thought I’d post it anyway!
Kim
If that link doesn’t work, go here:
http://www.sessioneer.com/default.asp
And click on Tin Whistle Guide. It’ll give you a drop down menu and you can select “Session Etiquette”
K
Hi Lizzie,
cover me in breadcrumbs and eleven herbs and spices prepared to the Colonel’s secret recipe and I STILL wouldn’t be seasoned, but…
If it’s possible and you can ask politely, try to get a recording of at least part of the session, but don’t be “in your face” about it, i.e. don’t plonk a ghetto blaster in the middle of the table and keep saying “hang on, I’m not ready, OK now, oh, wait” etc. OK, I know you wouldn’t do that, but you know what I mean.
A minidisc player is ideal, as you can set to LP4 and get nearly 5 hours of recording, that way you can set it going and then forget about it. It’s also small and therefore reasonably discreet.
That way, you can “take the session home” and try to play along on unfamiliar tunes without grimaces & tears. If you can get the names of the tunes they like to play, you can find them online or in tunebooks, CDs etc and practise them, though it’s also nice to be able to bring a new tune to the mix.
Relax, and enjoy. Don’t worry if you never get to play a tune, you’re hearing the music, absorbing and learning just by being there, and your own playing will improve as a result. It wouldn’t matter if you went to two dozen sessions and still hadn’t played a note, when you are ready you will have benefitted.
Relax and Enjoy!! And remember, no matter how good the players may be, they were all beginners once, and know how you will be feeling, and they’ll give you encouragement and support, and be happy to see a new face who wants to join in!
best wishes, Martin
Hey, how exciting!
There are links to several good guides to session ettiquette on the Sessions page of the Annex, which is here:
http://www.geocities.com/whistleannex/Sessions.html
My best friend from high school went on to be an F16 fighter pilot, an experience that steeped him in a strange vocabulary that relates both to flying combat missions and living everyday life…my favorite of his terms is “SA”, short for “Situational Awareness”. Someone who goes into a situation with little or no perception of the dangers or opportunities has no SA, and vice versa. So go in there with good SA and you will discern how they like to do things…the sessions in my area, for example, are very informal and newbie-friendly, even to the point of truly welcoming (and not just tolerating) recorders (if you can believe that!)
The safest thing would be to go, play the tune or tunes that you know when they ask you “what are you working on that you would like to play”, and spend the rest of the time quietly listening to their playing. Even if you do just that, you will learn tons more than practicing at home alone.
I have a little notebook and after every set is done I ask them for the names of the tunes they’ve just played and the key. Sessions usually are reluctant to tell you they have a session book, but they ususall dont have a problem telling you the names of tunes they’ve just played. After a while you will have compiled your own session tune list, and if you work on the tunes that they know, you can try one of those tunes the next time they ask you for a tune, and you are guaranteed that they can play it too.
If you want to record a session, be sure to ask before doing so…the sessions in my area dont allow recording because they feel it inhibits the players and gives the session a more formal atmosphere than they want.
Have fun!!!
Kev
The Chiffboard Matrix
www.geocities.com/whistleannex/Matrix001.html<font>
[ This Message was edited by: DazedinLA on 2002-05-21 07:38 ]
Come on, Lizzie, give us an update! How did it go?
I survived!!! Thanks for asking.
I began by fortifying myself with a pint of Harp lager. The good thing was that they asked me first what tunes I knew and played them right away so I got my playing over early. Then I relaxed and enjoyed the rest of the evening just listening. I also got a list of the songs they play regularly so I can learn a few more to have ready.
The first was Kesh jig and it was a bit faster than I am used to so I got lost pretty early. Next was Maggie in the Wood and I stayed with that one the whole way through. Now, that felt good.
One fun part was when a man wandered in from the jazz session that was going on in another room. He was a very large man with a small black and silver whistle. Boy could he play! Then he disappeared and came back in with a big black and silver bassoon. Everyone looked at it and he just said “My whistle grew!” He then proceeded to play along on his bassoon. Could be the first and last time I hear Irish music played on a bassoon.
Thanks for the suggestions and encouragment. And I am going back in two weeks.
liz
Lizzie,
Congratulations! And what a great story!
Bassoon…wow, I would love to hear that!
Sue
Glad to hear it went well, I was nervous for you. Took alot of guts to do, good luck on the next one.
On 2002-05-23 23:25, Lizzie wrote:
I survived!!!
Good job! Well, that’s one more thing you can’t say you’ve never done!
Kim
(who’s done a lot, but has never done this!)
Thanks..I was nervous for me too! Guess that cannot be avoided. The people were really nice. The group was still small as i got there early. In one way this made it less intimidating but in another way. it was more, as I knew they could hear me .
Lizzie,
Was the session at the Tranzac? A friend of mine from London goes up once in a while for an accordion lesson from Ena O’Brian and the session. His name is Rob. Ena was here a couple of weeks ago and there was a small session. Very nice.
Back in the days when Mariposa was on the island I saw a whistle player on the ferry and at the festival. He had a bunch of whistles and played a lot of fancy stuff on the way over. He was a great player but he couldn’t be your whistle/bassoon player since he wasn’t that big a guy.
Steve
[ This Message was edited by: SteveK on 2002-05-24 11:29 ]
Yes, Steve, it was at the Tranzac. There were two fellows there from London. One played the pipes and the other I can’t say, because he disappeared for quite a while. He was shortish and wore glasses.
Are you going to be in Goderich?
liz
Yes, Steve, it was at the Tranzac. There were two fellows there from London. One played the pipes and the other I can’t say, because he disappeared for quite a while. He was shortish and wore glasses.
Are you going to be in Goderich?
liz
No Goderich for me this year. I have family stuff going on at that time I’ll try to make the festival at least one day. The musicians sound like Joe (pipes) and maybe Rob. He may have gone off for his accordion lesson.
Steve