Session Etiquette

[Jeff Meade]

Stop me if I've asked this before.

Should you ever just start playing? Should you sit at the bar, fiddle case obviously in hand, but wait to be asked? Does it depend on the session? Any special tips for bodhran players? What goes through your head when they seem to insist on playing everything you play, needed or not?

Special tips for singers? (Like, if all I know is rebel tunes or drinking songs, might they not be welcome in certain sessions?)

Have you ever had to ask anyone to not play? And who should make that call? Is there ever a situation where, if you don't know the tune as well as everyone else does, you should try anyway? (Or, again, does that depend on the session?) Should you ever try to pick your way through by ear?

I'm curious about solos, too. Every once in a while a fiddler or a flutist (or maybe two good musical pals together) will launch into a tune or a set. I'm always amazed when people know not to join in. It's kind of like a weird mental telepathy that tells everyone else not to play. (Or maybe this is the performer's signature tune, and everyone knows it but me. Not mental telepathy.) Maybe someone can explain that to me.

Do you, in your own minds, think of different sessions in terms of skill levels? Not to name names, but it's clear to me that some sessions seem more geared to, and tolerant of, learners. Some sessions, on the other hand, seem like no place for musical virgins.

[John Byrne]

Hi, this is John from Patrick's Head and I currently run the Tuesday night session at Fado on 15th and Locust in Philly. I'm pretty new to the whole running the session thing but I'm starting to pick up a few ideas. I definitely want people to join in, simply introduce yourself and you'll find yourself immediately invited. If you're just a beginner, let them know, no one will put you on the spot. Sessions are as much about teaching and sharing songs as anything else. I havn't thought about what I would do if someone sat in and stank, yet insisted on continuing; I suppose some Irish diplomacy might be called for there. I'm really enjoying meeting new players and learning new stuff. Come along if any of you out there are interested.
Tog go bog e,
John

[John Byrne]

In answer to this Frank, I would always introduce myself, you will be immediately asked to join in. If you're not a great bodhran player, or just learning, I would say sit in by all means and just stay with the beat, even if you're not doing anything remotely intricate. Drinking songs and rebel songs are fine, although I'm not a huge fan of some of the rebel songs that promote a continuance of hatred.
I've never been asked not to play and the only reason I would ask someone to stop would be if they were too drunk or being offensive, if you're not an arse you'll be fine. I'm happy enough sitting in on any skill level. If the music is beyond my capabilities, I'll just sing. Hope that's a little closer than 10 feet.
John

[Denise]

Frank, you crack me up! Thanks for the big laugh this morning, as I watch my retirement fund go up in flames!

Denise

[Dan McHugh]

I think that before you take an instrument and go running in on a session you should have some tunes that you feel are worthy of public performance. I think I have a pretty good idea of what my strong tunes are as opposed to my weaker ones. Recognizing your own limitations is the key to finding places to improve your playing. Make your weaknesses your strengths. I also like to think that if you put a lot of time/preparation/love into a piece of music then when you play it for people it shows.

Some people are really good at being able to just play along by ear. I’m not one of them so I would never try and play if it was going to bring down the overall quality of the music. In such cases use you’re recorder and bring it home to play along. There is a time to play and there is a time to listen.

[Mary Malone]

Darcy Fair, who is a former president of the Ceili Group, did (I think) a Master's Thesis on Irish Session Ettiquette in UPenn's Folklore program - maybe it is lying around the library at the Irish Center somewhere?

[ecelt]

when all else fails, try wikipedia....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_traditional_music_session

also

Barry Foy's Field Guide to the Irish Music Session, a hilarious book, shouldn't be missed.

slan

[Rosaleen McGill]

Ok I don't know exactly how "qualified" I am for answering this question, but I am a singer and a bodhrani and I attend the sessions in Philly, so here's my two cents.

1. I don't reccommend "Just playing". Just jumping in there, while it is not BAD, its just not polite. What I would do is try to find and in, such as talking to one of the musicians when they come to the bar to get a drink and ask them the feel of the session and what their additude towards newbies are, etc. If that doesnt work and your desparate, I would sit in with my instrument and LISTEN. If they're friendly, and open to new players they will invite you to play a tune. If you need an example of this go to any session with Kevin McGillian, he's an angel at including everyone.

2. Bodhran players. The number one rule about playing the bodhran is that there is no "RIGHT" way to play it, but there is a WRONG way to play it. And that way is loudly and off beat. If you don't know the tune don't play. If you find your beats straying from the toe tapping of the melody musicians, STOP.

3. Singing. I have been singing in sessions for quite sometime, and I NEVER just start singing. I wait to be asked. (Yeah sometimes I'm impatient and I ask them to squeeze me in, but the time schedule is usually the session leaders time, and I try to respect that.) Also, it depends on who is in the room and the feel of the day etc. John Brennan used to joke with me every Sunday afternoon, "You can sing, but nothing too sad, its to early for that." I love my fair share of rebel songs, but I hate to say it, I consider them a different kind of Irish song--no offense!!!

4. Bad/Unwelcome Players. There have been incidents. Its the session leaders job to take care of that kind of drama. I'll say no more.

5. Solos. No clue Jeff, I think its just either no one else knows the tune, no one else feels like playing, or people who are playing wanna chill out and listen would be my guess ;)

6. Session levels. OF COURSE lol. That's a huge part of the reason why the Philadelphia Ceili Group started the Learning session!! There are obvious levels and while for the most part all musicians are welcome to any of the sessions in the city, people have preferences.

To conclude, these kinda questions happen all over sessions around the US, and I've heard that Philly is the nicest in terms of allowing strangers and being kind to newbies. I'm pretty proud of that.


Much love to my fellow sessionistas!

Rosaleen

[Jeff Meade]

As my fellow goat-whacker Rosie hints, I think there might be special rules for bodhran.

For most sessions, I think it makes sense for only one drummer to play at a time, even if (as is sometimes the case) there are five or six drummers in the room. That can vary, I think, depending on how big the session is, and if there are maybe two drummers who know each other pretty well and who both play simple beats.

I would also add that a good drummer should keep his eye on the session leader's foot. (That's what we competition bagpipe band snare drummers do ... we watch the pipe major's foot.) You need to listen, too, obviously, because not every musician in the room is always in sync with the session leader. If you're really listening, you can tell which sheep have gone astray. I find that, in situations like that, I'm trying to play it all much straighter and maybe even (for a bar or two) a bit louder, emphasizing the downbeat, to see if things can be reined in a bit.

And as far as the fancy stuff is concerned, I try to take my cue from the musicians. There are some musicians who really don't care for all the syncopation and the backbeat and the triplets and god knows what all. There are other musicians who are thrown off by such things. There are still other musicians who have their own rock-solid inner metronome, and you could play Ravel's Bolero at 78 rpm for all they care, but they'd never lose the rhythm.

And if there's a bottom line, it's probably this: It doesn't matter if you can play all the fancy ornamentation if you can't keep the beat. Focus on the basics.

Oh yeah, and you shouldn't feel obliged to play every tune. I like to sit back and just listen. (Heresy, yes, but still ...)

[Kevin Shannon]

This “seisiun etiquette” has really become all-encompassing.
I’ll break it down like Rosaleen did.

1) Singing
Singing has become more popular lately, which is a great thing. I've played in some seisiuns in Ireland where there were as many singers as musicians. If it is structured right, it makes for a great evening.
I would shy away from rebel songs mostly because of the naiveté of many of the American Irish. There are too many that don’t know that there was a Good Friday Peace Accord and a Saint Andrews agreement, but they sure can sing “Come Out Ye Black and Tans” (and not really know who the Black and Tans are or when they struck). There are some songs that are on the fringe such as “Fields of Athenry” (with the chants omitted!)

2) Accompanists
Bodhran players and guitar players both fall into accompaniment. One should be prudent to notice how many accompanists there are in ratio to the melody players. For example, there shouldn't be 2 fiddlers with 3 bodhran players and 3 guitarists. The sound gets too choppy. The accompanists should agree to alternate.

3) Skill
Most have been very kind and patient to me first playing guitar and now mandolin. Although this is not a call to attract the worst musicians, it is still an open seisiun, not a concert.
The best players not only do not play every tune; some actually bring an mp3 recorder to learn tunes they are not familiar with. Etiquette with this of course is to ask permission to record.
The choice of instrument should be flexible as well, as long as it melds well with the tune and does not overpower it. Didgeridoos, hammer dulcimers, pianos, guitars (both six-string and bass) and harmonicas are not traditional Irish instruments, but can add nicely to the tune.

4) Pay to play
Any town you visit to play will likely have a couple musicians that are paid to play. Although principally, there is nothing wrong with that as long as the rest of the musicians also receive some kind of compensation in the form of free drink. In short, the other musicians should not have to pay to play with those that are already paid (see above – this is not a concert). For those that do receive free drink, please be courteous and tip your server!

All the best!
Kevin

[Mary Malone]

Some other alternate explanations for #5:
Sometimes people are such great, great players you just have to stop and listen.
Sometime people are such awful, clueless players you just have to stop.

[Jeff Meade]

Ooooh.

As they say in "Clueless" ... that is way harsh.

But true!

[Mary Malone]

Harsh, perhaps, but it is sometimes enough to make you stay home from the sessions. So there needs to be some standards maintained, or everything falls apart. Because there really are some people who just don't get it, Jeff. I have these debates with people I play with all the time - that there is some element of this in all sessions that you learn to put up with - and if you can't deal with it, then you have your own private kitchen party where you can control who you play with - or your own band. For me, I am able to do a mix of all of this - for others, well, there are some great great great players in Philly who just don't come to sessions anymore.