Playing Your First Session

[Nigel]

I have never played at a session, or anywhere outside my house, but today I had an opportunity. There is a new music shop in my town, so I popped in for a browse and a chat. The shopkeeper invited me along to a seesion being held tonight in a nearby village, saying "it would be good to have a concertina there." I said I would think about, and thought of little else all day. Eventually, having decided that I would probably, possibly go, I sat down and played a few tunes and promptly changed my mind. In other words I chickened out. My reasoning was this - I only know 7 or 8 tunes reasonably well, and I make frequent mistakes when playing these. I could imagine myself sitting in a corner playing a tune or two rather badly and not doing much else, except feeling out of place. So, I was wondering, what was your first experience of a session and how many tunes did you have under your belt at the time?

[Dave Prebble]

So, I was wondering, what was your first experience of a session and how many tunes did you have under your belt at the time?

 

Hi Nigel,

 

It was all so long ago I really cannot recall exactly...then again, there is a lot I can't remember of what was an extremely boozy youth

 

More than likely I bottled out (no pun intended) the first few times and I am sure that a high proportion of folks here did too.

 

What I do remember is the extreme patience and help given to me in my early session days in Sussex. Generally I stayed pretty much in the background quietly trying to find the tune and keep up and was from time to time encouraged to start a tune myself...I must have sounded dreadful, but there would always someone there as a safety net to pick up and carry forward when I 'fell off' the tune.

 

I have never forgotten this kindness and always have time and respect for anyone, however much of a beginner, who is prepared to have a go.

 

Good luck - keep going to the session, let your mind get used to the the favourite tunes they play there, chat to folks and tell them you are a beginner. Confidence will grow and one day it will happen for you - of that you can be sure

 

regards

 

Dave

[Jody Kruskal]

I have never played at a session, or anywhere outside my house, but today I had an opportunity. There is a new music shop in my town, so I popped in for a browse and a chat. The shopkeeper invited me along to a seesion being held tonight in a nearby village, saying "it would be good to have a concertina there." I said I would think about, and thought of little else all day. Eventually, having decided that I would probably, possibly go, I sat down and played a few tunes and promptly changed my mind. In other words I chickened out. My reasoning was this - I only know 7 or 8 tunes reasonably well, and I make frequent mistakes when playing these. I could imagine myself sitting in a corner playing a tune or two rather badly and not doing much else, except feeling out of place. So, I was wondering, what was your first experience of a session and how many tunes did you have under your belt at the time?

 

Nigel,

 

I feel like I’m at risk of making a fool of myself at some point before almost every gig I play. With one or two exceptions, it’s never as bad as I fear and despite the way I feel before, afterwards I’m glad I did it. This is even more so for sessions where folks are generally friendly, drinking and talking and a pretty much informal and relaxed atmosphere. At least it should be.

 

The great thing about sessions is that you may meet someone you want to play music with, just the two or three of you. That can be so much fun and the best way to improve, learn new tunes and hear what you and your fellow musicians are really doing.

 

My advice is... Go. Play a few (mistakes and all), listen, meet some folks, talk, get their # and call them next week to get together and play some real music without the pressure.

 

Oh yeah, one more thing... don’t forget to record the tunes you like so you can learn them later at your own speed.

[Jody Kruskal]

get their # and call them next week to get together and play some real music without the pressure.

 

So Dave and Nigel, how about you both come over to my place and play a few tunes?

[Dave Prebble]

get their # and call them next week to get together and play some real music without the pressure.

 

So Dave and Nigel, how about you both come over to my place and play a few tunes?

 

 

Hi Jody

 

If I had the Wings of a Dove.....

 

I had a great evening when you came over to Sheffield - we certainly 'gelled' that night

 

Dave

[Dave Prebble]

 

Hi Jody

 

If I had the Wings of a Dove.....

 

I had a great evening when you came over to Sheffield - we certainly 'gelled' that night

 

Dave

 

 

Unfortunately I've badly damaged the biceps tendon in my right elbow and I've not played the concertina at all for the last month. Fortunately, I can still do repair work and tuning and have become pretty skilled at doing jobs while avoiding the use of certain muscles.

 

It is a real pity your stay was so short, I should have loved a couple of days playing and swapping tunes.

 

Till next time....

 

Dave

[John Wild]

So, I was wondering, what was your first experience of a session and how many tunes did you have under your belt at the time?

 

In my case it was probably not long after I began playing, and joining in when I was not really up to the mark, and getting strange looks from the competent players around me.

 

- John

[Jody Kruskal]

 

Hi Jody

 

If I had the Wings of a Dove.....

 

I had a great evening when you came over to Sheffield - we certainly 'gelled' that night

 

Dave

 

 

Unfortunately I've badly damaged the biceps tendon in my right elbow and I've not played the concertina at all for the last month. Fortunately, I can still do repair work and tuning and have become pretty skilled at doing jobs while avoiding the use of certain muscles.

 

It is a real pity your stay was so short, I should have loved a couple of days playing and swapping tunes.

 

Till next time....

 

Dave

So Dave,

 

First they pull you back form the brink, and now this. So sorry you are having such a rough time.

 

Yeah, that session in Dungworth was a blast. Perhaps we should take our chatting off Cnet.

 

But what I'm wondering is... did Nigel go to the session or not? Nigel?

[Phantom Button]

Hi Nigel, my first session was a 2 hour drive from my house and I knew about 7 tunes as well. The guy leading the session was real nice and we even played some of my tunes more than once. Not all situations will be like that, but you're starting on a life-long path of musical fun and friendship. Oh... I should mention that first session of mine was 25 years ago. Thank God you can't learn all there is to know about this music over night. I've been playing all this time and I still have tons to learn. It's that quality that give this music such incredible value.

[Jody Kruskal]

I'm playing and teaching old time Anglo at a festival in March all the way in Texas. Jerry Wright who runs the festival put up something I really liked about this topic on his web site: http://www.geocities.com/palestinefestival/index.htm

 

NOTE TO BEGINNER PLAYERS: If you are a beginner, whether mountain dulcimer or any other instrument, get in a jam session. Get as close as you can to someone playing the type instrument you are playing. Get close enough to see and hear them if possible. Now there is such a thing as jam etiquette - don't get into a situation where you aree annoying to other players. But watch, listen and learn. Don't just sit there and do nothing. Listen to the song. Try to memorize it in part or whole. Study the jam and imagine how you could fit in.

 

The main thing is do something and take it upon yourself to get something out of it. This is a wonderful opportunity. This is why Margaret and I go to the trouble to have this festival. We want you to learn. We want you to be happy. We would like to see you in the middle of a jam some day.

 

Just know this, what I have said is how I started. No one taught me how to play the pickin' stick. But people did teach me the tunes. They didn't teach them to me individually - they taught them to me in the jam. In fact, they didn't even know they were teaching them to me.

 

In all probability you will not learn to play your particular instrument in one weekend - but this weekend can take you a long way down the road.

 

This is also an opportunity to meet and visit with folks who are masters at the instruments they play. Make it a point to meet them. If you are a little shy, come get me and I will introduce you to them. There will be a lot of folks at the festival with a lot of needs but I have time for you - I will make time for you. Even if it is 5 minutes - if you are serious (which you must be to have paid what you did to get in) you can learn a lot in 5 minutes.

 

Don't miss an opportunity!

[Chris Timson]

So, I was wondering, what was your first experience of a session and how many tunes did you have under your belt at the time?

I'll never forget. August 1999, I had just got my first G/D concertina (a square Herrington), having belatedly realised that I got on a lot better with it than a C/G when it came to tunes. I took it off to Sidmouth folk festival with me, and then one lunchtime Anne and I tiptoed into the Radway with our concertinas and attempted to look inconspicuous. Well, we had a couple of well known English tunes, Winster Gallop, Speed the Plough and the like, but we were completely unprepared for the range of music being played in that session. Neither of us had really realised the depth, variety and power of our own traditional music, bizarrely enough.

 

Anyway that set the pattern for the week, sitting in the corner with our concertinas in our laps, occasionally joining in where we could but mostly listening. We went home from Sidmuth full of amazing tunes and a determination to learn to play as many as we could. I still remain completely besotted with English dance music.

 

The point of this story is not to let the number of tunes you know determine whether you go to a session. Go to the session anyway, because going will give you the enthusiasm to learn, as well as a lot of pleasure. By all means be inconspicuous until you feel confident to join in or lead tunes. However experienced a session player you are it is important to listen and get the vibe of a session new to you before you jump in with both hobnail boots. But you must go.

 

Chris

Edited November 5, 2006 by Chris Timson

[Woody]

I went along to Chris Timson's session in Bradford-on-Avon when I'd been playing about 6 months. Everybody was very welcoming and encouraging - but I felt that for myself I was still too far away from being able to join in and enjoy the participation. Now a year and a bit later I'm trying to get there about once a month and each time I go my confidence increases, though I still only know about 8 of the tunes that regularly come up.

 

If I had not gone along the original times I would not have known what to expect, what standard I needed (or wanted) to reach, or what types of tunes they played. I'd recommend you go along even if you just sit and listen, and watch the session ettiquette. It's also a very good idea if you take along something to record the music so you can practise in private later.

 

<IMHO> one thing's for sure. Playing in sessions is something you can only learn by doing it.

 

- W

[Jody Kruskal]

I'll never forget. August 1999, Sidmouth folk festival, Radway with our concertinas ...

 

Gosh, might I have been there? or was it '98 for me? A memorable session though, all week long 18 hours everyday. Such variety and virtuosity. Saxophone day! I will never forget it either! All English tunes. Very inspiring. The endless tunes, the friendly folks, the beer and cider.

 

How was it this year? Chris were you there?

[jon melville]

Another session trick if you don't know the tune is to find the first note of each bar or phrase and play that. You'll soon find that the runs linking them are often easy to add in and where there are jumps you don't want to try, add an extra note to make a partial chord instead. Everyone thinks you are building up an accompaniment while you are learning the tune!

 

Recently, a flautist asked me to join her in a tune, despite the fact I didn't know it. In F, so nobody else was joining in. Managed the above trick and she thought I was developing the accompaniment to a crescendo..... didn't dare ask what the tune was afterwards.

[PeterT]

I took it off to Sidmouth folk festival with me, and then one lunchtime Anne and I tiptoed into the Radway with our concertinas and attempted to look inconspicuous. Well, we had a couple of well known English tunes, Winster Gallop, Speed the Plough and the like, but we were completely unprepared for the range of music being played in that session. Neither of us had really realised the depth, variety and power of our own traditional music, bizarrely enough.

Yes, Chris, a special kind of magic; really uplifting on a good day!

 

The Balfour late night music sessions (party for visiting dance teams etc.) up to about 1993 were something else; some of the most amazing sessions that I ever played in when they really sparked. The pub looked smart when it was rebuilt, but those late sessions, starting at 11.30 pm, were gone forever.

 

Regards,

Peter.

[Alan Day]

I remember those sessions well Peter,I went to one with John Dewdney (Broadwood Morris),he was actually on his honeymoon.We eventually got back to the tents at 6-30AM .His tent was adjacent to mine.He must have immediatly dropped of to sleep and thirty or so minutes later his new wife said "Come on John wake up" and said it every five minutes after that.Finally she asked the question "What ever time to you get in last night? I lay in my sleeping bag laughing as I knew it was only thirty minutes ago.

Al

[Chris Timson]

How was it this year? Chris were you there?

Yes indeed. Bit of a mixed bag this year for some reason. Some very, very good sessions indeed but a couple of evenings were quite quiet. There's a nice set of sessions nowadays in the Sailing Club. In general easier tunes than the Radway, but so far as I could see most of the Radway regulars were in there at some stage during the week.

Another session trick if you don't know the tune is to find the first note of each bar or phrase and play that. You'll soon find that the runs linking them are often easy to add in and where there are jumps you don't want to try, add an extra note to make a partial chord instead.

There are a lot of tips and tricks of that kind, really useful stuff:

 

- Find the key of the tune. Easy in English music because the tunes almost always resolve, so the last note is the key. Slightly trickier in Irish because more tunes don't resolve. Knowing the key helps enormously.

 

- Pick up the arpeggios and runs. They're easy to play, especially on an anglo.

 

- As time goes on you'll pick up a stock of commonly occurring phrases. There are some tunes that seem to be built solely from such phrases. They're a doddle to pick up.

 

Chrid

[hjcjones]

Although you may feel under tremendous pressure in a session, actually there's no pressure at all, unless you decide to lead a tune. You can just sit and listen, or join in when you feel like it. If you do let yourself be pursuaded to start off a tune, in 99% of sessions the other musicians will be very supportive - we've all been beginners, we know what it's like. The other 1% aren't worth bothering with anyway.

 

And you don't need to know all the tunes before you can play. One of the skills which session playing develops is the art of picking up tunes by ear. To a beginner this may seem rather daunting, but once you get to understand the structure of the tunes, and to realise that the same phrases keep reappearing, it's easier than it sounds. You don't even have to play all the notes, just enough to keep up. If there's a phrase you just can't get, drop out for a few bars.

 

And, unless you make a nuisance of yourself by playing too loudly, no one is listening too closely anyway! If you just sit on the fringe of the session and join in quietly, you'll be fine. Playing in sessions is a great way to improve your playing and build up your confidence, and more importantly, you'll make some great friends.