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Author Topic: Session Etiquette  (Read 31343 times)

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Howard Jones

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Re: Session Etiquette
« Reply #100 on: January 09, 2012, 11:46:43 PM »

Maybe I've been lucky, or maybe I'm incredibly thick-skinned and insensitive, but generally I find sessions to be incredibly postive things and I can't think of any horror stories off-hand.  I have been in sessions which turned out not to be quite my thing, and you do come across the occasional pratt, but mostly they've given me nothing but pleasure.  The chance to meet and play with good musicians and pick up some new tunes - what could be better than that? 

In the best sessions, the interplay with unfamiliar players can present the opportunity to take familiar tunes in completely unexpected directions.  I've often been in situations where at the end of the tune we've all looked at one another and said "Wow, what happened there?"

 

Keithypete.

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Re: Session Etiquette
« Reply #101 on: January 10, 2012, 08:28:04 AM »

 Sessions are ABSOLUTELY good generally.  What you have here is tiny drop in the enormous ocean of sessions from which there are no horror stories. There would be many,  many MORE pages of positive stuff.  Get down to your local session & enjoy yourself. Just have fun!!!
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Theo

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Re: Session Etiquette
« Reply #102 on: January 10, 2012, 08:44:44 AM »

  Or I could even go and listen couldn't I?  Thank you for the good advice.

That is the best way to start.

The best sessions I find are usually social occasions as much as musical,  where the music is part of a conversation between friends.  Keep that in mind and you will be on the right track.  So think of how you would approach making friends with new people,  getting involved in a session is very much like that, regular ones anyway.   Sessions at festivals are different because by their nature they include more people who have not met or played together before. They often also include people who are bursting to play the half dozen sets of tunes they have been working on for the past year, so they can start off with a kind of release of pent up music that will eventually subside.

So to enjoy sessions I suggest you need to start off with a whole lot of listening, to the music and the conversation, so you get a feel for how the session works.  Every one is different.
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Theo Gibb - Gateshead UK

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PaulM

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Re: Session Etiquette
« Reply #103 on: January 10, 2012, 08:49:43 AM »

This summer i had the great fortune to sit in a session with Anahata , playing some of his lovely *end of the pier* tunes..i didnt know any of them ..none of us did .but we had a great time trying them out anyway...wish i had his left hand though...noone said anything about party pieces either :)
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Chris Brimley

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Re: Session Etiquette
« Reply #104 on: January 10, 2012, 09:34:07 AM »

My experience of sessions is also pretty positive, though I have occasionally been to some that seem a bit 'cliquey' to an outsider. 

But just reading the rude, unnecessary, and ham-fisted comments a couple of contributors have encountered, I would say take heart from this:  first, in both cases, they were obviously made by someone who was impressed by what you played and had such a big enough ego they felt threatened by your ability, and second, I bet everybody else in the room quietly sympathised with you!

So I'd say, look elsewhere, persevere, or maybe, try starting your own session!
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ladydetemps

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Re: Session Etiquette
« Reply #105 on: January 10, 2012, 09:37:26 AM »

Is there any pleasure in these things at all? Maybe I should go along to one and find out, but if you have to learn 500 tunes and then someone decides whether your face fits, it doesn't sound tempting.  I know I'm missing the point here...

...but it seems like a contrast to, say, this forum, where everybody is supportive but "in spite of that" the standard of music making is high.
Each session has its on 'personality' sometimes its the case of finding one that matches yours...other times there's not much of choice of sessions in your area and you just have to think of it as 'practice'.
I like festival sessions atmospheres the best...as everyone is sorta in the same boat. I'm not very good at starting tunes myself...not pushy enough and my mind will go blank after the first note. lol!
And remember if you can't find a session you like...you can always start your own.

btw. I don't think I could ever be accused of playing a party piece...my repertoires not extensive enough.

Marje

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Re: Session Etiquette
« Reply #106 on: January 10, 2012, 12:35:30 PM »

Matt, sessions are absolutely and definitely worth going to! Please don't be put off by the odd horror story - it's only because these are exceptional that they're thought worthy of discussion.

Maybe we should make more mention of the many happy, sociable evenings we spend at sessions, the friends we make, the fun we have, the occasional magical musical moments, and the feelings we get of belonging to something that, as its best, is more than the sum of its parts, something that we're privileged to share in ...

If in doubt, just try sitting around a session for an evening or two and watching how people interact, both socially and musically. Than you'll know when you're ready to join in.
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Theo

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Re: Session Etiquette
« Reply #107 on: January 10, 2012, 01:08:22 PM »

the fun we have,

I go to a Friday evening session that has been running for several decades, where a well known pipe maker and box player is a regular.   Said person has a very quick and very clever sense of humour and sometimes it can take a set of tunes before the rest of us get the joke.   When he is on a particularly wild flight of fancy the cry goes up "Quick someone play a tune!"  ;D 
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Theo Gibb - Gateshead UK

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Thrupenny Bit

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Re: Session Etiquette
« Reply #108 on: January 10, 2012, 09:41:31 PM »

I recommend sessions.
I attend a 'first thursday of the month' one and I meet old friends that I've know for years, and see new faces too.
Sometimes I'm full of beans and feel confident so start off a few tunes, last week I felt sort of quiet and just played along. Even in my regular one each month's one can have a different feel to it. I find them all very positive.
My freinds know I'm a beginner on melodeon, so know I'll stumble a bit so gently come in and support if it goes a bit Pete Tong. They also welcome new faces too so everyone can have a chance if they want, or not as the case may be. If I want to get silly, the EC comes out and I'll rip it up with the best of them.
The previous month two old friends simply got off onto another planet and simply played and played, some really old ones from way back, and others current tunes for our area, so I joined in when I could, bluffed a bit when I felt like it and sometimes listened to some sublime playing.
I left totally inspired. Always worth a trudge on a winter's night.......
Q
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Tufty

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Re: Session Etiquette
« Reply #109 on: January 11, 2012, 02:58:55 PM »

My only problem with sessions is the lack of them where I live! Lots of folk clubs, where musicians play for 40 mins or so before the official start but not sessions as such. Festival sessions can vary so much. At worst a band just plays through their regular sets regardless of everyone else but at best complete folk heaven!
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Chris Ryall

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Re: Session Etiquette
« Reply #110 on: January 11, 2012, 07:31:18 PM »

Yup - tends to be 40-60 minutes each way from here too. Unless someone knows of a decent session in Liverpool (silence last time ...)  :|glug
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Theo

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Re: Session Etiquette
« Reply #111 on: January 11, 2012, 07:33:59 PM »

My only problem with sessions is the lack of them where I live!

Dun Cow in Durham thursday evenings - might be in reach?
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Theo Gibb - Gateshead UK

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Ollie

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Re: Session Etiquette
« Reply #112 on: January 11, 2012, 07:53:07 PM »

I have the same problem. Well, there are local sessions, but I've never really enjoyed the local English one's that I've been to; I like sessions to have a bit of life...
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Re: Session Etiquette
« Reply #113 on: January 11, 2012, 08:36:58 PM »

Then make it so!  My usual trick is to play along with some bog standard (but boring) tune, then launch into 'Nellie the Elephant'........
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boisterous budgie

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Re: Session Etiquette
« Reply #114 on: January 11, 2012, 09:04:31 PM »

Then make it so!  My usual trick is to play along with some bog standard (but boring) tune, then launch into 'Nellie the Elephant'........
Where's the "like" button?  ;D
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Ollie

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Re: Session Etiquette
« Reply #115 on: January 11, 2012, 09:08:35 PM »

Then make it so!  My usual trick is to play along with some bog standard (but boring) tune, then launch into 'Nellie the Elephant'........

It's hard to explain, but... I dunno, somehow don't think that'd work.

I also don't have any transport, and my long suffering Dad doesn't really like sitting through music sessions. Ah well, off to Uni in September, and I know that all of my choices have a better folk scene than Cambridge!
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malcolmbebb

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Re: Session Etiquette
« Reply #116 on: January 11, 2012, 09:50:29 PM »

Yes now you mentioned it, that does sound good... Ok I will give it a try some day, when I know another few hundred tunes and can play a bit.  Or I could even go and listen couldn't I?  Thank you for the good advice.
I've been going to a couple of sessions just to listen. People get to know you, chat, and offer encouragement. You get to know the favourite tunes, so you can practice them and maybe join in quietly at the back.

mind you, that was in Bristol. Haven't found one in Birmingham yet!
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Lester

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Re: Session Etiquette
« Reply #117 on: January 11, 2012, 10:04:18 PM »

Then make it so!  My usual trick is to play along with some bog standard (but boring) tune, then launch into 'Nellie the Elephant'........

It's hard to explain, but... I dunno, somehow don't think that'd work.

I also don't have any transport, and my long suffering Dad doesn't really like sitting through music sessions. Ah well, off to Uni in September, and I know that all of my choices have a better folk scene than Cambridge!

Where you going?

Ollie

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Re: Session Etiquette
« Reply #118 on: January 11, 2012, 10:07:15 PM »

Then make it so!  My usual trick is to play along with some bog standard (but boring) tune, then launch into 'Nellie the Elephant'........

It's hard to explain, but... I dunno, somehow don't think that'd work.

I also don't have any transport, and my long suffering Dad doesn't really like sitting through music sessions. Ah well, off to Uni in September, and I know that all of my choices have a better folk scene than Cambridge!

Where you going?


If everything goes according to plan, London (SOAS), if not, Sheffield.
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Lester

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Re: Session Etiquette
« Reply #119 on: January 11, 2012, 10:12:43 PM »

If everything goes according to plan, London (SOAS), if not, Sheffield.

Either way plenty of choice  ;D
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