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Beginning Irish Banjo: Playing in Sessions
There are a number of reasons for this. First, you are playing one of the "Killer B's" (Banjo, bagpipes, bodhran, box -accordion or guitar, bones, bouzouki, bombard), instruments which are loud and usually overwhelm a session if there are more than one in each category. People will look at your banjo case and hope that you are a contract killer with a machine gun and not a banjo player. Second, you are a beginner, and beginners are not well loved in many sessions, in fact are told outright that they belong elsewhere by the more forthright. Don't take it personally. Sessions are first and foremost social gatherings and those already there set the rules. Third, you are a banjo player, or did I mention that already? Since a session is most likely the only place you will play ITM, your best bet is to come prepared. Most sessions are friendly and accepting of any musician who comes so it is in your interest to do two things: listen and have at least one set (see below) ready to play when asked. Listening When you first arrive at a session, the social rules are going to be a mystery. My approach is to put my instrument case on the floor and just listen to the music and smile in a friendly way. If you know someone there, talk to them and find out if the session is led by one person, is a round robin, or the usual chaotic ( and competitive) "everyone contributes" style. By allying yourself with a regular, you will most likely be accepted. Most of the time, if you are a stranger, someone will ask you who you are and welcome you into the circle. The rules will soon reveal themselves. Even then, as a beginner, your best bet is to listen before you play any music. Listen to the music, listen to the talk, and feel the craic (or sense of fun) that is present. If you can contribute to the craic all the better since sessions are usually not one tune after the other, rather they are conversations, drinking, and music all in one. If it looks like you are going to play, take out your banjo (make sure it is in tune) and enjoy yourself. Tunes You will probably not know most of the tunes at a new-to-you session. The general rule is that if you don't know the tune, don't play and for goodness sake, don't noodle around. Nothing ruins the atmosphere quicker than some idiot noodling around on one of the Killer B's. Beginner's sessions are different because they are designed to help newbies learn tunes. If you can, try to find one of these sessions and you won't have to have all the social skills mentioned above. If you do decide to play, make sure that you can play your set (two or three tunes linked together) in your sleep You don't have to play at warp 10, but you have to be musical. A sneaky way around this is to play a set of hornpipes.Hornpipes are tunes which are usually played at a moderate pace, have a ONE-two-THREE-four beat (in other words, you tap your feet on the first and third beats making the tune seem slower) and contain enough triplets to make you look like you are a better player than you really are. Below are two of my favorites which are both easy to play and recognized by virtually every session in the world. Learn them and you will be welcomed almost everywhere.  Here is a video of a house session in which the set of Boys of Bluehill and Harvest Home is played. If you look hard, you will see us having fun, and drinking beer. First the tune Boys of Bluehill so you can see and hear it played. Boys of Bluehill  Now Harvest Home Harvest Home And finally the transition between the two tunes. You will notice a traditional but awkward "Raise the Leg" signal before the change. Transition Resources There are plenty of tune sources, thoughts about etiquette in sessions, and even a virtual session or two to help you out. Below are a few Internet sites to explore: The Session (http://www.thesession.org) is a great place to start. Joining up is free and you will get thousands of tunes, a list of sessions worldwide that is constantly updated, and good craic in the discussion section. Here is a sample that looks at Internet resources for tunes: http://www.thesession.org/links/display.php/3 The BBC virtual session (http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/r2music/folk/sessions/), a terrific way to learn to play tunes in a session atmosphere. Another Virtual Session http://worldfiddlemusic.co.uk/virtualsession/ Good sources for MP3s and tunes are http://www.comhaltas.com/seisiun/index.htm and http://www.slowplayers.org/SCTLS/index.html A session etiquette site is here http://groups.msn.com/TraditionalIrishMusic/sessionsetiquette.msnw A description of a memorable session from a banjo player, Gerry McCartney http://www.belfastfolk.co.uk/reflections/index.asp?x=11 Dr. Chris Smith has an article in this site http://www.geocities.com/whistleannex/Sessions.html There are several ITM session groups on Yahoo which have practice files including these two from Lubbock, TX and Dayton, OH http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/FoghlaimCeol/files/ Dayton, OH http://groups.yahoo.com/group/caprockcelts/?yguid=80718216 Lubbock TX JC's Tune Finder (http://jc.tzo.net/~jc/cgi/abc/FindTune) is the best place to find a tune. It is a search machine that covers the Internet and it presents the tunes in the ABC format. You can place the ABCs in the Concertina Tune-A-Tron converter (http://www.concertina.net/tunes_convert.htm) and print them out. There are lots of books and CDs available that focus on session tunes (http://www.elderly.com/search/elderly?terms=irish+session&x=0&y=0) And my favorite sessions on CD, the Na Connerys (http://celticgrooves.homestead.com/CG_Na_Connerys_1.html) And don't forget to go to MelBay.com and Search for "Irish Session" to find what you need. About the Author Mike Keyes, a native of Franklin, Tennessee, has played tenor banjo since 1957 and over the years has learned to play five string banjo, mandolin, and guitar. He earned his way through college and medical school playing in bluegrass and dixieland bands and currently plays in the Irish band "Good Luck." He is an expert in sports performance and has written and book and over 200 articles on the subject. His interest in Irish music started a number of years ago when effort to learn more about his musical roots led him to the discovery of session playing. Since then he has been to Ireland to learn more about the music and has taken classes and interviewed such banjo greats as John Carty, Charlie Piggot, and Gerry O'Connor. His medical practice is in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin where he practices Psychiatry. |
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Sessions are a social gathering of musicians who can play Irish traditional music (ITM). They can take place in a pub, someone's kitchen or in an open field, but the unifying factor is that the purpose is to have fun. After that, the rules vary considerably. The secret is to break the code the first time around but since you are now a banjo player, you are at a disadvantage.