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ANYONE FOR A SESSION?
Put a group of people in a room together and ask them to interact. It stands to reason that you would need to give them some sort of guidelines or rules so that everyone knows what is expected of them. You might think this a little superfluous if a few musicians came together to play a few Irish tunes in what is known as a session. Rules are generally not needed where the musicians are familiar with the concept and with each other. On the other hand, the concept of a session is quite variable from place to place, thus often requiring some form of guidelines to exist. These guidelines might prove useful to the session newcomer and also for the interested spectator who may not have witnessed this type of musical event before.
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The Irish Traditional Music Session (Seisiun in Gaelic)
is a form of musical social gathering, where the exchange and sharing of tunes or songs is mixed with some social interaction. For many years this has tended to take place in Public Houses where it also provided a form of entertainment for the other patrons. In it's earliest forms most traditional Irish music was probably played solo and intermingled with singing and storytelling. To some extent the individual interpretation and ornamentation of a tune could only really be appreciated in this manner. This later changed with the advent of the Ceili Band, where larger numbers of musicians were needed to generate the necessary volume for the dancers before PA systems came along. The modern Pub Session may have really only started in the 1950's though there are some reports dating back to the late 1930's. It probably evolved predominantly in Britain and America among the emigrants where the Pub was their meeting place as homes were generally too small to encourage house sessions. |
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The normal course of events
is for someone to start a tune and then others who know that tune join in. The tunes are grouped together in sets of 3 or 4 tunes and each one is repeated at least once before moving on to the next tune in the set without missing a beat. Most sessions have a few of their own regular sets of tunes that get played frequently in the same combination thereby reducing the risk of confusion and chaos. Whilst it is customary for the tunes to be treated as background music for the Pub's patrons, silence is expected for the solo singer.
It's important to note that a session is not a concert. Usually musicians are not paid for a session and if they are it becomes their 'gig'. In some parts of the world, otherwise known as the Irish Diaspora, one or two musicians may be paid a small amount to host or anchor the session for a particular pub. This gives them some control over how that particular session is run and may extend to who plays what and when. But if this control is anything more than subtle, discontent will never be far away.
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While most sessions
have their regulars, a true session must remain flexible and open. It is essential that the session leader encourage this openness by encouraging newcomers to contribute. At the same time this must be balanced by some attempt to ensure that the contribution is appropriate to the occasion. The calibre of the guest or newcomer may have a substantial effect on the amount of that contribution. If Frankie Gavin (of De Dannan fame) were to drop in to the Irish club on a Monday night I suspect he would be allowed to even play a few tunes on his own!
At the risk of sounding negative there are a few 'no-nos' that apply to most sessions. It's best to leave the sheet music in your case and don't play if you don't know the tune, as this is not a Jam Session.
Please don't sit inside the players' circle if you are not actually playing an instrument, as the musicians need to sit close enough together to hear each other,
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