Welcome to the Fiddle Studio Podcast featuring tunes and stories from the world of traditional music and fiddling. I'm Meg Wobus Beller, and today I'll be bringing you a setting of Pat Mahon's from a session at Fergie's Pub in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Hello, everyone, I hope you're well. Today we're going to be talking about Irish session etiquette. Jam etiquette you could say, but it's called a session. But first, I have a couple of quick announcements. I've been planning these podcasts all day, and it's quite a chore. It takes me much longer to plan a podcast than to actually record it. But my day was really brightened by Randy Wade, who posted some very kind words on Fiddle Hangout, a fun site, if you haven't seen it, about my podcast. Thank you, Randy.
Also, my Kickstarter has begun. I'll try to keep this brief. The last time I recorded an album was 2007. My 17 year old was one. And she threw up on the couch at the music studio, on the music producers couch. Yeah. So that was Contranella, and Charley and I are going back to the same place. Wilburland Studios, no one's gonna throw up on the couch, to record an album in August. Our Kickstarter has just launched. It will be open just for July of 2023. If you can contribute some money, or contribute just by sharing the information for the Kickstarter, I would really appreciate that. It's a lot involved in making an album. So we're trying to raise some money to pay for that.
Let's move on. Okay. Session etiquette. Oh, this is a big topic. If you Google it, there are some great articles. I especially liked the one from McNeela instruments, pretty comprehensive, and they had a whole section for Bodhan.
If you're feeling intimidated about the possibility of breaking some unspoken rule at an Irish session, I'll just tell you, the very first Irish session I ever went to, I did not grow up going to them. I had been to jams, mostly people playing in kitchens or backyards, more New England music.
My first Irish session was in Rochester, I was probably 20. And I went it was a big Coltas session and a community center. I did basically everything wrong. I jumped into lead a tune being a newcomer not having introduced myself. The tune was Mari's Wedding, which is Scottish. And I just played it by itself didn't go into anything. So yeah, basically broke all the rules.
So I will tell you what I wish that 20 year old Meg had known back then. Irish sessions, usually in bars or pubs, sometimes in community spaces, you can look for them on Facebook, or on the session.com. That's usually where I look. And we're going to talk about joining the session, first time stuff playing along, leading a set, because that's a whole kettle of fish. And a little bit about becoming a regular.
So joining the session, these are like tips for your very first time going to an Irish session, or your first couple of times. Irish sessions are for Irish music, played on traditional instruments by people who are studying Irish music. So if you are an aspiring jazz trombonist, I wouldn't take that instrument and that energy to an Irish session. It's not that you can't play Irish music, but you would want to learn on a traditional instrument and learn Irish music and then go to an Irish session.
For a melody player. For a beginning session, like a session that's listed as a learning session, probably want to know at least 10 Irish tunes. For an intermediate session, I would say at least 50. For an advanced session. You're not gonna like this. 100 to 500 tunes. I might be at like 200 right now. I still have a long way to go.
If you're going to play rhythm like piano or guitar, you want to be pretty advanced. This is not four chords in a capo old time guitar. Yeah, I play guitar and piano and and I can't really keep up at an Irish session yet on those instruments.
So what do you do you get there you have your, your instrument, presumably, I would buy a drink. It's always good to patronize the bar that's hosting the session. That's important. You want to stand and listen, if they're playing a set, wait for them to finish, or like wait for a break in the conversation. Introduce yourself doesn't have to be long. Say your name. And ask if you can join. Yes, it's a little awkward, but gets easier with practice.
If you're planning to record the whole session on your phone, I would just ask it's so common now you almost don't need to ask but I would just is it okay, if I record some of this, ask that then. And then before you sit in a seat, ask if the seat is free, because people get up and get down. Kind of a lot to do right at the beginning there.
Once you are in your seat, get your instrument out, tune up, have a tuner have one of those little micro tuners. So you make sure you're in tune. You don't want your first impression to be a flat E string, then you're ready to go.
So playing along. Playing with other people is a skill separate from just playing the fiddle or just playing a tune. If you haven't done it a lot, you'll need to practice it probably not at the session, I would find some family or friends and try just playing tunes with them. Either. They're playing melody or they're playing accompaniment, to get used to playing other people. If you don't have experience with that. If you can join in and play. Just make sure you're not playing too loud on the fiddle less of a problem than on the pipes. Sorry, if you're a pipes player.
For tunes you don't know. This is a rule I break a lot. So do what I say not what I do. For tunes you don't know. Don't play. Just put your fiddle down. Look alive. Listen, drink your beer. I am really bad about this because I do noodle along well. I'll listen through an entire part of a tune really carefully. And then I will start playing. I will say with maybe less modesty than I should have that learning tunes on the spot is one of my strengths as a musician so but for most people, it's not a noodling situation. It's not like an old time jam. I wouldn't noodle.
If you don't know it, listen, record it on your phone. And then it's great to ask when they stop, what was that tune to go home and work on it, look it up on the session. Learn it that way. The other thing to keep in mind, I guess just as a fiddler or melody instrument is you're just playing the melody. I wouldn't do any accompanying specially not chops. Do not play chops at an Irish session. You can quote me on that. I wouldn't harmonize or do anything else like that. Just play the melody. If you know it. If you don't record it, go home. Learn it. No clapping along.
Okay, so you may choose to offer to kind of lead a set. Or they may ask you, a lot of great jam leaders will will kind of go around and especially if you're new or if it seems like you're not playing on a lot, you're not getting a chance to play. They'll say Oh, would you like to lead a set? What tunes do you have for us? I would, if you're planning to do this, lead a set, I would pick out three tunes that go together before you go to the session. I never remember to do this too. I'm always digging in my brain trying to think is that New England or is that Irish? Prepare ahead. It's a great idea.
It's okay if it's just you know, Kesh jig and a couple other jigs doesn't have to be fancy, far out tunes. You could go from A Tune in D to G to like A modal. Or you could go from E minor to D to G you can look on the session and just pull they have sets there. You know this tune is usually played with these tunes. Just take one of those or take a sets straight from an album.
Irish players are so into albums if you go to a lot of sessions you'll hear them talk. It's like some kind of album geography game where you're like, oh, this tune was on that album. And then but he also played it on this album, they can go on like that a little bit.
For your set, you know, the hardest part is the transition, going from one tune to the next to play each tune three times. And then in the middle of the last be part, you do the hup. So it sounds like this HUP, and then you transition to the next tune. If you're not used to shouting while you play fiddle, that's okay. You can try other kinds of ways of indicating but practice that that's the way that experienced Irish players indicate that they're changing tunes. And if you hear someone else, you know, go HUP. That means that's what's about to happen.
If you just can't remember the tune you were going to try to go into, you can take a couple beats to try to bring it up. But if you really can't remember it, you know, just put your instrument down, try to look sheepish. It's okay, it happens to everyone. It's happened to me. I've seen it happen with inexperienced musicians and with experienced musicians. So it's nothing to worry about. It does happen.
In terms of becoming a regular and feeling like you're part of the gym and accepted at the jam. There isn't a way to do that on your first couple times, you really have to keep coming consistently. If you go to a a session, and you see five people or 10 people, those folks have probably been coming dozens, sometimes hundreds of times. And during that time, they've seen a lot of people kind of come and go try it and then leave. So the only evidence that you're gonna stay and become part of the session is if you keep coming and you stay, you become part of this session.
So it honestly doesn't make as big a difference if you're beginner and advanced. If you just keep coming. We have some folks who are like totally part of the session and are arthouse session, who are beginners and don't even play or even bring their instruments but everyone knows them because they come a lot and they chat. They listen they ask what tune it was the part of the session. Try it out.
I drink Guinness if they have it, I like to drink in us at the Irish session.
Our tune for today is Pat Mahon's doesn't call Dermott Grogan's, another flute player. I think it's a traditional tune. But those flute players played it so people often call the tune after them. Taken from a session at Fergie's Pub in Philadelphia.
We were up in Philadelphia for a family wedding was my first time at that session. Had a great time. The parking was a little tricky. Very nice. Pub. Guinness was great. The musicians drink for free. Hmm. Now you'll all go.
Session was being led by Darren Kelly on guitar also his son was there Eamon Kelly on bouzouki and Brian Boice was playing accordion. They sounded great. I had a really good time. I I'd love to go back to that session there was a mandolin player. And as we left there, a banjo player came in.
This tune, Pat Mahon's was from a set that Brian led the accordion player. Pat Mahon's was a flute player from Sligo. He was well known in that area and on the flute he sang and played the flute. He was known for busking. Being a great street performer people knew him by his leather cap and his beard. He also played for fleadhs.
He passed away last year and 2022 I was looking at some of the remembrances the people were writing and a lot of people remember hearing him in pubs, hearing him play on the street. They said he was a lovely man that he used to play music for the Skreen Show.
There's no word on specifically where this tune is. It doesn't seem like Pat wrote it, but played it a lot. In fact, I found him on YouTube playing this tune. And it was lovely. Yeah. We enjoyed it at the jam, right? Charley's a flute player. Well, we're gonna play it on fiddle now for you. Ready?
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