Well, as one of the starters of the aformentioned threads that bothers Slag I think he is correct that there is a point behind the thread (I can't speak for the other thread insitigator obviously).

I started the Shakey Egg 101 (better thread title than mine btw) partly as a joke, but because the shakey egg has become a symbol of something more in sessions - people who want to join in, but don't want to learn an instrument, don't want to learn about the music and don't want to enjoy the subtlety and nuance of a good trad session.

I do not claim to be some kind of great trad musician - I'm not, and I have so much to learn I suspect a lifetime of playing will never be enough, but I do try and further my playing, even if my progress seems infintesimal and glacially slow.

I started years ago on bodhran, eager and in love with the instrument and this mysterious new music - I really wanted to play in sessions even though I knew little about our indigenous music of our Islands. After several years (and with a much bodhran player than me in our local sessions) I then moved on to mandolin because I loved the tunes and wanted to play them. I stuck with that and at some point brought a bouzouki, which I didn't play out for a couple of years due to shyness and being crap, although now the mando stays at home and I play my zook all the time. I am still crap.

However, I have learnt to respect the musicians I play with as being a talented and (for the most part) welcoming and friendly bunch. They put up with me when I was learning, they put up with me now (even when I play in the wrong key). In the sessions we play in newcomers are welcomed and learners of all levels are encouraged.

The trouble is when you have a shakey egg(s) in your session for years, only playing a bom-bom-bom metronomic pattern. This isn't an attempt to engage with the music or actually play with people, it's imposing a noise that disregards the subtlties of rhythm and the interplay between players when a tune is being played.

I don't care what instrument people play, or at what level. I do think if you can't be arsed to learn what a slip jig is, or a reel, then don't play on it - and put the sodding egg (or whatever) down.