slow/learning sessions

Subject: slow/learning sesions
From: GUEST,Paul
Date: 24 May 06 - 12:23 PM

I am asking dose anyone have any experience of running or attending a session that is played at slower speeds, maybe even learning some tunes together. I don't know even if such a thing already happens. I started to go to sessions about a year ago and found it difficult to start playing in public, even if I knew and could play a tune being play it was all ways to first for me. Last weekend at the end of an Irish session two or three of us grouped around and played a few tunes slower to encourage some of the less confident players.
That got me thinking that maybe a regular session or workshop type event out of the public eye/ear might be something there could be some call for. I thought the format could include things like.
•        Tunes played at slower pace
•        Agreed play list
•        Learning new tunes
•        Tunes played two or three times
•        Taking turns sharing tunes
Any thoughts, experiences or ideas.

Subject: RE: slow/learning sesions
From: andrewq
Date: 24 May 06 - 12:46 PM

If you are anywhere near Lancashire, the Four Fools Festival organisers run "Slow and Steady Band Sessions" throughout the year which seem to be pretty much what you are suggesting. There are some brief details here:



http://www.folknorthwest.co.uk/off_the_beaten_track.htm

Subject: RE: slow/learning sesions
From: Scoville
Date: 24 May 06 - 12:53 PM

I don't know where you are, but the two clubs with which I was involved did almost nothing else. Also, the festivals that had workshops included "slow jams" that were led by experienced players who expected to do a bit of teaching and trouble-shooting in the process. I don't know how common that is, though (I'm in Houston, Texas, USA).

I think it's a great way both to learn new music and to start learning to play with people.

Subject: RE: slow/learning sesions
From: Skipjack K8
Date: 24 May 06 - 01:04 PM

I believe there is just such a session held in Beverley, East Yorkshire, UK, every Tuesday, that Mudcatter ET attends (good man himself), so I would try a PM if you are within travelling distance, or at least some dialogue of experience of running such a session.

Bon chance

Subject: RE: slow/learning sesions
From: gnomad
Date: 24 May 06 - 01:10 PM

If you get to the Whitby Festival (August) there has in the past been a "Gentle Music Session" that sounds about right, but I suspect you need something a bit more frequent.

I haven't attended myself, but past inquiries on the 'cat suggest it is usually a good event.

Subject: RE: slow/learning sesions
From: Valmai Goodyear
Date: 24 May 06 - 01:11 PM

There is a session precisely like this at the Lewes Arms Folk Club, Lewes, East Sussex, UK. We meet once a month. Here's the entry from the club's website http://members.aol.com/lewesarmsfolk/:

'If you would like to play English dance music, here is an opportunity to meet other players to learn and swap tunes regardless of what instrument you play, to what standard, and whether or not you read music. This will be a chance to nail down some of those tunes that you recognise when you hear them but can't quite remember, to put the names to familiar tunes, and to play them over slowly until you are sure of them. Printed music and computer software are available for 180 of the Lewes area's favourite tunes.
The tunes are now available as a book, price £10, illustrated with dance notations from Sussex manuscripts, anecdotes, photographs of the habitats where they flourish and an index of the combinations in which they are often played. Go to Links on http://members.aol.com/lewesarmsfolk/ for ordering details.   Alternatively, you can obtain them in various computerised forms from the website. Discreet tape recorders are welcome if you don't read music. We meet in the upstairs room of the Lewes Arms, Mount Place, Lewes, at 8.00 pm on the following evenings (all Wednesdays except where marked):

2006: 10th. January(Tuesday) 14th. February(Tuesday) 15th. March 19th. April
17th. May 21st. June 19th. July 16th. August
20th. September 18th. October 15th. November 20th. December


Andy Warburton, 31, Landport Road, Lewes
tel. [phone]            email: apbw @ mistral .co .uk (remove spaces)
Bryan Creer
tel. [phone]            email: Bryancreer @ aol .com (remove spaces)
Valmai Goodyear, 20, St. John's Terrace, Lewes
tel. [phone]            email: Valmai Goodyear @ aol .com (remove spaces)'

We have found computer music software invaluable for writing, editing and circulating tunes. We use Noteworthy Composer a good deal, but there is much to recommend abc as it can be inserted into ordinary emails.

We have made a point of only using tunes which are heard in local sessions and editing the dots to show what is actually played round here. Tunes vary a good deal from district to district and acquire local accents.

Good luck,

Valmai (Lewes, Sussex)

Subject: RE: slow/learning sesions
From: Valmai Goodyear
Date: 24 May 06 - 01:16 PM

Another lead - if you're going to the Chippenham Folk Festival next week-end, the concertina trio Spare Parts are running a couple of English tunes practice sessions. We'll be handing out the dots but playing the tunes slowly over and over again so that people can pick them up by ear. The tunes used will be session favourites.

Spare Parts are Bryan Creer, Suzanne Higgins and me.

Tootle pip,

Valmai (Lewes, East Sussex)

Subject: RE: slow/learning sesions
From: Fliss
Date: 24 May 06 - 01:18 PM

Hi
There was a long thread on this some time ago.

We have an irish music practice session on a Sunday morning at the Birchmeadow Centre, Broseley, Shropshire.

A group of us meet up and take the tunes through slowly. We learn new tunes and practice old favourites. All ages, instruments and abilities welcome.

fliss

Subject: RE: slow/learning sesions
From: Mo the caller
Date: 25 May 06 - 08:11 AM

I'll sign up for one, Midcheshire-ish. (as a learner, NOT a leader)
There is a band workshop once a month at Rainford near St Helens Lancs where we play from the dots. Dance music, for Playford and other club dance type. We have a core repertoire for the 2nd hour, and something new for the 1st (music in advance).
Not quite the same as playing in a session, but an interesting experience, and we get the chance to play at local club dances if we feel up to it.

See you at the Chippenham and Whitby events.

Subject: RE: slow/learning sesions
From: Alice
Date: 25 May 06 - 08:56 AM

Go to www.thesession.org and you will find discussions on slow sessions and find some in the session locator list.

Subject: RE: slow/learning sesions
From: Bob the Postman
Date: 25 May 06 - 09:48 AM

Subject: RE: slow/learning sesions
From: Bob the Postman
Date: 25 May 06 - 09:58 AM

Our local bluegrass society runs just such a http://www.buddy-system.org/slowpitch/index.html jam, having imported the idea from the folks at the link. It works because a core group of experts is willing to play painfully slowly so that the beginners can tag along. Their reward is the second half of the session, which is faster.

Subject: RE: slow/learning sesions
From: Bob the Postman
Date: 25 May 06 - 10:00 AM

Not my morning. Here's that link: slow pitch

Subject: RE: slow/learning sesions
From: wysiwyg
Date: 25 May 06 - 10:14 AM

My husband and I tried offering a slow jam (session) before the faster one (and put quite a lot of effort into getting the word out), when we were hosting jams at our home.

The biggest thing I learned is that we needed either to let the slow-jam folks run their OWN jam, or we needed to function as leaders/teachers. They just leaned on us so hard we couldn't function as peers, though that WAS what we wanted. They never brought material, relied on us to lead every tune; some wanted us to tune their instruments, too, and for awhile we were nice enough to do it.

We burned out and they were frustrated-- they were taking more than we wanted to give, but not getting enough, ever, of what they wanted. (New musicians are HUNGRY!) And the other more-experienced players came early for the slow jam once-- but never came back, convinced it seems that they had lost the opportunity to play at their own level and just have fun.

One dynamic of this that may be different for you-- and I fervently hope it is-- is that our area is so thinly populated that we never had ENOUGH like-minded beginners at any time for them to jell as their own crowd and encourage each other. And the area's jams above our own level were SO far above us in speed and skill, and so insular too within their favorite genre, that we never did find people at our level to have fun with. We were left perpetually hosting an unpaid, beginner's workshop we never meant to start and didn't enjoy much! So we stopped doing it! :~)

So what you are doing sounds exactly right-- you, as a slow-for-now player, took the initiative. Don't give it away! But-- as you yourself develop, be sure to keep playing with people at your level or higher, and let the newer beginners continue to develop their own leadership.

~Susan

Subject: RE: slow/learning sesions
From: Grab
Date: 25 May 06 - 10:31 AM

There's one based in/near Cambridge, UK, called "Grassroots".

Graham.

Subject: RE: slow/learning sesions
From: LilyFestre
Date: 25 May 06 - 12:32 PM

Hey Paul,

    Good for you for giving it a try, it can be a nerve wracking experience! I'm on my way out the door but will post soon...great topic!

Michelle

Subject: RE: slow/learning sesions
From: Valmai Goodyear
Date: 25 May 06 - 03:27 PM

Susan's frustrating experiences of running beginners' sessions inspire sympathy. Where did these sorry events take place?

By good fortune the 'Lewes Favourites' sessions never went like that: we started them off as a self-help group rather than a course of instruction, collected dots using computer music software, got them copied by furtive reproduction (surreptitious use of office photocopiers) and made them available free of charge. Anyone who took copies away was asked to make their own and return them if at all possible. We get free use of the Lewes Arms club-room because of the known beer consumption of the punters.

As organisers, we feel that our own playing and grasp of the music has improved greatly over the years as a result of the sessions.

Our monthly practices have no leaders. We just go round the table inviting people to pick a tune, which need not be one from our collection of 180, and if possible to play a couple of bars at their own speed to get the ball rolling. Everyone then joins in. If it seems to be going too fast we stop by consensus and start again more slowly. Starting a tune yourself in a protected environment is good practice for doing the same thing out in the wild.

We have a lot of pauses for discussion. Occasionally someone will play a bit of a tune and ask the group for help identifying it. Occasionally semi-professional local musicians drop in, perhaps to try playing an instrument that's new to them or pin down a tune that's been eluding them. We rarely have fewer than eight people and occasionally get a couple of dozen. Although the 180 Lewes Favourites tunes are our mainstay, people constantly bring new tunes either on paper or to demonstrate by ear: this is especially useful when a new tune becomes popular in the area and everyone wants to get their grubby paws on it.

Tootle pip,

Valmai (Lewes, Sussex)

Subject: RE: slow/learning sesions
From: Zany Mouse
Date: 25 May 06 - 03:33 PM

If anyone runs one somewhere near Worksop I'd be VERY interested!

Rhiannon

Subject: RE: slow/learning sesions
From: Ebbie
Date: 25 May 06 - 04:52 PM

There's a local Slow Jam that is now a Not-So-Slow Jam. They have a wide repetroire and are now playing for the occasional dance. They have something like 15 members and run the gamut of instruments. Those I have seen include fiddle, guitar, tenor banjo, hammered dulcimer, recorder/whistle, flute, piano, and probably one or two more that slip my mind.

Plus, they appear to be having a good time.

Subject: RE: slow/learning sesions
From: cptsnapper
Date: 25 May 06 - 04:53 PM

There's also the Greenshoots session held on alternate Monday evenings at the Red Lion Whittlesford.

Subject: RE: slow/learning sesions
From: GUEST,Paul
Date: 25 May 06 - 06:32 PM

Thanks for all the comments. I think I'm going to give it a try and start something in Northampton. I am at the stage with my playing that I can just keep up with a normal session but I do not have a big repertoire. I have found Valmai's session tunes on the web and put more than a couple of them on the must learn list, which never seams to get any smaller. I have found the Folkworks Session Collection CD & books very helpful and may base the sessions on them.

So all to do now find a venue and get the music going.

Subject: RE: slow/learning sesions
From: Valmai Goodyear
Date: 26 May 06 - 03:10 AM

Paul, I wish you the very best of luck and I bet you'll have a lot of fun. Do get in touch if you want more ideas.

Advertising the practice sessions doesn't have to cost much. After booking a room once a month for a year we drafted a handout (the text is in my first post) printed it by more furtive reproduction, and took it to the local folk clubs. We also sent it to folk music shops such as Hobgoblin, and local instrument makers such as Andy Norman. Email is also invaluable for spreading the word.

It's essential to book a good block of nights and let people know when they are. If you only book one or two at a time, people forget when the next session is even if they are genuinely interested.

You could possibly ask a nominal entrance charge of £1 to cover any costs, or hold a raffle. We haven't found it necessary.

Tune books worth getting hold of for reference(as well as the Lewes Favourites from the web) are Dave Townsend's two volumes of English Dance Music, the Thomas Hardy collection put together by the Yetties, A Northern Lass, and Nick Barber's English Choice.

Never be a slave to the dots or let anyone tell you that what's written down Must Be Right Because It's In Print. Traditional music doesn't work like that. The dots are an excellent tool, but not an absolute standard. It's the difference between a drawing of a rose and the flower itself. The drawing shows you what a rose looks like and teaches you how to recognise one, but you'd never accuse a real rose of being wrong because it doesn't match someone's drawing of it.
The music is what you hear and what you play.

Good Lord, I must go and lie down after all that.

Tootle pip,

Valmai (Lewes, Sussex)

Subject: RE: slow/learning sesions
From: Mo the caller
Date: 30 May 06 - 04:34 PM

If anyone gets the chance to go to one of Valmai's sessions, GRAB IT.
Just come back from Chippenham and she is a great teacher. The tunes she taught us last year have stuck in the mind, so we could join in with them at sessions this year.
It was worth missing those dance workshops for (well, Chippenham is about 5 festivals in 1 and even if you stuck to 1 interest you'd still be making difficult choices)

Thanks

Subject: RE: slow/learning sesions
From: ConcertinaChap
Date: 30 May 06 - 06:18 PM

With Valmai's agreement I am talking to Bob Berry about adding another session to the Chippenham roster. This springs from developments at our own session at Bradford on Avon, where some of the less experienced members started meeting an hour earlier to practice playing tunes more slowly, but they did so following more-or-less normal session ettiquette.

So I want to run a slow session with a few ground rules, along the lines of 1) G and D (and relative minors) only 2) well known English tunes 3) played not too fast. The idea is to allow people the room to practice jumping in with a tune (no easy thing to do if you haven't done it before) in an atmosphere less 'threatening' than the wondrous session in the Rose and Crown barn. I think George Garside has done something similar at a couple of festivals.

If it comes off then with the Spare Parts teaching sessions, my sessions and the main sessions in the Rose and Crown barn we should have a short but complete course in playing in English sessions.

Chris

Subject: RE: slow/learning sessions
From: Mo the caller
Date: 31 May 06 - 06:40 AM

What, can't I go to any dance workshops?

Subject: RE: slow/learning sessions
From: Mo the caller
Date: 31 May 06 - 06:43 AM

Would another ground rule be - Shout out the name and key before you start, that's something I've found hard to figure out on the fly. The first note would be great too - I've carefully learnt that the Bear Dance starts on an A but it didn't in the barn, which threw me.

Subject: RE: slow/learning sessions
From: ConcertinaChap
Date: 31 May 06 - 02:01 PM

Good thought, thanks.

Chris

Subject: RE: slow/learning sessions
From: Kaleea
Date: 31 May 06 - 02:08 PM

For a slow jam, I like to make sure there is a co-"host" so that there are at least a couple of us who can assist others. I also like to take an instrument with me which I am learning. It helps others realize that it's ok to be a beginner, & it sure helps to remind me what that's like. Some people are quite adamant that the learners may not have printed Music. As an educator, I have learned that not everyone learns at the same pace, nor can everyone memorize. If folks get enjoyment out of playing along slowly with Music in front of them, how can that harm me, you, or the Music? Ask the jammers to bring an easy tune to pass out. Keep new jammers coming in, so that the group does not turn into a too fast for beginners jam.

Subject: RE: slow/learning sessions
From: Valmai Goodyear
Date: 01 Jun 06 - 01:32 PM

Calling a change

In the course of the Chippenham practice sessions a little idea blossomed: giving people the chance to signal a change of tune or call a halt. It's not at all easy to utter when you're playing and many people find it difficult to make any sort of vocal noise. Even good players may indicate a change or halt by howling, screaming, hooting, looking agonised, or raising a limb or eyebrow rather than using articulate speech. Some are restricted by the need to keep blowing into a mouthpiece, too.

The idea came rather late, but we got everyone to try shouting 'Change' just before switching to a new tune. We'll try to do a bit more of that, and also of shouting 'Out' in future. It should help people to recover from the frequent stumble that afflicts a lot of us immediately after having called out.

(Could I make a fortune knitting galoshes for people to wear at sessions with CHANGE on the sole of one foot and OUT on the sole of the other? You heard it here first.)

Tootle pip,

Valmai (Lewes, Sussex)

Subject: RE: slow/learning sessions
From: jojofolkagogo
Date: 01 Jun 06 - 02:11 PM

We have a "SLOW" session at the beginning of the usual session
at United Bretheren Pub Chelmsford ESSEX
every Tuesday run by Fred The Hat


Jo-Jo

Subject: RE: slow/learning sessions
From: Valmai Goodyear
Date: 02 Jun 06 - 05:12 AM

Chippenham sessions - PS

Mo, many thanks for the endorsement of what Spare Parts are doing. I must remind the list that there are three of us in Spare Parts - it's not a one-man show and we take it in turns to lead tunes. We're open to suggestions for improvements.

I've just tracked down the dots for The Quarryman, which came up a lot in the full English sessions at the festival linked to The Lemonville Jig. It sounds like a candidate for next year's practice sessions if I can get the writer's (Charlie Sherrit) permission.

Valmai (Lewes, Sussex)

Subject: RE: slow/learning sessions
From: Grab
Date: 02 Jun 06 - 07:20 AM

Thanks cptsnapper - sorry, Greenshoots was what I meant! Oops.

Graham.

Subject: RE: slow/learning sessions
From: LilyFestre
Date: 02 Jun 06 - 07:47 AM

If folks get enjoyment out of playing along slowly with Music in front of them, how can that harm me, you, or the Music?

EXACTLY!!!

I can't comment about running a slow/learning session from the perspective of a host or organizer but I can comment from the perspective of a player.

I've been to a few different jams, 2 that were conducive to newer players and a couple that were not and one in the middle.

Some things that made the slower jams enjoyable were:

1. The attitude of the folks running the jam...I like Kaleea's idea of having an accomplished musician learning something new too...

2. The lack of "BOSSY" people, for lack of a better term. Some folks felt compelled to jump on every little thing. I think I could have taken in more and learned more if just one or two things were pointed out....and if they had been pointed out by someone who actually played the same instrument as me. How can someone who doesn't play the violin at all, offer instruction involving fingering, etc? They can't.

3. Having other players at the same level was fun.

4. Having a gentle hostesses who called out changes when there was no music to follow.

5. No pressure. I really enjoyed the jams that I went to where I wasn't pressured to start a song when I was still very shy about playing with anyone.

Those are my top five and I'm sure I will think of more later.

If I were running such a session, I'd try to keep in mind that both the instrument and the genre of music may be new to the beginner. With that in mind, I'd try to keep a collection of music on hand to share with people. I also think it would be nice idea if the host/hostess would play through the song once or twice so the beginner can have an idea of how the song goes.

Ok..enough for now.

Michelle

Subject: RE: slow/learning sessions
From: jojofolkagogo
Date: 02 Jun 06 - 07:58 AM

Well said Lilly - or Michelle (which is it??)

To all of that - a beginner is just that, a beginner, and it's so easy for people who have passed that stage to be either bossy or encouraging - of course encouraging is the BEST !!

to all you bossy ones, just remember when YOU started !!!

Jo-Jo

Subject: RE: slow/learning sessions
From: Mo the caller
Date: 02 Jun 06 - 06:40 PM

I used to wonder quietly to myself why some "perpetual beginners" kept coming back to our dance club.
Now I've started going to sessions people are probably wondering the same about me.
I've improved in the past year, but not enough. Lack of co-ordination or dedication (or both).
Still, it's fun when tunes come up I can play bits of.

Subject: RE: slow/learning sessions
From: Valmai Goodyear
Date: 04 Jun 06 - 05:31 AM

Yes, the fun is the great thing. Session playing is a social activity, not only a musical one. Practising brings its own kind of fun, which is quite different from the fun of performing (otherwise indistinguishable from stark terror, but there's a terrific buzz when you can feel that you're getting the music across to listeners).

How do people feel about being counted in? It can be useful in a learning session, especially for readers, but in the wild no-one will ever do it and we have to develop other ways of joining in. Spare Parts tried playing a few bars from the end of the tune and then letting people jump in as it started again, which is closer to the real-life experience.

By the way, I'm utterly mystified by the post a little while back: 'Thanks cptsnapper - sorry, Greenshoots was what I meant! Oops.

Graham. '

Footnotes, please ....

Tootle pip,

Valmai (Lewes)

Subject: RE: slow/learning sessions
From: Mo the caller
Date: 04 Jun 06 - 06:48 AM

I liked the "bars from the end"

Subject: RE: slow/learning sessions
From: Valmai Goodyear
Date: 14 Jun 06 - 02:58 PM

Kaleea wrote:

'For a slow jam, I like to make sure there is a co-"host" so that there are at least a couple of us who can assist others. I also like to take an instrument with me which I am learning. It helps others realize that it's ok to be a beginner, & it sure helps to remind me what that's like. '

Taking an unfamiliar instrument is an excellent idea. If you haven't got one, it's possible to try playing your usual instrument in a different octave instead. I've been trying this with English concertina and made the discovery that some tunes can be played successfully an octave below the usual pitch, which makes an interesting contribution to the mix as well.

Valmai (Lewes)

Subject: RE: slow/learning sessions
From: Valmai Goodyear
Date: 17 Jun 06 - 08:10 AM

This thread could usefully be read in conjunction with the thread 'Start a Session in Lincoln'.

Tootle pip,

Valmai (Lewes)

Subject: RE: slow/learning sessions
From: GUEST,Jack Campin
Date: 17 Jun 06 - 09:10 PM

Nigel Gatherer has been running one in Edinburgh for years. It works very well. Look at his website for some ideas if you can't come to Edinburgh to see for yourself.

I've often turned up with something I can't play very well myself, to force myself to slow down. Overdid it once when I brought a Stylophone, which I could do bugger-all with. Nigel managed okay with it though.

Anybody see any connection with idea of "slow food"? - the speed used for traditional tunes by players who have never been asked to slow down and think in something like a slow session is implicitly treating traditional music a lot like a visit to McD's.

But what hasn't got across clearly enough yet is the idea that not all tunes ever need to go any faster than slow-session pace.

Subject: RE: slow/learning sessions
From: Sue the Borderer
Date: 16 May 07 - 07:49 PM

Having just 'lost my session virginity' at a slow and steady session run by Black Diamond in Retford (Notts UK) I can thoroughly recommend the experience for inexperienced musicians like me.
And, Zany Mouse, it's reasonably near Worksop - have you made it there yet?

Sue

Subject: RE: slow/learning sessions
From: GUEST,Angie Bladen (Jubilee Concertinas)
Date: 16 May 07 - 08:18 PM

Talking of slow/learning sessions. Have a look at the website of jubileeconcertinas.org   We run a slow/learning session on the first Saturday of the month in Chorley Lancashire for anyone in the North West. We also run a concertina workshop on the second Saturday of the month. All workshops run at Eaves Green Community Centre from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Come and join us, your first visit is free, we can provide both music and also CDs of tunes played slowly for musicians playing by ear. We are a friendly bunch. See you there.

Subject: RE: slow/learning sessions
From: Susan A-R
Date: 16 May 07 - 08:52 PM

A group of us get together in a friend's home every week for a slow session. I'm not a particularly slow player, and participate in a couple of speedy sessions as well, but it's amazing how much I learn about my playing, and the amount of material I learn at the slow session. It's also a convivial bunch. If anyone is ever visiting Montpelier Vermont (sort of smack dab between Boston and Montreal) over a Thursday evening, it's a rare treat. Pretty ecclectic too. We do a fair amount of Irish, Quebecois, Cape Breton, New England and even a little Swedish playing. Everyone brings tunes, and often someone brings wine and someone else brings dessert or a snack. Not a bad way to spend the evening.

The bi weekly celtic session north of here is also a moderate session, and pretty refreshing if you've been to the break neck variety.

Subject: RE: slow/learning sessions
From: buttonbox
Date: 17 May 07 - 05:46 PM

george garside will be running a couple of sessions at Whitby folk week ''Well known tunes at a steady pace giving everyone the chance to join in" Also a weeks worth of melodeon workshops

Subject: RE: slow/learning sessions
From: GUEST,Valmai Goodyear (cookie gone)
Date: 18 May 07 - 03:24 AM

As last year, Spare Parts (Bryan Creer, Suzanne Higgins and me) will be running slow English tunes practice sessions at the Chippenham Festival, Wiltshire, UK, over the Whitsun Bank holiday week-end. They will be on the Sunday and Monday mornings from 10.30 - noon, but we don't know the venues yet.

We have the dots available, but we play the tunes over and over again slowly so they are accessible to people learning by ear. If you'd like the dots in advance, please email me with your postal address on valmai gooydear @ aol. com (omit spaces).

We'll also practice getting everyone calling or signalling 'Change' and 'Out' as even accomplished players find it difficult (see my posts earlier on this thread.

Tootle pip,

Valmai
Lewes, Sussex

Subject: RE: slow/learning sessions
From: concertina ceol
Date: 18 May 07 - 11:12 AM

I take it the galoshes are still in the design stage Valmai?
That would be a most useful invention, although I do like Will Dukes "wooop"!

Peter (Cranbrook)

Subject: RE: slow/learning sessions
From: Valmai Goodyear
Date: 19 May 07 - 04:25 AM

Yes, it's difficult to source eco-friendly rubber.

My cookie has been restored, so I can receive personal messages if anyone wants to request the dots for Spare Parts Chippenham tunes practice sessions; let me have your postal address.

Best wishes,

Valmai (Lewes)

Subject: RE: slow/learning sessions
From: Mo the caller
Date: 19 May 07 - 11:28 AM

Titles of some of the tunes would be good, we may already have the dots

Subject: RE: slow/learning sessions
From: Valmai Goodyear
Date: 19 May 07 - 12:28 PM

We are using the following tunes for the practice sessions; the ones marked * are in the Lewes Favourites book and downloadable in Noteworthy Composer and ABC from http://members.aol.com/lewesarmsfolk/Lewesfav.html.

Sunday morning, 10.30 - noon, Rose & Crown Barn:

Scan Tester untitled schottische
Scan Tester untitled step-dance
Sherbourne Waltz*
Paddy Carey *
Stool of Repentance
Staffordshire Hornpipe
Trip to Brighton * (spare)

Monday morning, 10.30 - noon, Rose & Crown Barn:

Scan Tester's Three-part polka
Tom Bigbee
Star of the County Down*
Percy Brown's polka *
Off to California *
New- Rigged Ship *
Gipsy's Hornpipe * (spare)

All the best,

Valmai

Subject: RE: slow/learning sessions
From: Mo the caller
Date: 22 May 07 - 05:54 AM

Thanks, looks a nice mix of tunes I've not heard of and tunes I'd like to be able to play

Subject: RE: slow/learning sessions
From: Valmai Goodyear
Date: 22 May 07 - 02:48 PM

Good. The idea is only to tackle tunes which we've met in the wild rather than to introduce completely new ones; we've gone for a blend of solid core repertoire and slightly more peripheral stuff.

Valmai

Subject: RE: slow/learning sessions
From: Graham and Jo
Date: 22 May 07 - 07:48 PM

The slow tunes / learning session using dots is still going on Tuesdays in Beverley, with a going round the room for songs and anything goes in the second half of the evening.
It's still at the Monks Walk at the moment, kicking off around 8pm, but we hear there is talk of moving to a different venue.

Subject: RE: slow/learning sessions
From: Mo the caller
Date: 23 May 07 - 05:33 AM

It was a learning session in Beverley (at Nellies before the folk club started) that set me off.
Before that I was an innocent folk dancer who never went into pubs.

Subject: RE: slow/learning sessions
From: Jack Campin
Date: 23 May 07 - 05:40 AM

One point about using dots. If that's the way you play, you have to take a bit of responsibility. It messes things up for everybody if you keep asking them to wait while you hunt for the right page. If you're playing from dots YOU ARE THE LEADER - the only person who can reasonably start a set off - so do it, and be prepared to keep on doing it for the *whole* session. And when playing sets of tunes, they all need to be laid out in front of you before you begin.

It makes things a lot easier if all the dot-users have the same book. Nigel Gatherer's booklets get a lot of use that way in Edinburgh.

Subject: RE: slow/learning sessions
From: Fliss
Date: 23 May 07 - 06:28 AM

Just a reminder that we have a practice session at the Birchmeadow Centre Broseley, Shropshire on Sunday mornings 10-12.30. Its Irish music for all ages & abilities and we practice tunes at a slower speed and encourage beginners. We put £1 in the pot towards the room hire and refreshments

Our main session at the Boat Inn, Jackfield has had to move because the pub is closed for a refurb and new landlord. We are in to venues at the min. The Robin Hood, Ironbridge 9pm Thursdays and the Foresters Arms, Broseley 8pm Thursdays in the tin hut. There just wasnt enough room for all of us in the Robin Hood.

Pm me if you are interested in coming along.
fliss