GUEST,Alex - Fiddler

If I play English tunes in this manner (highly ornamented and perhaps a little up tempo) in a session advertised as English, people look at me as-if-to-say I've walked into the wrong bar.

If I'm identifying you correctly, Alex, I WAS THERE. (Little fat bloke with a grey beard and long black hair playing English concertina and fiddle.) I'm one of those "that's been a novice for a long time" and will probably continue to be for some time yet.

For the information of Greg Stephens who said "Now it strikes me that the session referred to, being "advertised as English" may be "run" by some of those musicians of the Old Swan/Oak "English country music" sort of persuasion, it was run by Will Duke in the presence of Dan Quinn, Bob Keeble, Tony Dunn... I can't remember if Ian Slater was there that time but he often is.

I'm sorry if you felt that your style didn't fit, but the muttering around my end of the room was along the lines of "Who's that young fella? Bit good isn't he." I could point out that there were three fiddlers there younger than you, at least one of whom could vie with you for "best fiddler in the room" but who I think has more of a feel for English traditional playing than you. I think you know who I mean.

I want to play english music but with this passion...

Then do it. You don't have to ask anybody's permission but remember that Lau were up on stage in a packed auditorium, not sitting alongside everybody else in a session. Session playing is about adding your small part to the whole not about standing out for your virtuosity. I remember an occasion where things were getting a bit out of hand when one of the more experienced musicians said "Play to hear your neighbour not yourself.". The effect was immediate and magical.

also... and this is for another thread really.....is the music always there to be danced to

That is fundamental to this thread. For Southern English traditional music at least, it may not always be there to be danced to but that is where it comes from. If you forget that you will have lost its heart.

Next time you come to the Trevor, sit as near as you can to Will Duke. Next time we have Matt Green doing a workshop at the Lewes Arms, come along.

In the end, you've got to do what YOU want to do and you will do that a lot better than trying to do what you think is expected of you, but it's worth doing a lot of listening first even to some of those who may not be technically as good as you.