Hi all,

In 1988, when a bunch of us were sitting around having an informal jam session at the local folk festival (which we were involved in) someone suggested having a regular session once a week. We aimed at making it comfortable for beginners but also to make it interesting for more experienced players.

The session is still going, it has had changes of participants, but some of the originals, including me, still go there. I'm the only one who has been going along for all eleven years, although at present I have been busy and I've missed a couple of months.

When we started we had a very good guitarist - a 3 chord wonder - who was happy to play slowly enough for everyone to join in. We also chose to use a core set of songs - approx. 20 - which we found sheet music for and made sure everyone had access to the music. We played the songs in 3 groups - those which could be played in the keys of C maj (or A minor), those in G maj (Em) and those in D maj (Bm) so that the instruments which were not chromatic could be retuned to the new key or so that the lever harp could be set for the new key. It meant that people weren't jumping from one key to another without warning, no-one had to call out in the middle of the tunes saying "What key is this?" which is frustrating when you get no answer, and over time we all got better at this core bunch of songs plus some more which got added as we went along. We also loved it when people started up with a song or tune they had discovered or felt like playing. If we could join in we would, and if not we would sit back and listen.

Because I had learned the basics of guitar playing and knew the main chords by sight I learned to play along on the harp by watching the guitarist's chords. I realised afterwards that I also picked up some of his interesting rhythms by playing along with him.

The session has grown and shrunk and grown at different times - it's pretty small at present and we are trying to revitalise it. However, the core people from the session have formed an amateur bush band and have played for a few dances and concerts for the local folk club, or for church groups etc, so the participants have gained enough experience form the session to get out there and perform in public, and sometimes get paid for it.

When the idea for the band was put forward I was interested but the practice session for the band just ended up being the session, and I was really annoyed because the session was a more relaxed affair, with fun, and an easy-going attitude about how the music was played, but the rehearsals for the band were very serious and focused (as they should be) and so the two outcomes were at cross purposes. Eventually the band practised on a different night, which is why the session group shrank at that time - some people couldn't commit 2 nights per week to playing music, and when the band was leading up to a performance they had even more practice sessions).

My point is that the beginners' session worked beautifully, although it has evolved over time - changed focus, changed format, changed from songs to tunes, to dance tunes, etc etc. The guitarist, understandably, got tired of being relied on all the time to keep the tunes and songs going. It got to the point where we relied on him too much, so eventually he moved out of the session, and that was okay for the beginners because then we had to be more self sufficient.

We have always welcomed beginners, and also seasoned musicians. Some keep coming back, some move on - but on the whole, it has been a wonderful pasttime and I hope it goes on for another 11 years or more.

Helen