Traditional Irish Music Sessions: How to Find Them, Survive Them and Enjoy Them
		For many, the Irish music session is the quintessential musical experience:  a small group of friends sitting around a table in the corner of a pub, playing tunes till all hours of the night while punters (non-musician patrons) talk and occasionally someone dances to the tune and everyone has a grand time.  Sessions can be great fun, but they can be intimidating to beginners.   Like any other complex social activity, the key to success and happiness as a session player is respect... respect for your fellow players, for the music, and for the owners of the pub who have been kind enough to allow you(us) to play under their roof.  While there is no stone tablet of rules, there tends to be a form of   "session ettiquette" that beginners should know and respect in order to be successful in joining a session and having a pleasant and rewarding session experience.  Prof. Chris Smith's excellent essay on Session Dynamics , located on Michael Eskin's equally excellent site, is very informative, and, IMHO, is ESSENTIAL READING for any tin whistle beginner who is about to attend their first  session.   To gain experience playing along with others in a session-like context, try logging on to the Virtual Session site, hosted by the BBC.  This is a way cool site that features streaming audio of numerous  three-tune sets of typical session tunes.  Sheet music displays on screen while the musicians play, and you can print the music to practice on your own.  The tunes are played mercifully slowly, allowing beginning players a reasonable chance of keeping up.
			Once you've read Prof. Smith's essay and are ready to find a session, you can check out one of these excellent sites to find the sessions in your area.    I'll keep adding more links to sessions as I find them, so check back every now and then to see if there is anything new. General Session Search Engines: www.sessioneer.com www.irishmusic.com www.ceolas.org/pub/session-list.html Slow Sessions (ideal for beginners) www.slowplayers.org Oregon Sessions www.nonvi.com/sm/pubs.html www.free-music-education.com/mainpage_012.html Other Sessions: www.sfcelticmusic.com/sessions.html
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