Playing in a Session

Tips for joining in

One of the main pleasures of playing an instrument is playing it with others in a session, whether a house party, a pub session, or at an organized camp or festival.

Let’s take a look at some tips for how to participate in a session. Keep in mind that a session is intended for participation, not performance, so, depending on the etiquette of the session (see below), plan to join in! Others will appreciate it.

Sessions make for good listening, too, so feel free to sit back and enjoy listening sometimes, especially on tunes you don’t know. Very few players know all the tunes, and there’s always a wide range of abilities. At some sessions, the leader will mix things up by inviting a musician or singer to play or sing a solo for everyone.

Be (a little) prepared

It’s not necessary to prepare before coming to a session, but it can be nice to be ready to start a tune or two if you get the chance. Regardless of your level as a player, you can always choose a few tunes you’re comfortable. These can be your personal session tunes!

Remember, people are there to play, and are open to suggestions for the next tune — by hearing it and joining in. People are not there to sit around discussing what to play! If you do start a tune, relax — it’s not a performance; it’s just a suggestion. Nobody’s judging; they’re too busy trying to figure out what tune you’re playing so that after the first measure or two, they can jump in and join you.

You might want to have at least two tunes at your fingertips. That way, if one of them was recently played already, you can start another one. Start a tune at a tempo you like — since you’re starting it, you should be able to play at a speed you prefer. Let others adjust to you, just as you’ll have to adjust to others when they start a tune.

Starting a Tune

The most important trick to starting a tune at a session is to make its rhythm clear. Even if people know the tune, they can’t join in with you until they recognize the tune you’re playing, and to do this they have to be able to hear what kind of tune it is (e.g., jig, reel, strathspey, air, waltz). Be sure to know the beat notes and what type of tune it is, as well as (optional but helpful) the key and the title. It can help accompanists if you call out the key, and some may ask you the name of the tune later if they like it.

To start a tune with good rhythm, know the four beat notes of the first phrase. Make sure the first beat is strong, especially if the tune has a pickup note or two before the first beat — downplay the pickup notes and give the first real beat a good pulse. But that’s only the start of it — it’s actually the second beat that defines the type of tune you’re playing. If you play a tune like Swallowtail Jig, the first three notes make a beat, since each beat in a jig is a triplet of three eighth notes (or equivalent). So the second strong beat has to come on the fourth note of the tune. If you hit the fifth note too hard, people will think you’re playing some kind of a reel, not a jig, and they will avoid joining in until they can figure out what tune you’re playing (a great way to ensure a solo performance for yourself!). I’ve heard people at a session try to start a tune without a clear beat, and as a result, I couldn’t recognize it for a while even though I knew the tune well. This can happen to any tune if a player focuses more on the notes than the timing. Play “Happy Birthday” as a reel instead of a waltz, and nobody will know what the tune is!

Rhythm is the heart of a session. Someone who plays in time can play with anyone, even if they miss lots of notes. Someone who plays every note perfectly, but skips beats or changes tempo or the type of a tune, is very hard to play with in a group.

Staying with the others

Always watch the others as you play, especially the person who starts a tune, and stick with them. If it’s a big session, keep an eye on the musicians across the way from you. This helps you stay in time with them and keep the group together. You’ll also pick up signals you may not expect or hear on your own, such as a sense that the group is ready to end a tune and/or start a new one. In some sessions people shout “hup” to indicate they’ll be moving on to a new tune, or they’ll stick out a foot to indicate that the tune is ending, but these signals are not necessary most of the time. If you’re paying attention to the person leading a tune, you can usually tell when they’re ready to stop, or when they’re moving to a new tune. Then you can stop, listen, and see if you can join in with the new tune.

Sometimes folks will play a tune you know well, but not play it as you know it, or a player will repeat one part of a tune but not another. Just go with the flow, rather than try to get them to play it “right.” In music, it’s better to be together than to be correct!

Effects of different instruments

Be aware of the impact of your instrument. Fiddles, flutes, and guitars generally blend in with the others. Pennywhistles, accordions, pipes, drums/bodhrans, basses and pianos are instruments which can have a big individual impact on the group. If you play one of these, concentrate mightily on keeping a good beat with everyone else. When in doubt, take breaks, play when you can, and always tune in to what the others are playing. It can take just one drummer or pianist to throw everyone off, whereas one fiddler messing up usually won’t make much difference.

If you don’t know a tune…

What do you do if you want to play along but don’t know some of the tunes? You have a few choices. One is to listen and enjoy the music. Another is to record some of the tunes you like best and try to work on them at home, and plan to try them another time. Many sessions play a lot of the same tunes each time they meet. It’s part of the fun. Another option if you don’t know a tune is to listen for the phrases — often there’s a first phrase, second phrase, first phrase again, and an ending in each part of the tune. By trying to work out the first few notes of the first phrase, you can try to jump in when that phrase comes back, even for a few notes. Then, like building bridges, you can venture out to add a few notes to the ones you know. Sometimes an ending phrase is repeated in both (or all 3 or 4) parts of the tune. It’s always nice to end with everyone — you’ll look like you know what you’re doing!

If you don’t know a tune, it’s okay to try to pick up bits and pieces as you go, but I have also heard players scratch away randomly, hoping to pick up a note or two. Session players are usually tolerant of others learning to play it, but they also want to enjoy playing and hearing their tunes, so be sensitive to that.

Chording

Some people try to play chords or drones with a tune, but that’s harder than it may seem. Keep trying and you’ll start to get used to hearing the harmonic patterns and how to find them on your instrument. On the fiddle, many of the necessary chords can often be played just using some combination of open strings and one finger (see the earlier article about one-finger chords!), so that’s not hard in itself, but since rhythm is the heart of session music, you have to support the rhythm of the tune, change bows with the beats and parts, and not get so wrapped up in finding a chord that you lose the beat. Better to play in time even if you play the wrong chord or note, rather than to play the correct chord or note but out of time.

Session Etiquette

Every session has its etiquette. Some are inclusive; others not so much. For one reason or other, it might not be appropriate for you to start a tune. It’s best to watch a session for a little while to see what kinds of tunes are being played, whether they are all started by a leader, or whether others are starting most of the tunes. Is it an eclectic session or one devoted to one kind of music, such as Irish? If so, it will be best to pitch in an Irish tune that fits the bill.

Some pubs hire a lead musician to make sure there's a critical mass of musicians, and quality music for the pub's patrons to enjoy. Often the leader of a session will invite people to start a tune, though sometimes the leader prefers to start the tunes, even if they collect suggestions from others. Some session leaders favor certain regulars, and are particularly conscious of presenting good quality music to the listeners (especially if the lead musician is being paid by the pub). Most groups, though, welcome newcomers and a wide variety in levels of players.

There are also sessions without specified leaders, but even they are likely to have some regulars who know the routines, so it’s worth while to watch and see how they do things.

A social time

Part of the magic of a session is to see how connected the musicians are to each other. How do they know when to move on to a new tune, or stop at the same time? In some ways they have a sixth sense about these things. Often there are visual or audible signals, but at times it is amazing how everyone seems to know what’s about to happen!

Generally, people show up at session because they like to be with friends, have a pint (sometimes given free to musicians), share favorite tunes, and sometimes challenge themselves by learning new tunes on the fly.

A session is never a test. It’s for fun. And it’s not primarily a performance. Remember that if you want to start a tune, it’s a musical suggestion that you are offering to people who are dying to play a tune — any tune!

And if you come to a particular session regularly, you’ll get to know the repertoire, and the others will get to know yours. It becomes a community. Enjoy it — you’ll make friends and learn lots of tunes before you know it!