December Slow Session Wednesday, December 17 2014

Hi, gang! We're having a Slow Session tonight at the Old Songs Building, 37 South Main, Voorheesville from 7:30 - 9:00 PM. $4. Unless there is a problem, I think we will be downstairs in the office area tonight to save on heating costs. It's cozy down there.

Come one, come all, and bring your tunes along! Bring  a tune to share if you've been working on something new...

I'm on my way home from out of town and I forgot to bring my slow session tune bag with me, so I'm brain-cramping on what we worked on last time. I do remember that we learned the 2-part Geese in the Bog jig by ear (some of us pulled the music up on our smart phones). I think we also worked through Sailor on the Rock. We will review these two tunes.

Tunes of the Month: Within a Mile of Dublin (reel), Up Against the Buachallans (reel), Planxty Irwin

If you want to take a look at Within a Mile of Dublin before tonight, you can use the O'Neill's yellow book version. It is the closest to what I have. The version I have has a few variations in it and plays around with the structure of the tune a little bit! It's fun. Up Against the Buachallans is a tune I got by ear from my friend Peter Jones. I finally found the sheet music in the Fionn Seisiun 4 book (based on the style of the Kilfenora and Tulla Ceili Bands).  Comhaltas put that tune in a set with The Heather Breeze - it's a nice set and I think we'll tackle them both!

See you Tonight!!! 

November Slow Session Wednesday, Nov. 19

Hiya, friends!

Woops! Forgot to tell you that there's a session tonight, Wednesday, November 19. Bring your music, and if you're working on something, bring it along to share!

Looking forward to seeing you!

- Hilary

p.s. last month we were kicking tune ideas around, and here's what people have asked for (or I stuck them on the list):


Snowy Path
South Wind
Planxty Irwin
Harvest Home/Off to California
Out on the Ocean
Kesh Jig
Cliffs of Moher
Inisheer (Hilary's version)
Geese in the Bog
Sailor on the Rock /Maid Behind the Bar
Maid on the Green/Saddle the Pony
Eddie Kelly's #1 & #2
O'Malley Waltz

I'll try and dig it up before the session... See you tonight!

Starting Up Again for 2014-2015 Season!

Hiya Friends,

We're going to start up again for the year. Our first fall slow session will be held on Wednesday, October 15, 2014 at 7:30 PM. I hope you're all enjoying the beautiful weather we've been having. Tunes to come soon!

See you soon,

Hilary

Quick Follow-Up on the February Slow Session

Hi, Folks,

Thanks so much to those who came out to play tunes, and to those who sent me emails or texts - we missed you! It was a lovely night...the picture below was from our trip to Kerry a few years ago. Last night reminded me of a fun night we had in a pub in Cahirciveen, where the local musicians are friendly and quite accomplished. Thank you for the tunes and chat!

We played through all of our tunes, with some discussion about versions and some explanations from me. Transcribing a tune using your strongest instrument is recommended - I modified the ABC of a version of The Milliner's Daughter from thesession.org and missed a few critical notes because I was using whistle instead of fiddle to check the melody. I don't  yet know how to properly play f# and f nat on whistle. Yeah! That actually makes a difference! (Um, and David - I was consistent - I left the wrong note in twice just to be sure! ;-)

So...we played that tune in a set that Samantha heard on a recording: Flax in Bloom / Milliner's Daughter / The Old Bush. We also stuck A Peek Behind the Curtain AFTER Taims in Arrears. We played Alexander's Hornpipe (yeah, yeah, both versions I posted are the SAME. I know... ) followed by The Friendly Visit. And finally, we played the lovely jig Humours of Lisheen. I can't remember if we put it with anything.

Corrected versions of things will be up shortly! And we're working on a list of tunes for next month, which will also be posted soon.

Enjoy every day, no matter what it brings! See you soon,

Hilary