This past Sunday a handful of musicians came out for the last session of the spring season at Ri Ra. Sessioneers are taking off the month of June to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather. The session will start up again on July 1st and will be back on the stage area when it returns.

In the meantime, don’t forget to visit the On the Rise Bakery Irish session on the last Thursday of every month. Happy Sessioning!

The following write-up is by fiddler, Ruarri Serpa.

Having been to sessions around New England, I’ve felt that the best ones are those that really embrace the tradition, beyond just the weekly recitation of tunes. In sessions that are really steeped in the tradition, you commonly hear players sharing knowledge of composers, locations, and memories attached to the tunes. Drinks are drunk, stories are told, and there’s an energy because the players are out for a good time, and the music is just one part of that.

I spent this past Saturday at May Kelly’s Cottage in North Conway, NH, which sits above the Saco River, looking out towards Cathedral Ledge. That night there was to be a performance by Paddy Keenan and Jimmy Noonan, preceded by a session with players from all corners of the state. I drove from Burlington, because May Kelly’s is my home turf – where I grew up musically.

Owners Patsy and Marie have invited musicians every week for over eight years (Sundays, 3-7 pm), and have done an outstanding job supporting the music in their corner of New Hampshire. They even went so far as to organize a trip to Ireland last year for the players. It’s this kind of relationship that embraces the tradition of “the session” being more than just the night’s entertainment.

That night, we broke up old sets, had some good-natured ribbing, especially mid-tune, and generally had fun. There was quite a bit more of “do you know this one?” as our repertoires have diverged since I moved away to Vermont, but we still found common tunes, and enjoyed new ones.

About ten players showed up and I met up with friends who I haven’t seen in years. Afterwards Patsy and Marie provided dinner for the players – something they do every week.

And though the music stopped, the session wasn’t over. We continued the talk over pints, debated the merits of “The Salamanca,” reel, and discussed the penchant of pipers for a general brooding and moodiness. It was the kind of talk that spices up the music, and adds a personal dimension to tunes that so many people play.

Next time you’re playing, rather than leaving an hour before the tunes end, consider staying an hour after – that’s the golden time when tunes gain new life. And the next time someone is so bold as to start “The Salamanca,” at May Kelly’s, I know that on my well timed trip to the bar that I’ll look back to that conversation, and say “what a night.”

There are companies out there that “collect license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers and music publishers and distributes them as royalties, to those members whose work has been performed,” according to the BMI website. I know a lot of musicians and composers and have yet to hear how they’re swimming in royalties they’ve received from people playing their music at a session.

As a writer and a musician, I understand the need to protect an artist’s work. We spend hours upon hours writing and rewriting and writing again. And it is work. I get it. If a song-writer writes a song, they should be paid if someone else records it. However, musicians at a session rarely get paid. A session is really just a place for musicians to come and share tunes and let others who don’t play enjoy the music. It’s community building. I would think most of the music we play is in the public domain anyway. These tunes span generations and were made to be shared.

Here is a letter sent from Paul Marangelo, the session host at The Shoreham Inn:

“The Inn was recently contacted by a music licensing/publishing company (BMI), wanting the Inn to pay a large fee to be able to continue the music, out of the chance that copyrighted music was being played.  While the premise of this request itself is absurd (would be a great April fools joke if it were not real) considering the music we play, and that no one pays to listen to or play it, apparently this is not without precedent in VT (others who organize/host sessions take notice).  Since the Inn is not in the business of music performance and needs to avoid complications such as this, they understandably asked that I pull the plug on the session.

So this Sunday is the last chance to come out to play at the session at the Shoreham Inn. Many, many thanks to all who came out over the past few years to help make it happen, and many, many thanks especially to Molly and Domenic at the Inn for hosting us – its been a wonderful and unique place for sessioning over the past few years!”

The session is from 6-8pm. Hope to see you there!

The Irish band Téada, visited the Barre Opera House on Saturday night and wowed the crowd with lively music, touching songs and funny limericks.  Yes, that’s right Limericks, don’t worry they were clean.

Téada in Irish means “strings.” I did kind of wonder why only two of the band members actually play stringed instrument in a band named “strings.” But I guess when you’re a rocking’ Irish band it doesn’t much matter what your name is.

The band was made up of Oisín MacDiarmada on fiddle, Seán McElwain on guitar, Tristan Rosentock on bóhdran, Jack Talty on concertina and piano, and Sean Gavin on flute. The band was joined by Séamus Begley on accordion and vocals.

Séamus Begley is considered one of the finest accordion players of the dance music of West Kerry and is quite the story teller and singer with his sharp wit and soft voice. All of them were clearly masters of their instruments. The music and their energy was lively and fun.

The band formed in 2001 and has toured all over the US, Canada, Europe, Israel and Australia. And though they just came from Hartford, CT the night before, us Vermonters gave them a warm welcome with lots of woot’s, clapping and a standing ovation.

Here’s a little taste:

Here’s my little Limerick I wrote for the band:

There was a young band named Téada
Whose jokes were funny but music, greater
They visited Vermont
And we were all in entente
That they should come back earlier rather than later!

I memorize tunes kind of like I memorized my lines in the high school play. I learn line 1, then learn line 2. Then I say lines 1 and 2. Then I learn line 3 and say lines 1, 2 and 3 and so on. So by the time I’m finished I know line 1 like nobody’s business.

I learn tunes the same way. I learn the first few notes of the A-part. I play that a few times then learn a few more notes and play it from the beginning and on it goes. The problem is, I end up learning the A-part of the tune really well and the B-part never gets enough practice.

This became really evident when I started learning the tune the Wise Maid. It’s kind of a notey tune. Especially in the B-part. So the more I played the tune, the more the A-part became second nature and B-part never fully got as much practice.

So…my new method is to learn a tune backwards. I’ll learn the B-part first then the A-part. I’ll keep you posted as to how it works out.

• You never forget how to ride a bike. Though sometimes it’s hard to remember tunes I learned a year ago, I still remember where to place my fingers and strike my bow. It’s always a bit refreshing when I start playing again after taking some time off.
• Practice makes perfect. I’ll never ride like Lance Armstrong just like I’ll never play like Liz Carroll but the more I ride and the more I play, the more precise I get.
• Biking is meditative. Whether you’re riding a long ride on your bike or playing fiddle in a killer session, both can clear your mind of stress.
• You can do it alone or in a group. It’s nice to play in a session but isn’t it also nice to rock out a few tunes in the comfort of your living room?
• You need to build up endurance. It’s not easy to play three shows on St. Patrick’s Day without lots of practicing in between. Just like it’s not easy to ride 50 miles on your first ride of the season.

Tis the season to ride more and play more. Happy playing!

There are a bunch of ‘must-see’ concerts coming up. Some, unfortunately, you’ve already missed. But here is the low-down for the rest of the week:

Thursday, March 15 (tonight)

• 7:00 pm – Burlington based Irish band Extra Stout  at Contois Auditorium in Burlington.

Sunday, March 18

• 1:00 pm – Festival Ceilidh at Contois Auditorium in Burlington
• 6:00 pm – Irish Session at the Shoreham Inn, Shoreham
• 7:00 pm – Danu at Spruce Peak Performing Arts in Stowe

There are tons of other activities and music happenings on and around St. Paddy’s Day so enjoy the music and have a Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Every musician at some point reaches a plateau in their playing. During this plateau, we aren’t really that motivated to practice, or learn new music and sometimes it seems like a chore just to open up the case and tune the darn thing.

This happens at least once a year for me. During this “dark time” as I call it, I always feel like my playing is actually getting worse. This of course, discourages me from playing or practicing at all.

But each time this happens I take a short break from my music and then push myself back into it. And most of the time when I do, I actually find I’m just little bit better.

Here are some ideas to help you work through the plateau and become a better musicians because of it.

1. Use the buddy system - Find a friend to play with and work on a tune-set a week (thanks Shaun for the idea). When you have someone counting on you to learn a tune you’re more likely to push through and practice.
2. Take a music class of a different genre - Sometimes learning to play music of another genre can actually help refine your skills in the genre you’re playing in. Plus you get to meet new people and hear new music. Find a community music school in your area like The Summit School for Traditional Music, that offers a variety of music classes at a reasonable price. There’s plenty out there.
3. Schedule practice time – Sometimes just writing it down and scheduling it forces you to be diligent about making time to play.
4. Visit a local session without your instrument – Just go and listen. Try to see it from an outsiders perspective. You might be reinvigorated by listening to things you might not have heard had you been playing.
5. Perform – Nothing motivates me more than when I have a gig to play for. It forces me to practice.

Feel free to leave me your ideas in the comments section. Now…go practice your instrument! Happy playing!

It is a process fitting instruments to kids and families are usually in there for  more than a few minutes to say the least, leaving plenty of time to talk to the parents. More often than not, they would say, “my daughter (or son) is the musical one, I’ve never been very musical.”

This always makes me giggle because there are very few musicians who wake up one morning and realize they can play an instrument brilliantly. Most of us just spend hours upon hours practicing to get there.

I remember though, there was this one woman in particular who bought what I thought was one of the most beautiful cellos I’ve ever seen. She was buying it for her daughter who was going off to college and was just picking it up the day I was working.

While she was waiting to pick it up I said “this is the most beautiful cello, your daughter is going to love it.” She told me that her daughter was in college out of state and that she was tempted to start playing the cello herself. She always dreamed of playing but thought she was too old to pick it up now. I told her that was nonsense and that you’re never too old to learn something new. I gave her the name of a great cello teacher and encouraged her to give him a call.

Months later the same woman showed up in the shop to get a tune-up on the cello. She told me that she had taken my advice and started cello lessons. She loved her teacher and loved playing so much she was going to buy her own instrument. She also found others her age and ability to play with and though she’ll never be the next Yo Yo Ma, she was having the time of her life.

Playing music isn’t about being the best. It’s about enjoying the process. There are very few people in which music comes easy. Playing any instrument takes time, practice and perseverance. And really, anyone can do it if they have the drive. It doesn’t matter what age you are, it’ never to late to try.

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There isn’t one traditional musician I can think of, that knows the name of every single tune they play, never mind every tune they hear.

In the old days (you know, like  a couple of years ago) you would probably have to play a tune to your friends, family, neighbors and your friends’ family and neighbors, just to find the name of the tune.

These days, now all you have to do is to play the tune into an iPhone app called Tunepal and voila, the name of the tunes is revealed. Seriously what did we do before the iPhone?

I use my iPhone to record sessions, check my email, update my Facebook status and oh yeah, make calls. And now, I can figure out what tunes are being played by the mere click of a button. Does it get any better?

Here’s a little about the app: