My music making of late has had a big boost due to my involvement with a group of musicians who meet weekly in the Caledonia Public house. From 3-5 on a Tuesday we meet and share songs together and in the course of the last nine months I have learned a great deal, new songs, new techniques and most importantly new friends.
The makeup of the group has changed quite a bit over the months; initially the groups originator, an accomplished performer called Mike Kenny attracted lots of folk musicians to the advertised ‘Irish session’. Work commitments has prevented his continued involvement and the banjo players, guitarists, accordion players, clog dancers have dropped off from coming. The small group left are a more mature outfit, and over this time we have gotten to know a bit about our separate lives and what we do and makes us tick.
On Vocals we have….. Well we all sing along actually, and in truth the session has become more of a sing along than anything else, that said, the addition of instruments is helpful to get the energy of the session going. There is a piano in the pub and I now regularly sit on the keys and act as the main beat of the songs. It has been a real buzz for me to take my playing into a public arena after several years confining it to the house. Danny is another of the regular attendees and he brings his guitar and fiddle with him too the session. He has a vast repertoire of folk songs that he introduces to the sessions and we are all beginning to learn songs such as ‘Can I wash your old lobby down’ were the join in chorus has us all belting out the above line. Another regular who brings an instrument is Silver, his drum playing is a real boost to the session as he has excellent rhythm. The other two regulars are Pat, who is Silver’s friend and my friend Richard who i have blogged about recently.
We are joined by others from time to time, a few from my choir have been along, other friend’s of, and we generally have a nice time getting to know these new people. The pace of the session has slowed down so as better to allow these exchanges and amongst the chat is often heard “ well, i suppose we had better have another song” and this then happens. We have also had quite a bit of banter with others visiting the pub, on occasion these individuals join in, request songs, introduce their own into the mix. One of the things i really like about having the session in a public place is its unpredictability.
Music is a great way to bring people together and the folk tradition has honed this ability with catchy choruses so as everyone can be offering something to the whole. Its this style of playing that reintroduced me back into music making about fifteen years ago. I was volunteering with a youth group called the Woodcraft Folk that my daughter Marnie was attending. This involved me going camping with a group people of mixed ages, from six to seventy five. We had camp fires and sitting round such people began singing these traditional folk songs, funny/daft stories quite often but everyone was joining in together. These sessions in the Pub on a Tuesday remind me a lot of the campfire feel and the fun that all those years ago sparked in me a passion that i hope will endure till my dying days.
The makeup of the group has changed quite a bit over the months; initially the groups originator, an accomplished performer called Mike Kenny attracted lots of folk musicians to the advertised ‘Irish session’. Work commitments has prevented his continued involvement and the banjo players, guitarists, accordion players, clog dancers have dropped off from coming. The small group left are a more mature outfit, and over this time we have gotten to know a bit about our separate lives and what we do and makes us tick.
On Vocals we have….. Well we all sing along actually, and in truth the session has become more of a sing along than anything else, that said, the addition of instruments is helpful to get the energy of the session going. There is a piano in the pub and I now regularly sit on the keys and act as the main beat of the songs. It has been a real buzz for me to take my playing into a public arena after several years confining it to the house. Danny is another of the regular attendees and he brings his guitar and fiddle with him too the session. He has a vast repertoire of folk songs that he introduces to the sessions and we are all beginning to learn songs such as ‘Can I wash your old lobby down’ were the join in chorus has us all belting out the above line. Another regular who brings an instrument is Silver, his drum playing is a real boost to the session as he has excellent rhythm. The other two regulars are Pat, who is Silver’s friend and my friend Richard who i have blogged about recently.
We are joined by others from time to time, a few from my choir have been along, other friend’s of, and we generally have a nice time getting to know these new people. The pace of the session has slowed down so as better to allow these exchanges and amongst the chat is often heard “ well, i suppose we had better have another song” and this then happens. We have also had quite a bit of banter with others visiting the pub, on occasion these individuals join in, request songs, introduce their own into the mix. One of the things i really like about having the session in a public place is its unpredictability.
Music is a great way to bring people together and the folk tradition has honed this ability with catchy choruses so as everyone can be offering something to the whole. Its this style of playing that reintroduced me back into music making about fifteen years ago. I was volunteering with a youth group called the Woodcraft Folk that my daughter Marnie was attending. This involved me going camping with a group people of mixed ages, from six to seventy five. We had camp fires and sitting round such people began singing these traditional folk songs, funny/daft stories quite often but everyone was joining in together. These sessions in the Pub on a Tuesday remind me a lot of the campfire feel and the fun that all those years ago sparked in me a passion that i hope will endure till my dying days.