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What is a seisiún?
• A chance for people to gather and share their love of Irish music
• A place to play tunes as they’re meant to be played—with others
• An opportunity to learn new tunes, or explore different versions of familiar tunes
What it isn’t:
• A gig
• An audition
At its core, a seisiún, or session, is an informal gathering of people for the express purpose of sharing traditional (more often than not abbreviated to just “trad”) songs and tunes purely for the fun of it—the craic, as it’s also known. That being said, when you first encounter a session, it may seem like a labyrinth of contrary rules of engagement. Maybe you’ve even been treated unkindly at one, which was most likely the result of some misunderstanding about said rules. Hopefully these words will help you navigate this beautiful and exciting cultural phenomenon.
Admittedly, the trad session can seem intimidating, and every session has its own culture, due to the very organic nature of this peculiar species of musical gathering. Your experience may vary wildly from country to country, county to county, town to town, or even session to session within the same town.
To my mind, there are several key factors—chief among them, respect. Respect for the tradition and music, respect for the session, and showing respect to your fellow players. This is vital for a healthy session.
Also, it’s important to acknowledge that there are people designated as hosts who run the session. The job of a session host is to set the general tempo, break the ice by leading off a few tunes, and with any luck, maintaining a fun and inclusive atmosphere.
What tunes will you play?
This is the $10,000 question, isn’t it. We all have favorite tunes, or tunes we’re excited to play, or that one tune that we’ve just learned and are excited to hear with other instruments. But because sessions are living, breathing things, sometimes we just don’t get around to them. Additionally, one person’s list of Irish Music 101 tunes will be very different from the next person’s.
Isn’t a seisiún just a jam session?
The biggest difference between an Irish session and a jam session is the impetus to play and share traditional tunes. There isn’t any soloing or improvising; while we might attempt more of a variation to a tune we already know, we tend to color within the lines of the Irish/Scottish canon.
I’m still learning my instrument; do I have to play?
…or:
I want to play but I don’t know the tune; what do I do?
A session is not a gig or a concert. It’s not a performance or an audition. It’s a chance to get together and play this music as nature intended. If you only know a handful of tunes, you can ask or suggest them (although a good host will do their best make sure to ask everyone if you have a favorite tune or something you’d like to play at some stage).
However, there may be a week where there isn’t a single tune you know that gets played. That’s fine too! What a great chance to just listen and maybe pick up a new tune or two. Or play quietly and exercise your ear! You may surprise yourself with how easily you learn, or maybe you’ll discover some methods to use moving forward.
If you’re not comfortable but still want to give it a go, do! What’s the worst that can happen? Maybe it’ll be a train-wreck… So what! No one’s there to prove anything. No one has any expectation of you other than a sincere hope that you enjoy yourself. It should just be fun, so if you fall on your face trying to get through a tune, don’t stress. Have a laugh, brush yourself off and try again sometime down the line. I promise, no one’s going to judge you because every one of us has face-planted once or twice (at least) trying to play a tune we just learned, or even an old favorite. It just happens.
The only thing I’d like to address that can be a touchy subject is, if you are less familiar with the genre and space is limited, as a gesture, it’s always appreciated when you offer your seat to a more experienced player.
Can I still join if I don’t play a “typical” Irish instrument?
“Typical” Irish instruments are, in no particular order: fiddle, flute, uilleann pipes, (button) accordion, concertina, penny whistle, (tenor) banjo, mandolin, (acoustic) guitar, bouzouki, bodhrán. As you can see, these instruments are all acoustic—electrified instruments* are definitely taken a dim view of.
There are a handful of instruments that are lovely but will present challenges for getting around tunes. Harmonica, (piano) accordion, five-string banjo, concert flute (the silver one that your mom forced you to play in middle school/high school), cello, recorder, all fall into this category. However, for every one of those instruments, there’s an example of someone who plays the jigs and reels brilliantly, so don’t lose hope.
* An exception can be made for piano which has been a part of ceilis and sessions across Ireland for generations. Electric keyboards can be nice because the volume is easier to adjust to suit the room.
I play bodhrán/guitar/bouzouki/etc, but there’s already someone playing abodhrán/guitar/etc; can I still play?
Often times, one of the session hosts will be a rhythm instrumentalist—e.g. guitar or bouzouki. While this wasn’t traditionally a part of typical Irish sessions until the 1960s, it has since become ubiquitous and welcome ever since.
Rhythmic approaches are so individual; two guitar players hitting the same chord progression on any given tune is rarer than picking winning lottery numbers. It can easily become an arms race of escalating volumes, with beats just off enough from each other that the actual melody is impossible to follow or lost completely.
Most guitar/bouzouki players are also fairly adept at playing melody on their instruments, which can lead to some really pleasing trade-offs of melody and harmony.
These rules apply to bodhrán as well. It can be difficult for multiple bodhráns to play at the same time. Wait your turn; it’ll come! Or, just play quietly—watch and learn some new techniques or rhythmic patterns.
Every player will need a break, or a moment to chat with their neighbor, or to make a run to the bar for a pint. Or, just ask! “You mind if I jump in for a tune or two?” is a perfectly acceptable thing to ask. If you’re adept at playing quietly, you can usually strum underneath what someone else is doing. Just be mindful of potentially being disruptive.
I play Scottish/Old-time/Bluegrass/Quebecois/Breton music; can I still play?
Let’s be frank: all this music shares more DNA than anyone cares to admit. If you want to get deeply, uncomfortably granular about it, one could argue players from Cork and Dublin are as different from one another as players from Galicia and Montreal. With a little effort and a keen ear, you can always find ways to play together once you have a few tunes in common.
As players, we’re always excited to hear new tunes; just bear in mind that we’re all there to play together. If you play something that no one else knows, be sure to follow it up with something more accessible.
I’d like to sing a song…is that okay?
I’m also a singer, so songs are something I always appreciate during a session. It’s less common in America, but your average session in Ireland will almost always have at least a song or two, although mostly unaccompanied.
The thing to bear in mind is, songs are less inclusive. If you have a song with a chorus that people can join in on, that can be helpful, but try to manage your expectations as we’d like to give everyone a chance to play (and sing) together. In North Amerikay, we have so few opportunities to play together for any number of reasons, so it always feels like the session is over before it starts.
* We do plan on having a singing session — you singers are on notice!
Am I allowed to dance?
Allowed?? Encouraged! Nay, demanded! Just kidding…but seriously, jigs, reels, slides, polkas, waltzes, barndances, and so on are all dance tunes. In Irish music, rhythm is king. There’s no better way to internalize the various types of tunes than to learn a step or two. If you have some steps, or if you can pull together a four-hand, or better yet, if you can gather enough people for a progressive dance, please do! Just be mindful that hard shoes might be a bit overpowering—unless you’re a sean-nós (“old style”) dancer.
I wrote an original tune. Can I play it here?
The answer is, sure…with a “but.” Again, just be aware, since you’re the only one who has any chance of knowing it, you’ll be playing it alone, which defeats the purpose of gathering to play together. In other words, the session may not be the best place to do that. Be sure to read the room.
I don’t play any tunes but I’d like to join in; can I just jam?
This is a hard one because ultimately, the answer is no.
To the uninitiated, sessions may come across as very free-wheeling and loose, but that relaxed sound comes from thousands of hours of practice and work on ones craft. We spend an unhealthy amount of time indoors with our instruments, beating these tunes into submission; jamming, while a worthy art form, is a very different animal that requires a very different mindset (and skillset).
The hope is you’ll hear the music and be inspired to learn some tunes!
This is of course just one person’s take; as with any take, it should be taken with a healthy dose of salt. One sure-fire way to become the dreaded “session killer” is to be too slavish to any given set of rules. A session should always consider the good of the many over the good of the few, and always leave room to improve, grow, and evolve.
Although it is extremely rare, if someone needs to be asked to leave, the host has the responsibility to handle it. In the event someone is being abusive or making you uncomfortable, bring it to the attention of the host and they’ll do their best to deescalate the situation.
I’m originally from Seattle and I started playing Irish music very casually in the late-80s and earnestly—to an obsessive and troubling degree—in the early-90s. I was fortunate to be accepted by a group of musicians, mostly from Dublin, who showed me the ropes. In fairness, I’m half-Japanese, so deference to my elders is hardwired into my basic operating system. Also being half-Irish, I had a pretty good natural ear for hearing what people weren’t saying. This was my session upbringing.
Early on in my life, I’d say, conservatively, I learned about 75-80% of my tunes at sessions. I was always encouraged to play, whether I knew the tune or not; but again, I was exceedingly careful to play quietly until I had the shape of the tune, then I could fill in the corners as the tune came back around. I’m also completely musically illiterate, so learning by ear is a survival instinct. Or a coping strategy. Take your pick.
I’ve since spent over 30 years as a touring musician. Before COVID, I would spend at least part of my year in Ireland, primarily in Dingle, Co. Kerry.
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