Thanks for agreeing to lead sessions at the O’Flaherty Irish Music Retreat! For many who attend, the sessions are one of the reasons they come — to play tunes, sing songs and dance together with fellow students and their instructors. Here are some guidelines we ask that you follow so that we can have some consistency in how sessions are run:
Tune Sessions
- Identify yourself as “tonight’s session leader” and remind attendees which session your leading –Slow, Moderate or Lively.
- Your primary role is that of a facilitator. You may start tunes or sets of tunes, but it’s important to let others do that as well. In fact, invite them. You can also ask the group what tunes they’d like the group to play because not everyone has the confidence to start tunes.
- Ask players to play tunes that are traditional Irish and commonly played in sessions everywhere. Discourage soloing and playing tunes that few if any know.
- Encourage players to announce the names of the tunes in advance and, for the accompanists in the room, the keys if known.
- Allow conversation between tunes. We sometimes diminish the social side of sessions.
- Slow Sessions – The leaders of Slow Sessions have different objectives than the Moderate and Lively sessions. Generally, many of the students who attend the Slow Sessions are new to Irish music and/or their instruments so they don’t know many tunes. Often the Retreat Tunes for the year are the ones that players most want to play. It’s likely that the leader will start all of the tunes, so announce them first, as some students will want to locate sheet music so they can play along.
- Moderate and Lively Sessions – These sessions will run like most other sessions you’ve attended. You and others will start tunes when a one decides. The leader’s role is to maintain some sort of order, invite players to start tunes, and fill the gaps as needed.
- We ask you to serve as a session leader for at least 90 minutes of the assigned session. If you stay longer, thanks for the added time! But after 90 minutes, the session should have a life of its own.
- All sessions must end by midnight. The classrooms will be locked after then.
- Please ask the group to help you clean up and straighten up the rooms at the end of the sessions.
Song Sessions
- Identify yourself as “tonight’s session leader.”
- Your primary role is that of a facilitator and to help keep things flowing.
- The tradition we follow is that of a song circle where one person sings and then it moves clockwise to the next singer who can choose to sing or pass. If there’s an extended lull, offer suggestions or start a song.
- Encourage singers to sing songs that are within the Celtic song traditions.
- Remind the group to be courteous and thoughtful when someone is singing. It would help to know if the singer wants others to join in vocally and/or instrumentally.
- Allow conversation between tunes. We sometimes diminish the social side of sessions.
- We ask you to serve as a session leader for at least 90 minutes of the assigned session. If you stay longer, thanks for the added time! But after 90 minutes, the session should have a life of its own.
- All sessions must end by midnight. The classrooms will be locked after then.
- Please ask the group to help you clean up and straighten up the rooms at the end of the sessions.