Irish “Pub” Sessions
Music sessions in Ireland and Scotland (and also in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland) are generally held in “pubs” or Public Houses. These are essentially what Americans would refer to as a bar, but the origins of pubs are different. For centuries pubs served as vital community gathering spaces and for unofficial town halls. Town Halls are equivalent to a city council meeting or perhaps a neighborhood meeting to discuss laws, taxes, property rights, etc. Pubs also served as taverns for weary travelers. In the 1600s pubs began to pop up all across the Ireland, England, Wales, and Scotland. As locals gathered in the pubs they also started bringing their musical instruments. Because music and dance was rarely separated throughout much of human civilization, it makes sense that people would also be inclined to dance in the pubs. The tunes played by musicians in pubs always was—and still is today—dance music. Reels, jigs, hornpipes, slides, and strathspeys are all tune types and dance types. If you step into a pub in Ireland today don’t be surprised if someone stands up and starts to dance a jig, a hornpipe, or a reel, because the music is already a primer for such activity. Another type of music commonly heard in pubs is Sean Nós (singing and dancing) and instrumental airs. You will find one air listed below. For more information about Seon Nós search online using a phrase like, “History of Sean Nós in Ireland.”
The music below is free to download. This is a short list of tunes commonly played in pubs. Of course, there are hundreds or even thousands more tunes out there, but these few will give you a good start if you wish to initiate an Irish music session in your neighborhood, or perhaps down on Main street.
American “Jam” Sessions
Bluegrass music in the U.S. has its own way of carrying out a music session. It’s typical in the U.S. to gather musicians in a circle with everyone facing inward. Someone starts the jam session by suggesting a tune or a song. That person will be the first one to “solo” on the melody. Everyone else plays chordal accompaniment to the one soloist. After he or she finished playing the tune one time, the next person in the circle plays the tune one time. Then the tune is passed around the circle. If the group is small, say 5-7 people, it is common to keep the tune moving around the circle until each musician has played the tune 2 or 3 times. It’s also common to play the tune differently each time. In other words, when the tune comes back around to you the second time, you should play a new variation of the tune. You might even improvise something you’ve never done before. American bluegrass has a bit of “show-off” nature to it. Whereas in Ireland and Scotland that tune is played by many people at once, it is very uncommon to change the melody from the one way that you play it. Irish musicians also play the tune several times together before moving on to a new tune (without stopping the flow of music). In bluegrass circles it’s a “thing” to be able to play at least 2 variations of a tune, PLUS an improvised version to boot.
The list below is a great start for you to initiate a bluegrass jam session at your house, in your neighborhood, school, library, park, or church.