[Santa Cruz Celtic Slow Sessions] 1st Sunday Session Invitation- Slow - April 4 at Deli-licious

Mon Apr 5 12:43:44 PDT 2010

Hi all: I have been coming on and off for about a year and I enjoy the
sessions and playing the tunes. I wholeheartedly agree with others that the
songs are played too fast for a session that is slated to be a "slow-slow"
session. By default (since a lot of us slower players have dropped out), it
has become just another session for the more advanced/faster players. And,
frankly, I have also gotten to the point that I resist saying "that's too
fast, can we play it slower?", especially when I hear comments such as
"that was dreadfully slow", "that was boring" or "I can't play that slow".
This has been frustrating to me since I thought that playing the tunes
slowly was the purpose of the slow-slow session! 

I also don't think that at a designated slow-slow session it should be up to
those who wish to play the tunes more slowly to "tame the fasties". The
constant attempt of  "taming the fasties" does not make the session
enjoyable to me. There are two other sessions for the fasties to go to;
those who like to play the tunes more slowly just have this one. 

I like the suggestion of during more waltzes and airs from the big book, but
for the entire session. These slower songs are perfect for the slow-slow
session and I think mixing them throughout the session would add diversity
to the session.   I also like the suggestion of setting a metronome range
for the jigs and reels. All participants can then practice with a metronome
at home at these speeds and know what to expect at the session. If the
metronome range is too slow for some, they have the option of going to the
faster sessions at the Buttery and Brit. Arms. If the metronome range is too
high for some, then we can lower it.

Thanks,

Kathy

From: santa_cruz_celtic_slow_sessions-bounces+brg=cruzio.com at lists.sonic.net
[mailto:santa_cruz_celtic_slow_sessions-bounces+brg=cruzio.com at lists.sonic.n
et] On Behalf Of Fulton-Bennett, Kim
Sent: Monday, April 05, 2010 8:17 AM
To: Santa Cruz Celtic Slow Sessions announcement list
Subject: Re: [Santa Cruz Celtic Slow Sessions] 1st Sunday Session
Invitation- Slow - April 4 at Deli-licious

Hi folks,

I don't come very often, but I think the idea of having a truly "slow speed"
session is a good one. One thing I have observed is that even when we start
slow, we almost always speed up later in the song. I think it would be very
useful to find a way to keep the tempo slow throughout a song. Maybe this
means using a metronome, or perhaps following a designated person who is
able to keep a slow, steady tempo.

Just my 2 cents...

---kfb---

-----Original Message-----
From: santa_cruz_celtic_slow_sessions-bounces+kfb=mbari.org at lists.sonic.net
[mailto:santa_cruz_celtic_slow_sessions-bounces+kfb=mbari.org at lists.sonic.ne
t]On Behalf Of Lucas Cantin
Sent: Sunday, April 04, 2010 11:06 PM
To: Santa Cruz Celtic Slow Sessions announcement list
Subject: Re: [Santa Cruz Celtic Slow Sessions] 1st Sunday Session
Invitation- Slow - April 4 at Deli-licious

The session was created with slow players in mind.  I think with some minor
modifications and a vocal group of slow players, we can 'tame' the 'fasties'
for the first Sunday.

Let's keep the dialogue going.

Also, I wanted to contact Pauli if I could.

Lucas

--- On Sun, 4/4/10, weathercaller at aol.com <weathercaller at aol.com> wrote:

From: weathercaller at aol.com <weathercaller at aol.com>
Subject: Re: [Santa Cruz Celtic Slow Sessions] 1st Sunday Session Invitation
- Slow - April 4 at Deli-licious
To: santa_cruz_celtic_slow_sessions at lists.sonic.net
Date: Sunday, April 4, 2010, 10:35 PM

Hi Everyone,

I've only come a couple of times over the past year and a half or so, partly
due to the distance but also partly because of the speed with which the
tunes have been played when I have been there.  Everyone was very welcoming
and friendly, but I ended up with exactly the same impression as indicated
below -- most of the folks there were people who've been playing for much
longer than I have, and seemingly treating it more as another opportunity to
play than as an opportunity to bring in us much slower-speed beginners.
Perhaps part of the problem too is that "slow" isn't really well-defined; it
covers a vast range.  So by slow are we talking 75 bpm or 105 bpm?  Either
way though my impression was that whatever was intended, things always
seemed to drift upwards towards what I think of as dance speed, or around
115-120 -- and that's way out of my league.  Maybe we need both a "slow
session" and a "really slow" session!

I really like the suggestions of (a) starting off with some waltzes and airs
and (b) defining a core set of ~ 10 jigs or reels that would be played every
time.  I'm not as wild though about the approach of having the person
choosing the tune set the speed -- as unless that individual happens to be
among us slower players, we're just going to be left out a lot of the time.
Rather I think it would be better to simply to define a speed or at least
narrower range of speeds that all the tunes will be played at -- say
something like in the ballpark of 85-90 bpm before the break and 95-100 bpm
afterwards (or do we need a separately-convened "really slow" session to do
something like that)?

Warren

-----Original Message-----
From: Janet Platin <janetplatin at yahoo.com>
To: Santa Cruz Celtic Slow Sessions announcement list
<santa_cruz_celtic_slow_sessions at lists.sonic.net>
Sent: Fri, Apr 2, 2010 11:15 am
Subject: Re: [Santa Cruz Celtic Slow Sessions] 1st Sunday Session Invitation
- Slow - April 4 at Deli-licious

Hi Lucas,

I have some questions/observations about the slowest session . It seems like
the people who show up most dependably are people who have been coming a
long time and want another opportunity to play. Have we lost the slow
people, because not enough tunes are slow or is it just the usual ebb and
flow of session attendence? 

The session rules say that the person choosing the tune sets the speed. Do
we follow that rule in this particular slow session? Do we mean that every
tune needs to be played at a speed that meets the ability of the slowest
player or that if you are a slow player, you can set a very slow speed and
know that that is acceptable in this group?

It does seem like a good idea to start with the waltzes and the airs, but
that not what we usually play. How about having a set list of 10 jigs and
reels that everyone should know and will definitely be played each slow
session. That would give slower players a head start. They could practice
the big 10 and maybe the new slow would be a speed everyone would feel
comfortable with. 

If you were to combine the start of watzes and airs and with the 10 and then
let the rest of the session be whatever a session usually is, you would have
something that would meet the needs of both groups.

On the other hand, that means a lot more structure than we are used to
having.

Just some thoughts.

Janet Platin

  _____  

From: Lucas Cantin <lucascantin at yahoo.com>
To: Santa Cruz Celtic Slow Sessions announcement list
<santa_cruz_celtic_slow_sessions at lists.sonic.net>
Sent: Thu, April 1, 2010 3:12:44 PM
Subject: Re: [Santa Cruz Celtic Slow Sessions] 1st Sunday Session Invitation
- Slow - April 4 at Deli-licious

Hey Tane',

I checked and  they will be open for Easter Sunday. 

 I also wanted to put a question out there.  It seems that we have lost a
lot of our beginners.  I had an idea of having a set list for a half an hour
before the normal session of slow only tunes.  Waltzes and Airs.  This would
help everyone.  What do people think about this??  The idea would be to have
the half hour set list play from 12:30 to 1p.  Our group seems to avoid
playing anything slow.  This jam was created for the players who weren't
comfortable with the normal tempo.

As before, people can always request to play the song called for at a slower
speed.

This seems to be a difficult problem.

--- On Thu, 4/1/10, Tane' Tachyon <tachyon at tachyonlabs.com> wrote:

From: Tane' Tachyon <tachyon at tachyonlabs.com>
Subject: [Santa Cruz Celtic Slow Sessions] 1st Sunday Session Invitation -
Slow - April 4 at Deli-licious
To: "Santa Cruz Celtic Slow Sessions email list"
<santa_cruz_celtic_slow_sessions at lists.sonic.net>
Date: Thursday, April 1, 2010, 12:49 PM

The next first-Sunday-of-the-month slow session will be this Sunday,
April 4, from 1-3pm, at Deli-licious, 21505 E. Cliff Drive, in the
East Cliff Village Shopping Center. April 4 is Easter Sunday, but I
did call Deli-licious and confirm that they will be open.

When I went to this session it was really nice -- everyone was having
a great time, fine food from the deli, people walking in and
applauding, and so on. Click below to see a picture of what the
session looked like from the front door of Deli-licious:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tachyon/3691468503/sizes/l/

Copies of the tuneset books generally used at slow session are sold
for $15, and you can now download and print the 1006-tune "King
Street Sessions Tunebook" for free at
http://www.pacholo.com/mike/
-- many thanks to Michael Long for putting the book together and now
putting it online as well!

For a news bulletin, at last month's 1st-Sunday session someone heard
the music and hired the group for a paid St. Patrick's Day gig.
-- Tane' Tachyon = tachyon at tachyonlabs.com = http://www.tachyonlabs.com/
Click below to sponsor me in the May 8 "Human Race" Walkathon fundraiser
benefitting AFE and many other Santa Cruz non-profit organizations!
http://www.kintera.org/faf/r.asp?t=4&i=332033&u=332033-249245954
_______________________________________________
Santa_Cruz_Celtic_Slow_Sessions mailing list
http://lists.sonic.net/mailman/listinfo/santa_cruz_celtic_slow_sessions

_______________________________________________

  Santa_Cruz_Celtic_Slow_Sessions mailing list

  http://lists.sonic.net/mailman/listinfo/santa_cruz_celtic_slow_sessions

-----Inline Attachment Follows-----

_______________________________________________
Santa_Cruz_Celtic_Slow_Sessions mailing list
http://lists.sonic.net/mailman/listinfo/santa_cruz_celtic_slow_sessions

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.sonic.net/pipermail/santa_cruz_celtic_slow_sessions/attachments/20100405/cc538d40/attachment.html>