We have weekly sessions at The Bull Run, Shirley, MA all-year
round. We do offer monthly workshops usually from
October to May (please check the workshop
schedule for details). On a workshop night, the
workshop takes the place of our "reely"
slow and teen sessions and is immediately
followed by our trad session.
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What is the
"Reely" Slow Session all About (Group One
7:00-8:00PM)
It’s about playing tunes
really slowly in a supportive and friendly
environment!
This session is not for
complete beginners. You should have basic knowledge of
your instrument. Our goal is to learn some
well-known session tunes together by practicing
slowly. We will work together and help each other
improve the tunes and eventually bring them to a
traditional speed.
A short list of tunes will be selected
and emailed to you monthly. You learn the selected
tunes at home and we’ll practice them together.
Over time we will build a repertoire of tunes taken
from Foinn Seisiun books 1 and 2. To purchase these
books click here.
This session welcomes traditional melody instruments.
Backing instruments such as drums, guitar, and piano
are not suitable here (sorry :).
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What is
the Teenish Session all About (Group Two
7:00-8:00PM)
This is an opportunity for
teens to meet and play Irish music together. We have
a suggested age bracket of 10 to 18 for this group.
It's open to all instruments and the
"teens" pick their own music and run the
session themselves (unless they request our help of
course). We have noticed some parents bribing
their kids with ice cream and Pepsi. The
latter is perfectly acceptable.
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What
is the Trad Session all About (Group Three
7:00-11:00PM)
This is an open traditional Irish session.
For the first hour the group leader starts with one
person and goes around the room asking individuals
to pick sets that they want the group to play. This
is very informal and the person that picks the set
gets to play at a pace they feel comfortable with.
After the first hour the session usually takes on a
life of it's own. It’s all about having a really good time! Players of all levels are welcome to join in. If you are not sure of the tunes or your ability, try to listen more than play in the beginning. As you become more proficient and confident, join in more. Experienced guitarists and bodhran players are welcome to play accompaniment and should take turns rather than playing over each other. We play Irish traditional dance tunes with the occasional song thrown in for good measure. Take a moment to read and follow a few standard session etiquette guidelines posted on our website
Groton Session
Etiquette.
Now let’s play and enjoy!
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