We have weekly session at the Stag Coach Inn all-year round.
We do offer monthly workshops usually from October
to May (please check the schedule for details). On a
workshop night, the workshop takes the place of our
slow and practice sessions and is immediately
followed by our trad session.
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What is the
"Reely" Slow Session all About (Group One
7-8PM)
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 Practice Session all About (Group Two 7-8:30PM)
We meet weekly to practice
tunes at a moderate speed. Session participants take
turns leading the session with tunes they select
from either the workshop playlist on our website or
tunes from Foinn Seisiun books. The selected
tunes are emailed to the group weekly.
After playing the selected
tunes, the leader goes around the circle and invites
you to choose a tune or set to play at your
speed. Our goal is to keep the tune at a speed
that is comfortable for the person who called it.
Please try not to speed up.
This session welcomes musicians of all levels on all traditional
instruments. Guitarists and bodhran players are
welcome to play accompaniment as long as they play
one guitar and one bodhran at a time. Whether you are a practicing or experienced player on
these instruments, try taking turns rather than
playing over each other. This is because different
rhythms or chords are possible, but should not occur
at the same time as they tend to throw off the
rhythm and melody of the other players.
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What
is the Trad Session all About (Group Three
8:30-11PM)
This is an open traditional
Irish session. 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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