Irish Traditional Music Sessions Explained: Understanding the Different Session Levels

By Liz Doherty

What is the Session?

For many Irish traditional musicians, the session is where the magic happens. The session is all about making music with others who are at a similar level of ability and experience, in a relaxed, informal setting, and finding a shared connection and flow. The session is where spontaneity meets a deep and nuanced understanding of the music and the context. It’s a very different experience from a learning-focussed class or workshop, a trad orchestra, or a concert setting, where there is a set list, a sound system and an audience to take into account.

“A loose association of musicians who meet, generally, but not always, in a pub
to play an un-predetermined selection, mainly of dance music, but sometimes
with solo pieces, such as slow airs and songs.”

– Fintan Vallely, The Companion to Irish Traditional Music

The session, in Irish music, dates back to the 1930s and was, very simply, a social gathering for traditional musicians; an opportunity for them to come together and make music, informally. It first appeared in parts of Ireland and in the diaspora, particularly in England. The term ‘session’ – borrowed from the jazz ‘jam session’ – came later; and the term ‘trad session’ is a much more recent variant. The session has become a cornerstone of the Irish traditional music world, gaining momentum from the 1950s and the emergence of the Fleadh Cheoil.
One of the enduring strengths of the traditional music session is that it remains relevant to all traditional musicians, regardless of age or skill level. However – that comes with a caveat. The session presents an invitation for all players at all ages and stages of learning to participate – just not all at the same time. For, while the myth abounds that an Irish traditional music session is something of a free-for-all, open to all ages and levels of ability, this is not actually how it works! Originally, participation in sessions was reserved for those more experienced players. These days, learners from quite an early stage are keen (and indeed, are encouraged) to avail of the opportunity to play in this context. So, in order to accommodate this – and rather than encouraging a free-for-all (and ultimately, a disappointing experience for everyone) – the session has been re-imagined into a number of discrete levels. These provide a clear pathway up to, and including, the session proper.

Here’s what these 5 levels of the session look like:

Level 1 - The Pre-Session Phase

For those at the early stages of their learning journey, participation in a session is a worthy goal, not an immediate priority. It takes time and practice for the complete beginner (children, young people and adults) to build up the necessary skills to prepare them for joining in a session. This includes having a good command of the instrument and a basic repertoire of tunes that can be played from memory, without the need for notation.

For learners at this stage, doing some preparatory work around the session can be really valuable. Attend sessions. Listen. Look out for what is going on between the musicians – and between the musicians and the audience.

For teachers of learners at this level, why not bring the session into the classroom. Model and simulate the session. Encourage learners to be curious about it. And help them prepare, in a very intentional way, for the time when they reach that important milestone and are able to participate in their first session.

Level 2 – The Practice Session

The Practice Session is the entry level session to the session proper and is a relatively new phenomenon in the traditional music world. It is built on the model of the session but adapted to suit musicians who are at an early stage of their musical development. An even more recent addition to the session scene is what I call the Practice Slow Session. This has all the hallmarks of a Slow Session – a gathering of beginner intermediate players making music in a public space, with non-playing listeners present, seated in session format, a session leader guiding and directing proceedings. But – and here’s the important thing to note – the players are all reading their tunes off the page. This is, in effect, a group lesson, but taken out of the classroom. For it to truly be a session, the players need to have memorised the music, so that they can be freed up to recognise and respond to all the other ingredients that actually make up a session. And here’s the secret: when musicians talk about the session in terms of “going for a tune” or “having a tune”, that’s only half the story. There’s a whole lot more at play to make a session really work!

So, the PRACTICE Session might be useful to some learners as a very preliminary step in their session journey. Alternatively, simulating the session in a classroom setting can also be valuable. The important thing to remember is that a session is not all about the tunes, so memorising the tunes (literally one tune at a time), getting the head out of the books, and tuning into everything else that is going on, is a vital part of understanding the session experience.

Level 3 - The Slow Session

The Slow Session is where fledgling musicians get to make their first foray into the communal music-making space, beyond the classroom. It’s where, over time, they can gain confidence and build experience through playing with others. It’s also where they get to learn – from the inside – how a session works. The Slow Session can be for children or for adult learners (ideally, separately). This level of session often involves a large number of players, often several on the same instrument. A session leader – a more experienced musician, often a teacher – will direct and guide proceedings, generally playing along also. The repertoire will be limited and include simple dance tunes (polkas, slides, jigs), marches and O’Carolan tunes. There is likely to be a lot of repetition (of each tune, and in re-visiting tunes across the session). The tempo is slow. And, importantly, players should know the tunes by heart so that they can play from memory and tune into all of the other elements that are essential in the session experience.

The Slow Session is a fertile learning and development ground. It is valuable for musicians who are at the Upper Beginner-Intermediate level as an opportunity to take their learning out of the classroom and into a public environment. With the focus on whole-group participation, the session is all about creating a more relaxed performance environment than, say a concert (audience-focussed) or a competition – it’s primarily a musician-tomusician experience. It is also an opportunity for learners to understand that making music in this context is about more than simply knowing the tunes!

As with most sessions, the Slow Session is typically held with some audience present. The most appreciative audience here is like to be family and friends of the musicians, who will be recognise the significance of these early stage learners to reaching this important milestone. 

And, of course, no two Slow Session are the same. Every single session – including every single Slow Session – is a completely unique and bespoke experience, determined by multiple factors: where it is, who is playing, the ability level of the musicians, the energy and connection between them, who is listening, and so on. 

In short, the Slow Session is for musicians with only a few years of experience playing traditional music. This is a communal music-making experience that happens in a public space, involving learners who are largely of the same standard, and led by a more experienced player who curates, directs and guides proceedings. Learners know what tunes they know, and the ambition is to get the chance to play them all over the course of the session. 

Being able to participate in a Slow Session is a significant milestone for any learner. It is designed to allow musician who are at the advanced beginner-intermediate level to take their learning beyond the classroom, play a limited (but, always expanding, repertoire) from memory, alongside others playing the same and other instruments, and getting first-hand experience of the session, and how it works.

Level 4 - The Step-UP Session (aka The ‘Goldilocks’ Session)

A bridge between the peak-level Session and the Slow Session, this session is designed with those players who are progressing well on their learning journey. Such musicians have outgrown the slow session but are not yet sufficiently experienced to participate in fullblown sessions with the most experienced musicians. This Step-Up Session is therefore not too basic, not too overwhelming, but is – in the words of Goldilocks – just right! It’s about allowing musicians to build on what they have already learned through their Slow Session experience. While a session leader is helpful to have in the background at the Step-UP Session, the players themselves take on more of a collaborative role, actively contributing to the selection of tunes and the organisation of sets from their own expanding repertoire. Having this type of session as a clearly defined step is hugely valuable; it allows learners to recognise and celebrate their progress, move on to the next, more challenging level, while all the time keeping the ultimate goal – making it to the Peak Session level – in their sights.

Level 5 - The Session (The Peak Session)

The original session, conceived by musicians for musicians, was simply a gathering, a coming together in a social space to make music. The session had a unique identity in traditional music practice, evolving into a performance context that was not a presentational or audience focussed. Nor were the musicians in a functional role, providing music for dancers. Instead, the session was about musicians playing for the simple joy of making music together. And this holds true today.

The original or standard session is the real deal. Think of it as the Premier League of the session world. In practice, it generally doesn’t come with a descriptor. However, for the purposes of clarity, it is helpful to label this session, so that it can be easily identified in the growing family of session levels. So, let’s call this the Peak Session. This happens when highly accomplished musicians on any instruments gather together to “have a tune”. The music is in flow, there is an air of casualness and camaraderie. Unlike the previous levels of session, here there is no prescribed set-list or running order; indeed, the musicians generally have no clear idea or what tunes might be played or in what order; indeed, they often don’t know what they know, until it is recalled from memory by a cue or prompt. But don’t be fooled! This ‘spontaneity’ is underpinned by an extensive, memorised repertoire (including lots of session standards and favourites) that can be recalled instantly in response to a cue or a prompt, years of experience, practice, a deeply honed craft, and an acute awareness of the nuances of the session. This is the ultimate session, the session that all musicians aspire to.

It is important to note, that this session, is, in fact, a very broad church. Sessions at this level might be small and intimate affairs, or large and vibrant; they may involve highly experienced advanced players, masters of the tradition – or both; they may be planned and organised, or spontaneous events following a chance meeting or opportunity; they may be in a public space, or a more exclusive, private affair.

So, the Irish traditional music session, once an informal music gathering for experienced and master-level musicians, has now evolved into a multi layered and more accessible format that accommodates all levels of players. By laying out a clear pathway, this format ensures that everyone has a way in. It allows musicians to grow and progress at their own pace, growing their confidence and skills over several years, before joining the full session. This is not just a structure – it’s a journey, guiding musicians from the pre-session stages, through the Practice Session and the Slow Session on to the Step-Up Session and, over time, all the way to the heart of the session proper, the Peak Session.

Liz Doherty iteachtrad.com