Alicante Creatives

Welcome to the “Slow Session” - a beginner-friendly space to learn “trad music.”

But…what is “trad music?” And what’s “a session?” And…why the hell is it SLOW?!

So glad you asked 😏

☘️ Trad music is loosely defined as anything ranging from Irish and Scottish music to North American folk.

🎶 A session is basically a time when musicians gather in a circle and play “tunes” together that they know. These tunes are typically in the trad music genre.

🐌 And a Slow Session is exactly that: a session where people play slowly. It is designed for beginners with the purpose of learning the music slowly, not just for performing or jamming. And when we say ‘beginners,’ we mean: A) those who are at the beginner stages of learning their instrument, or B) those who can already play their instrument, but are new to this particular type of music (like so many of us classically-trained musicians 😅). Sheet music can be used for those who need it.

Who is this event for?

• Anyone who wants to learn ‘trad’ music
• Experienced players in Irish/’trad’ music who are patient to play with learners (and help them) 😇
• People who don’t play music but are just curious to watch and listen. You can hang out, have a drink, have some food, and be a cheerleader!

What to bring?

• Your own instrument
• Music stand - if you need (We will have a few copies of music that we can share - for those that need)
• P a t i e n c e 😇🙃😉

All acoustic* instruments are welcome, such as…

• Fiddle
• Acoustic guitar
• Banjo
• Mandolin
• Tin whistle
• Pipes
• Concertina
• Voice
• Bodhran / hand drum

*We’d prefer to avoid electric/amplified instruments just because it could easily overpower the group.

Tunes we’ll play at this first, trial Slow Session:

• Morrison’s Jig
• Kesh Jig
• Swallowtail Jig
• Westphalia Waltz
• The Parting Glass
• Skye Boat Song
• The South Wind

^If you’d like PDF of the music, DM Vena or Joelle.

Welcome to the Alicante Trad Session at Beoir! 🎻☘️🎶

For those of you who are new to the “Trad Session” - it’s basically a chance for musicians to gather and play folk music together. The tunes can range from Irish, to Scottish, to North American folk!

Who is this session for?

• Anyone who wants to “jam” on trad music - especially those who are quite familiar with this genre
• People who don’t play music but are just curious to watch and listen. You can hang out, have a drink, have some food, and be a cheerleader!

Is this session good for beginners?

• All levels are welcome! But this session will be less focused on learning and more on just playing/jamming.
• Pro-tip! If you want a beginner-friendly learning environment, check out our “Slow Session” at 16:00 that same day. 🤓

How it works:

• We meet, chat, grab drinks/snacks
• We gather in a circle
• We start swapping ideas and playing tunes: “Do you know this tune? It goes like this….” “How about this tune?” etc
• If someone suggests a tune you don’t know - you can try to play along/harmonize if you’re good at learning-by-ear, or just sit it out and enjoy until the next one
• We’ll just keep jamming like this until they kick us out 😂

Bring your own instrument! All acoustic* instruments are welcome, such as…

• Fiddle
• Acoustic guitar
• Banjo
• Mandolin
• Tin whistle
• Pipes
• Concertina
• Voice
• Bodhran / hand drum

*We’d prefer to avoid electric/amplified instruments just because it could easily overpower the group.

Here’s a playlist of just some of the tunes we’ll play - but remember: this is not a strict list. Anyone can bring a tune to the table! We just ask that the main focus is on trad/folk music.

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