I first became involved in playing Irish music many years ago when I first visited Ireland and was greatly inspired after attending some great folk festivals there. The first one I went to was in County Sligo, in Ballisadare. There were so many great groups playing there – DeDanaan, The Bothy Band, Clannad, all the best-known Irish musicians of that time. There were thousands of tents and thousands of people everywhere, and there was a really great atmosphere. The whole thing lasted for three days, and I had a really nice time.
What struck me most was the power of the sound of the fiddle, such a fantastic instrument. I took up the fiddle when I was a small child but dropped it when I came to the age of about thirteen. But after seeing those folk play in Ireland, well, I had to pick it up again. I brought some sheet music back from Ireland, and when I got back home to Dorchester, joined a local folk music club and tried a few tunes. First, we played the tunes very slowly. You wouldn’t recognize them because they were so slow, but gradually I learnt a few of them by heart.
Then I moved to Edinburgh, because my wife, Sophie, is a scientist, and she got a grant to go and work at the University of Edinburgh. She was looking for a place to work where she could work well and expand her knowledge, and at the same time somewhere where I would feel happy. We considered Ireland and Scotland, and eventually decided upon Scotland. I found some work there too. I am also a scientist, a biologist, specializing in mosses. There are so many mosses in Scotland, and I knew people up there who were also involved in studying mosses, so I found myself working for the peat land section of the Scottish Heritage Trust. At home I’d just finished a big study on heavy metal deposition, which can be gauged by analyzing mosses, and I had some good opportunities to talk with other experts about my results, as well as to collect mosses.
My time in Edinburgh was one of the finest times of my life, because I enjoyed my work, and there was great music in the evenings. I went out three times a week to folk music sessions, which took place in a few of the local pubs, and met some really great musicians there, some lovely people. We’d go in and sit down in the pub at the beginning of the evening, have a drink, and would be chatting away when someone would get out their instrument and start playing. Then others that knew the tune they were playing would join in. Some people would play regularly in each pub, and there were always people passing through. The first session I went to I discovered by luck. I just went into the pub and saw that there were people playing, and once you’re in one session it’s easy to find out from the musicians the times and places of others. I really was a bad fiddle player at the time, but I tried to play a bit and listened a lot, and people were very kind to me and took me to lots of sessions. I’m not a great player at the moment, but I think I’ve improved a bit since then! I took a portable tape recorder with me and recorded, session by session, many tunes, and tried to learn some of them when I had some spare time. I learned a lot from listening and watching how others played – and there were some really talented players in Edinburgh at that time, like John Martin, for example. You can’t imagine how good some of the playing was. There were also people playing the mandolin and the flute, Irish pipes and guitars.
A lot of people from Northern Ireland, particularly from Donegal, used to come to the Edinburgh sessions, and they were a strong influence. There are some pubs where people play Irish music there, and some where people play Scottish music. There were always more people playing in the Irish sessions, maybe because Scottish music is usually played by a solo instrument, maybe with a guitar accompaniment, whereas in Irish music you often find five or six fiddles playing together, which is, I think, more exciting. Also, in the Scottish sessions, you’d very rarely hear any songs, which were more common in the Irish ones.
I wouldn’t have liked to live in Edinburgh forever, but I had a really fantastic time there and I was sad to leave. The time there was too short, even for our kids. The kids went to school there, and for our son it was the first time he’d been to school. They both picked up a strong Scottish accent!
Pub Music in Edinburgh
1. When did Greg first become involved in playing Irish music?
2. What was the first festival he visited like?
3. What struck him most at the festival?
4. When did he take up fiddle?
5. Why did he have to learn playing it again?
6. How did he pick up the fiddle back home?
7. Why did they move to Edinburgh?
8. What did Greg and his wife do?
9. What about Greg’s work in Scotland?
10. Why did he enjoy living in Edinburgh?
11. How often did he go to folk music sessions?
12. Where did they take place?
13. What did they do at the sessions?
14. How did he happen to discover those sessions?
15. How did he turn into a regular session player?
16. What kind of fiddle player was Greg at the time?
17. Has he improved since then?
18. What did he do to improve?
19. What other instruments did some of the musicians play?
20. Did they only play Scottish music in the pubs in Edinburgh?
21. How did it happen that there were Irish sessions in Edinburgh?
22. Why were there more people playing in the Irish sessions?
23. Were songs typical for Scottish sessions?
24. How did he feel when he had to leave Edinburgh?
25. Why was that time prominent for their children, too?
Pub Music in Edinburgh
Training 1
Greg first became involved in playing Irish music many years ago when he first visited Ireland. He was greatly inspired after attending some great folk festivals there. The first one he went to was in County Sligo. There were so many great groups playing there. There were thousands of tents and people everywhere, and there was a really great atmosphere.
Training 2
Greg took up the fiddle when he was a small child but dropped it when he came to the age of about thirteen. But after seeing those folk play in Ireland, Greg had to pick it up again. He brought some sheet music back from Ireland, and when he got back home, joined a local folk music club and tried a few tunes. First, they played the tunes very slowly. But gradually Greg learnt a few of them by heart.
Training 3
He moved to Edinburgh, because his wife got a grant to work at the University of Edinburgh. She was looking for a place to work where she could expand her knowledge, and at the same time somewhere where Greg would feel happy. They eventually decided upon Scotland. Greg found some work there too. He is a biologist, specialising in mosses. And he had some good opportunities to talk with other experts, as well as to collect mosses.
Training 4
While they were living in Edinburgh Greg went out three times a week to folk music sessions. They’d go in, sit down in the pub, and have a drink, and someone would get out their instrument and start playing. Then others would join in. Greg really was a bad fiddle player at the time, but he learned a lot from listening and watching how others played.
Training 5
A lot of people from Northern Ireland used to come to the Edinburgh sessions, and they were a strong influence. There are some pubs where people play Irish music, and some where people play Scottish music. There were always more people playing in the Irish sessions, maybe because in Irish music you often find five or six fiddles playing together or because songs were more common in the Irish sessions.