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Lonesome Polka. Also, Roddy McCorley’s

This month at the LVISS was a fun one! New folks, good tunes, and just an overall nice vibe. In addition to playing tunes various and sundry from our list (and one or two not on the list) I brought The Lonesome Polka to the table, as it is a simple tune, I already have a recording of it on the website (recorded during a workshop on the “pulse” in Irish music, aka “THE NYAH”) Folks picked it up pretty quickly, as it has about 7 notes altogether! Here’s a link to the recording–please note that in the B part my teaching differed by one note (a C# instead of a B) but it honestly doesn’t matter much.

THE LONESOME POLKA

At one point one of our members brought her homework assignment from last time to class, with a set of her own creation. I had tried to get across that the tunes in the set should all be of the same type–so, all jigs, or all polkas, etc, but she got creative and came up with a set comprised of a jig, a reel, and… a march called “Roddy McCorley”. I know it as a song, with lyrics and all, done by the Dubliners on their “Foggy Dew” album, I believe. I don’t want to reinvent the wheel, so here’s links to Roddy’s Wikipedia page, and various versions of the song lyrics at thesession.org

RODDY McCORLEY WIKI (BIO ETC)

LYRICS @ THESESSION.ORG

And here’s a couple vids.

And here you might use this to learn the tune if you’re so inclined:

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A New Home–Again!

Hi all–good news: we officially have a new home at the Second Congregational Church in Greenfield! They have agreed that our meeting there once a month and paying for the space through our donations works for them. I’m so grateful to them and to my contact, Cheryl (sp?) for providing this space. I hope that you will all be generous in your donations to the church. Your support will aid them in all their free community meals, and all the other charitable work they do. For more info about the church, go to https://greenfieldsecondchurch.com/

Our first session in our new home will be April 14th at 6-8pm. The address is 16 Court Square, Greenfield, MA 01301. I believe there is parking at the rear of the church–stay tuned for more logistical info.

I’m very excited for this change–from now on I can walk from my house to the session in about 5 minutes, and additionally there may be potential for new members coming from northern MA and from VT! Exciting!

Just to pre-empt any questions about the name–“The LOWER Valley Irish Slow Session,”–I do not intend to change it, as the name is too long-standing at this point, and, honestly, I don’t know if the “Lower” signifier was ever 100% accurate to begin with–the Connecticut river valley extends from the VT/NH border all the way to Long Island Sound, so, we’re kind of in the middle. (but there’s nothing “mid” about the LVISS!) Besides, our initials suggest the name “Elvis” and I think that’s funny as heck!

Hope to see you there on the 14th, and beyond!

PS: We also have a new home on thesession.org: see our new listing HERE.

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Goodbye, DeCice!

Today is our last session at DeCice Hall at The Marian Center, and though I’m sad to leave such wonderful, generous, and hospitable hosts, I am also excited to move on to a new location. I have some leads in Greenfield, which is where I now live–when I started the session in 2013, I lived in Holyoke. It took awhile, but the session looks set to follow me to Greenfield…finally! I hope that our southerly members will make the trek up once a month, as I have since 2016. (Well, technically I made the trek BI-WEEKLY for quite awhile as well, but I won’t pick nits!)

I’ll be updating folks at the session this evening about where we may end up–I have 2 great leads at the moment. I’m excited to see you all and eat some delicious snacks and play some amazing tunes! THE CRAIC WILL BE MIGHTY!

Until this evening, then…

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Big, Big News

Hello, friends. As suggested with great subtlety by the title of this post, I have some big news. That is: that the LVISS is losing the use of the space in which we have been meeting for 12 years. DeCice Hall is going through some changes, and so must we. The March 10, 2026 session will be our last in that amazing space, and we’ll miss it and the folks who manage it. So, we’re going to make the last one one to remember! Members are welcome to bring food and drink of any kind (no alcohol) and we’re going to celebrate our time at DeCice Hall with tunes and grub! Also of anyone knows a good place we can move to let me know–email me at LVISlowSession@gmail.com!

That’s it for now. Check this space for updates!

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New Tune/New Broom/Session Etiquette Podcast

I was asked to share a couple things with folks, so I thought I’d post them here. One is a podcast/website called “Session Etiquette.” (sessionetiquette.com) From the website:

The aim of this podcast series is to open up a safe space for a comfortable discussion on etiquette in Irish traditional music sessions – how we can contribute to creating a great Irish music session experience for all. I am interviewing musicians, listeners, venues, educators, organisations etc. from a wide background, from experienced and professional to newcomers and long time learners.

The other is an album called “The New Broom” featuring Willie Kelly on fiddle and Mike Rafferty on flute. You can listen on youtube :

And finally, our new tune this month was The Abbey Reel, which we got from Ted. There’s a couple nice versions of it on youtube here:

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Sounding “Irishy”

Well, hello ‘dere, friends. And how are ye? I ran across this video today, in which Fergal Scahill (excellent, excellent fiddle player–check out his massive content on YouTube) describes how the “feel” of Irish music–jigs, reels, and the like–can’t be written nor easily explained. It is as much a plug for NOT using sheet music as it is an encouragement to use your ears and your heart, and to absorb yourself in the music to learn the feel, like you would a language. Anyway. He says it best, so here ye go–enjoy.

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4/8/25 Session Cancelled

Hi folks, I’m putting this here in case there is anyone who is not on the email list thinking to come to the session this evening. Nearly all the members I emailed responded to me that they are not able to come tonight, so I am making the call to cancel. Hope to see some folks next month!

PS if you want to be on the email list please email me at lvissession@aol.com or through the contact form on this website.

Mark

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Local Sessions (Western Massachusetts)

Hi folks! I hope the ice is melting off of you while we have somewhat warmer weather here for a few days in the Pioneer Valley.

I was just updating the LVISS’s entry at thesession.org and I noticed a couple other sessions have sprung up or changed locations in the area, so I thought I’d share that info with you. I have updated them on the LVISS calendar already.

The long-standing session that used to be at The Harp in north Amherst moved for a time to The White Lion in Amherst center, then moved again to its current location at The Amherst Public House. LINK to thesession.org listing page. This is an open session playing Irish, Cape Breton, Scottish and American music. Open to all!

There is a new session that pendulates between The Roost and Ana Bandiera Chocolates in Northampton, MA–during the winter months, The Roost closes early each day, so the session moves to Ana Bandiera till spring. LINK to thesession.org listing page. “This First Friday session is hosted by Kira Jewett (fiddle) and Jocie Nangle (song). Friendly and fairly fast-paced/advanced. Seating is limited due to the size of the space. 5:30-7:30, (almost) always the first Friday of the month.”

I hope you can visit one of these local sessions. If, before you go, you need some time to get used to the idea of playing with others in a relaxed session setting, come see us at the Lower Valley Irish Slow Session, First Tuesday of every month, 1365 Northampton St, Holyoke MA @ DeCice Hall (Marian Center). We welcome respectful, considerate folks of all genders, colors, and backgrounds!

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The Yellow Wattle

.Hello and Happy Holidays, all!

At our last session, in addition to welcoming a new member, Justin (waves at Justin) I taught a tune called The Yellow Wattle. It’s a jig in D, and it sounds simpler than it is!

As a plant, Golden Wattle is well-known in Australia, and was made the official floral emblem of that country in 1988. It produces lovely, fragrant golden blooms, and grows abundantly as a tree up to 30 feet in height.

As a tune, it’s been recorded often, and is regarded as a great pipe tune. Click the link for discussion on TheSession.org. Here are a couple recorded examples for your enjoyment!

…and there are so many more on youtube. Have a look!