'Trad' session at Cobblestones

A 'trad' session is an extemporaneous expression of traditional Irish music, typically done unamplified, always done on acoustic instruments. The lead starts a musical phrase, either a known tune or a made-up fragment. The musicians begin figuring it out, and join in when they've got it. In the first piece, our own Fred Shepard plays the traditional 'Off she goes' on the high flute, and then off they go, concertina, banjo, concertina, accordion and fiddle, riffing for two minutes.

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In the next example, a tune is introduced and you can hear the first tentative attempts as the musicians begin to acquire the tune, and it begins to roll. At about 2 minutes two new musicians arrive (the music thins briefly as the fiddlers stop playing to make room). By three minutes, the new musicians have unpacked another concertina and another banjo, begin to tune, and by 3:45, they are up to speed. (at the end, the orchestra numbers three fiddles, two banjos, two concertinas, an accordion and Fred's high flute.)

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