She just didnвЂ™t know he was waiting for a chance to play. I did lean over to a good friend who was monopolizing the guitar accompaniment position while another guitar player was sitting patiently with his instrument on his lap and say 'maybe if you took a break, _ could play for a while.' She was a bit shocked, but it was clear she didnвЂ™t mean to be rude. Those that donвЂ™t - well, maybe some of them are reading this post! Of course itвЂ™s going to muddy the sound! Fortunately, most of the bodhran and guitar players that come to the sessions I go to have a firm grasp on basic accompanist etiquette. 90 per cent of the time they are playing completely different chords. Will, IвЂ™ve never tried to limit the number of guitars at a session, but I do find it irritating to have more than one. Do any of you have this problem at your sessions? Do you even view it as a problem? What do you do about it? # It doesnвЂ™t seem to matter how good they are, more than two of any of these tends to muddy the sound. On a slightly different tangent, IвЂ™d like to hear other peopleвЂ™s experiences in trying to limit the number of guitars/bouzoukis/bodhrans playing at one time. IвЂ™ve seen one person take it upon themselves to confront a person about behavior that didnвЂ™t bother anyone else, and they ran off a perfectly nice, well-behaved musician whom the rest of us wouldвЂ™ve welcomed to the session any time. In some cases, though, I think it helps to do a reality check with other (reasonable) players in the circle to make sure that the offending behavior really is bothersome. And itвЂ™s risky to assume that you speak for other people unless youвЂ™ve all agreed on exactly what to say. ItвЂ™s healthy to be able to stand up for your own reasoned and reasonable standards and tell someone else that their behavior is distracting or disruptive. Better if the most courageous of your session players just blurts it out casually one day between tunes. He will feel not just knocked down a notch, but conspired against and ostracized. If youвЂ™ve been brooding over the proper approach and discussing it with the other musicians for months before anyone gets up the courage to talk to him, it will show. DonвЂ™t think too hard about it, and donвЂ™t take it too seriously. Try this: 'Would you mind playing a bit quieter? IвЂ™m having trouble following the melody.' ItвЂ™s like cold water. If that understanding does not exist then someone has to point it out. There should be an inherent understanding amongst guitar players that what they are doing is accompaniment, not the main attraction. ItвЂ™s not a bad thing to ask a guitar player to tone it down. The offending guitar player didnвЂ™t show his face for months, and then when he did come back, I got the iciest of sarcastic smilesвЂ¦ ( IвЂ™m sure IвЂ™ve mentioned it beforeвЂ¦) and I was the one to bear the bad tidings. Re: Session etiquette: what to do when a guitar-player just wonвЂ™t keep quiet?ДЇunny, I had a similar experience. Your experience will help others deal with similar issues. Please let us know how this all pans out for you. If he fails to heed the advice, be clear that the behavior is the problem. So start out by giving him the benefit of the doubt. They can become terrific assets to the session.

Some people have good intentions but donвЂ™t realize how disruptive their playing is. In short, focus on the offending behavior, not the character of the person behind it. If a person canвЂ™t learn to blend in, and his or her playing disrupts the session, then the whole circle is better off without them. If all else fails, agree as a group to cordially but firmly tell him heвЂ™s not welcome until he learns to play WITH people instead of against them. If he continues to play too loudly or speeds up, stop playing at that point and tell him that what heвЂ™s doing is disrupting the session for everyone else. If thatвЂ™s the case, he needs medical attention and possibly a hearing aid, which will extend both the quantity and quality of his playing years.) (Bear in mind that some musicians really do have hearing problems-he may be playing loudly because he canвЂ™t hear himself very well. A rule of thumb to suggest is that if he canвЂ™t hear everyone else in the circle, heвЂ™s playing too loud. Tell him that you speak on behalf of several people at the session who agree that his contribution to the session would be more welcome if he controlled his volume and speed. What to do? Try the direct route first (and sooner than later). But most of us would rather not risk hurting someoneвЂ™s feelings by suggesting that they tone down their playing. My experience is that subtle hints rarely get through to the offender in these cases.

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