☘ THE RATTLIN' BOG ☘
FAN SHRINE

With festival season here, I know loads of people are going to sessions for the first time (like I was six months ago!). Can we get a proper etiquette guide going? What do you wish someone had told you before your first session?

Great thread. Here's the essentials:

1. LISTEN first. Sit near the session, have a pint, absorb the tunes. Don't jump in straight away.
2. Don't start a tune unless you're invited to or you know the session well.
3. If you don't know a tune, sit it out. Nobody minds. Everyone sits tunes out.
4. Keep your instrument volume in check. If you're drowning people out, pull back.
5. Singing songs: wait for a gap. Ask if it's a singing session. Some sessions are instruments only.
6. Buy a round if you're sitting with the musicians.
7. Don't record without asking.
8. The Rattlin' Bog is almost always welcome, but timing is everything. Wait until the energy is right.

Everything TradSessionKing said, plus: don't be afraid. Everyone at a session was new once. The nervousness you feel walking in? Every single person felt that same thing. And the fact that you're nervous means you CARE, and caring is the most important thing you can bring to a session.

Also: smile. Musicians feed off energy. If you're enjoying it, show it. That matters more than how well you play.

Hello everyone! First post here. I'm Fiona, I play fiddle and I've been doing sessions and festivals for about twenty years now. Just want to add a musician's perspective to this lovely thread.

As someone who sits in the circle: we WANT new people there. We notice when someone's listening carefully and enjoying themselves. We notice when someone sits out a tune they don't know instead of bluffing through it. And we remember the people who come back week after week and slowly become part of the furniture.

The sessions need new blood. So come. Be nervous. It's fine. We'll look after you.