Catch up day. We’ve all been practicing on our own and at times together, learning new parts memorizing new song lyrics all in an unhurried manner. Frankly our Westport friends wore us out. We texted Seamus Hernon in Sligo Town, which is about 35 kilometers west of here. Seamus is the son of Mai Hernon whom I take voice lessons from. She uses Skype to teach others like myself and the time I’ve spent with her has been great ear training as well as vocal training. She sings the old style of unaccompanied, ornamented singing and I’ve grown to be very appreciative of how it’s attuned my being toward really listening to melody. As an accompanist I’ve tended to feel my way through a tune, and to be honest at times in a haphazard manner, so I’ve taken it upon myself and at the urging of my bandmates to learn to play melody. I’ve been learning the tunes on whistle, flute and my guitar. It tunes me into the melody in a much more profound manner and I find myself being unsatisfied with how I’ve been accompanying a set and noticing deficiencies in my previous approach. All for the good and a chance to grow. I just realized I got off into a little side eddy there, so back to Seamus. Seamus plays flute and whistles and I’m sure other instruments as well and according to Mai knows everyone to know in Sligo’s musical environs. We’re going to meet him tonight and he’s going to take us to a session he attends, so that’s exciting! He’s also good friends with members of the Sligo band Dervish, which is one of my favorites, and they own a pub in town, so there’s a chance we may be able to get there while we’re in the area.
