Listen

After many years of session playing, the title distils for me the single attribute that, for me, distinguishes between session players that you’d love to see again, and those who get grumbled about.

You might think it would be ‘musical skill’ and, of course, it’s a privilege to hear a tune really well played, but I'd still put it second on my list. This is because session playing is a sociable, collaborative enterprise. Rather like having a wonderful orator come around for dinner — and then dominate the evening’s conversation — having a superb musician come to a session and then bang out tune after tune without a break can get a little wearing.

The greatest gift is when someone with great talent and the instinct to listen comes along — they can raise the whole session seemingly without effort.

At the other end of the spectrum: all of the sessions I know of are incredibly welcoming to beginners — they will praise them to the rafters for having the guts to lead off a new tune, regardless of how haltingly it’s done. The session tradition is that it’s also perfectly alright to learn a new tune by listening and trying to play along (some of the best session musicians I know learn tunes exclusively by listening) as long as it’s done very quietly until you've learnt how to play.

Listen and learn, and carry on listening when it’s your turn to teach, and the session will love you.