I really rather enjoyed my first session in many months, at the Royal Mile pub on Sunday. It was also the first time I was anything close to an equal participant. There were four of use there, and though we were pretty rough around the edges, I'm sure we'll begin to click in the months to come. I got to bring out some of the new tunes I've been learning: Geordie MacLeish, Pretty Pegg, St. Kilda Wedding, along with Miss Drummond of Perth, but unfortunately, those tunes weren't as widely known as I thought they might be. And some of the tunes I ought to have memorized by now, The Tongadale Reel, Frank's Reel, Calliope House, Da Full Rigged Ship, Da New Rigged Ship, I either didn't remember, or foundered on. I also got in trouble with Devil in the Kitchen, which I should know like the back of my hand by now; I kept stumbling over the tune, and wanted to play it way too fast. Finally, when I got home, I realized why - my brain kept wanting to switch into Lochiel's Rant, which I've also been practicing this last week a lot. Still, it was a good start, and I have to force myself to become a regular there.

The new reel-articulation tools Elke has taught me have helped my playing in another way: I am memorizing reels faster. A lot of reels were simply inscrutable to me, when all I knew to do with them was to swing, back-beat them, or play 3-in-a-bow. Now they just click more easily in my brain. This week, more reels to learn.

In Irish fiddle, it's all jigs still. My rolls are getting a lot better, and soon Philippe will have me transitioning into hornpipes.

The pipes more or less took a week off, partly because last week was insane, and partly because I'm breaking in a new reed for my band chanter, and the first couple of nights with it, it was hard to play for more than 15 minutes at a shot without risking a double hernia. I've got it a little easier now, and so I'll be moving back onto my solo stuff as well.

Last night I got in my tenor banjo from Lark in the Morning. Once again, their bargain instrument lives up to its reputation. It's a fine sounding instrument, though the strings are still stabilizing, and looks quite nice as well. I did have to gouge slot in the nut for the G-string a bit, and am learning that, especially on the first few frets, I have to apply a very gentle touch. If I press on the string too hard, that changes the tension a lot, and (for example) the 2nd fret goes almost a half-step sharp. To get the string to stop on the fret in the correct intonation, I barely even have to touch it. So aside from getting used to the finger stretch, and learning to use just the absolute tip of my pick, I should be able to transition into adding this instrument to my lineup very quickly.