What is the Winnipeg Slow Session?
This is an open group for folks interested in learning traditional Irish and Celtic tunes.
Where and when do we meet?
Withe the exception of July, and August 14th, 2025, we meet every Thursday: 6:00:00 - 7 PM at the Irish Association of Manitoba (the Irish Club) . (https://irishassociationofmanitoba.ca -- 654 Erin St, Winnipeg, MB R3G 2V9 https://goo.gl/maps/xkkpFbprgMr).
On July 17th, the session will be held at Al Thomson's home - 928 Lindsay Street, R3N 1H9. Bring your instrument(s), chair, bug repellant and whatever else you need for a comfortable evening playing music outdoors with friends.
What instruments do people play?
Most tunes are instrumental and composed for dancers. Instruments include tin whistle, flute, recorder, guitar, mandolin, bouzouki’s, banjo, fiddle, accordion, cooncertina, and bodran.
How does the session work?
Every second or third week, a new learning tune is taught by one of our players. The music PDF and audio clips emailed to everyone ahead of time so we can practice the tune at home before learning it together as a group. For the first 20 minutes of the session, the new tune is taught at a slow pace so everyone becomes more comfortable playing it. Following the “learning tune” we play some other tunes we have covered before. A suggested list is also sent out via the group email for the Winnipeg Slow Session.
More about the website
This basic site contains the “learning tunes” sheet music PDFs and links to the audio files. There is also a link to a more comprehensive library of tunes on the Comhaltas Ireland website. and the Comhaltas' Foinn Seisiún Books 1 to 3 (Books available here), is an excellent source of music. Comhaltas is an organization with chapters in many countries, dedicated to preserving and supporting traditional Irish music.
How do I get involved
The Slow Session is free to join. We encourage people to consider purchasing an annual membership in the Irish Association of Manitoba as they kindly provide us the space and regular time for us to have our sessions. Just show up any Thursday at 5:45 PM
Services at the Irish Association
Drinks are available at the bar, and meals may be offered in the future
For more information regarding the Winnipeg Slow Session, contact Erin Burns-Flett at erinburnsflett@gmail.com