[geebee]

Irish music is tough that way. I play a bit of bluegrass and Irish, but I find it easier to join a bluegrass jam. You do need to learn to improvise for bluegrass, but once you can (and you can follow the chord changes), you can improvise during a break and, especially, play backup. Jazz musicians can also do this with chord charts, as long as someone knows the lead.

Irish music is both easier and harder in this regard. You can get away with not improvising at all, but I find the tunes are complex, played in unison, and often at high speeds. There's no moment where all eyes are on you and you have to improvise, but there's nowhere to hide if you don't know the tune, either. Adding additional challenge is the minor variances in tunes that occur between regions and jam sessions. You really do need to build up a very substantial repertoire of music to be able to drop into an Irish jam and be able to play along for most of the session.

(Yeah, I know, I'm responding to a minor point, and going off on a tangent, I just like the subject).

[stcredzero]

Jazz musicians can also do this with chord charts, as long as someone knows the lead.

In one session I used to play in, there was a player who could play any Irish tune after listening to it just one time through, so long as someone else kept playing it.

There's an Irish flute player in the Bay Area who I love playing with and listening to. He's 100% variations all of the time, all the way through, but he does it right and everything fits.

Adding additional challenge is the minor variances in tunes that occur between regions and jam sessions.

TBH, many North American players just fluff those. Often, it falls to more capable players to match up to the others.