The URLs here contain the tune ID from the database. The newest tune normally has the highest ID. At the moment, it's 8414. You can find out the highest ID by looking at the link of the topmost tune on the "newest tunes" page.
Then, you enter the following URL into your browser's address line:
If you want to get more complicated, you can choose a tune type, and add a "type_id=<number>" modifier on there to indicate the tune type (although, your first number will have a smaller range because you're only searching a subset of the database)
If you're lazy and want the computer to do ALL the work (except actually learning the tune, of course), then you're out of luck!
If you click on the 'Search' tab in the 'Tunes' section, then, without entering anything in the search fields, click the 'Search' button, you'll see all the tunes in the database, listed alphanumerically (i.e. all those whose titles begin with numbers first, then alphabetically).
If you really want to pull up tunes *at random*, without seeing the titles, then put your mouse pointer over the page number links at the bottom of the page, close your eyes and click. Then, without opening your eyes, move the mouse back up the page and click again. Open your eyes and see what you get. Depending on how good or bad your mouse-dexterity is, you might find that you move too far to the right and end up in the 'Discussions' or 'Recordings' section, or back on the main 'Tunes' page.
OK, cuz I'm geeky and bored, I wrote a little application that grabs the RSS feed from thesession to find how many tunes are in the archive, and then opens a webpage with a random one.
I wrote the app in Flash, and could have made it a webpage, except that the security rules in Flash won't let me load data from a different site without specific permission, and it's not important enough to bug Jeremy to do... So, you're stuck with an application instead of a web page. I have two versions one for Mac, and one for PC.
I could probably make it so that you could select a specific tune type, but that's not included in the RSS feed, so it would be more work... If anybody cares. (But I don't know that I'm THAT bored)
sg - thanks you have found one of the few tunes I have posted *myself*!
What I have done once upon a time is to play through the archive beginning with the tune No1 up to maybe 300. I realized than that in the beginng Jeremy post all and then most of the tunes. Also at the lower numbers you will find a lot of the session tunes one has to know. The higher number you will find more non-traditional tunes, meaning new ones from the bands with the hype like Lunasa and flook, compositions by sessioneers and from other traditions.
BTW when you enter a number and the database returns the main tune page of today you have hit a tune which was deleted. The percentage of these increases as well with the tune number - more and more doubles, all standards are here already!
What's funny is that in playing with my random tune app, in the first couple of hits, I hit a tune that I've been meaning to learn, but never knew the name of, so couldn't look it up!
Random Tune Search?
Random Tune Search?
So...is it possible to pull up tunes at random from the thousands of posted tunes? Thought it might be a fun way to spend the occasional idle hours.
# Posted on April 5th 2008 by larrywcusick
Re: Random Tune Search?
Not a regular function, but it's easy.
The URLs here contain the tune ID from the database. The newest tune normally has the highest ID. At the moment, it's 8414. You can find out the highest ID by looking at the link of the topmost tune on the "newest tunes" page.
Then, you enter the following URL into your browser's address line:
http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/
...and finally you put any number between 1 and the newest tune ID, 8414 at the moment, behind the URL you just typed in. Voilá, a random tune.
# Posted on April 5th 2008 by s.g.
Re: Random Tune Search?
An example: http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/ + 3952 = http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/3952 -> The Reaper Of Glenree (hornpipe)
# Posted on April 5th 2008 by s.g.
Re: Random Tune Search?
Sure! Here's how you do it. Pick a number between 1 and 7550. Then pick another number between 1 and 10.
Let's say you pick 4286 and 7
Then, just go to http://www.thesession.org/tunes/index/new?new_start=4286, and choose the 7th tune on the page, and learn it!
(in this case, you'd have chosen the J.B. Mine polka in G. http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/3479)
If you want to get more complicated, you can choose a tune type, and add a "type_id=<number>" modifier on there to indicate the tune type (although, your first number will have a smaller range because you're only searching a subset of the database)
If you're lazy and want the computer to do ALL the work (except actually learning the tune, of course), then you're out of luck!
# Posted on April 5th 2008 by Reverend
Re: Random Tune Search?
oops, cross posting there, s.g.
Your mode is more direct, of course, but maybe less fun
# Posted on April 5th 2008 by Reverend
Re: Random Tune Search?
If you click on the 'Search' tab in the 'Tunes' section, then, without entering anything in the search fields, click the 'Search' button, you'll see all the tunes in the database, listed alphanumerically (i.e. all those whose titles begin with numbers first, then alphabetically).
If you really want to pull up tunes *at random*, without seeing the titles, then put your mouse pointer over the page number links at the bottom of the page, close your eyes and click. Then, without opening your eyes, move the mouse back up the page and click again. Open your eyes and see what you get. Depending on how good or bad your mouse-dexterity is, you might find that you move too far to the right and end up in the 'Discussions' or 'Recordings' section, or back on the main 'Tunes' page.
# Posted on April 5th 2008 by ragaman
Re: Random Tune Search?
OK, cuz I'm geeky and bored, I wrote a little application that grabs the RSS feed from thesession to find how many tunes are in the archive, and then opens a webpage with a random one.
I wrote the app in Flash, and could have made it a webpage, except that the security rules in Flash won't let me load data from a different site without specific permission, and it's not important enough to bug Jeremy to do... So, you're stuck with an application instead of a web page. I have two versions one for Mac, and one for PC.
http://ntw.net/~reverend/RandomTuneMac.zip
http://ntw.net/~reverend/RandomTunePC.zip
I could probably make it so that you could select a specific tune type, but that's not included in the RSS feed, so it would be more work... If anybody cares. (But I don't know that I'm THAT bored)
# Posted on April 5th 2008 by Reverend
Re: Random Tune Search?
Thanks Reverend. You are a regular genius. Now there goes my afternoon...
# Posted on April 5th 2008 by larrywcusick
Re: Random Tune Search?
sg - thanks you have found one of the few tunes I have posted *myself*!
What I have done once upon a time is to play through the archive beginning with the tune No1 up to maybe 300. I realized than that in the beginng Jeremy post all and then most of the tunes. Also at the lower numbers you will find a lot of the session tunes one has to know. The higher number you will find more non-traditional tunes, meaning new ones from the bands with the hype like Lunasa and flook, compositions by sessioneers and from other traditions.
BTW when you enter a number and the database returns the main tune page of today you have hit a tune which was deleted. The percentage of these increases as well with the tune number - more and more doubles, all standards are here already!
# Posted on April 6th 2008 by swisspiper
Re: Random Tune Search?
What's funny is that in playing with my random tune app, in the first couple of hits, I hit a tune that I've been meaning to learn, but never knew the name of, so couldn't look it up!
It's a more handy application than I had imagined
# Posted on April 6th 2008 by Reverend