There was a question on suitable tunes for an intermediate whistler posted in July 2007. I have found the list by Dow posted as a reply useful, but a comment in one reply stated that some popular session tunes had been left out as they may be 'worn out'. I am particularly looking for session jigs and one in particular which may have another name. I was referred to it as Paddy Ryans Jig, but can't find it anywhere.
I am trying to build up a reasonable repertoire before imposing myself on a session and would appreciate some help.
Every session is different, and it's difficult to build a "reasonable repertoire" without actually going to your local sessions to see what they are playing. While you're at it, you should just take your fiddle along, and if you're invited to join, you can play whatever you already know, and listen on the ones that you don't know.
But Dow's list is a good one, and there are several other lists that have been posted over the years. Or maybe just look at the members section, and click on the tunebook tab to see the tunes that have been most added to people's tunebooks on this site. Some people consider some of the common tunes to be "worn out", but they're also tunes that pretty much everybody knows, and you'll find that people will be happy to play them with you, especially if you're new to the session.
And I have always told people to stop trying to be "ready" before you start going to sessions. You want to be at least semi-proficient with your instrument, but you're never going to be "ready" to play a session until you get out and start doing it...
celticrichie
Dont worry about a big repertoire, if your a beginner,,
muck in there, I went to the Miltown Malbay thing with
a new fiddle and 4 tunes 2reels 2jigs,, I and listened and watched How the music was played - and if they played any
of my tunes Well it was a Bonus,,
Go for it-
jim,,,,
"Intermediate fiddler" covers a wide possible range of abilities. And "easy" jigs can always be refined and experimented with. Some good solid jigs that show up in a lot of sessions (all of them in the tune databases here) include:
East to Glendart
Lilting Banshee
Scatter the Mud
Jimmy Ward's Favourite
Up in the Air
Tripping Upstairs
Joe Derrane's
Brendan Tonro's
Mice in the Cupboard
Fly in the Pint
Michael McGoldricks
Top of Cork Road (aka Father Flynn's)
Tatter Jack Waslh
Finbar Dwyer's Favourite
Garret Barrey's
Tar Road to Sligo
The Woodcock
Rolling Waves
Humors of Trim
Cook in the Kitchen
Toung Tom Ennis
Killavil Jig
Apples in Winter
Whelan's Fancy
Joy of My Life (Donnybrook Fair)
Sean Ryan's (aka the Castle--see Jim's abcs above)
Sean Ryan's (aka the Nightingale, often played with the Castle)
Hole in the Hedge
With all due respect--and I really mean that, sincerely--Dow's list may have some regional tendencies.
The tunes you see by going to http://www.thesession.org/members/ and clicking the "Tunebook" tab are very common at beginner-friendly sessions in my area. For what that might be worth.
Now, I'm sure that some longtime session players would consider many of those tunes "worn out." But at least you could be reasonably sure that somebody else would know the tune. (Even if they roll their eyes before playing it.)
Any one person's list (such as Dow's or my own) will be biased to the places that person has played. When I posted my list, I was hoping other people would weed through it, add their own nominations for common session tunes, etc. But it never really took off. In part, I think, because it was already too overwhelming for most people realtively new to this music.
But in all seriousness a good list of common session tunes should include something like 300 to 500 tunes just to cover the "usual suspects."
i'm in a similar position to you, celticrichie,
i started start on the banjo recently,
i printed out dows list with a view to working my way through it all.
at the same time, i have listened to and searched out
anything in the itm vein that tickled my fancy.
months down the line i have a fair few on dows list ticked off and learnt,
but a larger list, scribbled at the bottom of the page,
of great tunes i heard elsewhere and felt *compelled* to learn.
my view is this: its all very well learning someones list of personal favourites - or indeed statistical likelyhoods,
but if the tunes dont grab ***you***, you just wont practice them,
and when they come up at a session, you will be off the boil if you join in.
i would suggest learning 2 or 3 very very obvious sets which you can play if asked,
otherwise just listen, and learn the tunes you love - these are the ones you will become good at.
and when you take these to your local session, you might teach them a new tune or 2.
happy bowing
i know this doesnt answer your original question, sorry..............
Just to let you know that over the last few years I've been in the process of putting together a more extensive list. It's based on a mixture of every source I can lay my hands on to try and limit regional bias: all the sessions I've ever been to in different countries, tunebooks from different countries, online tune indexes, the members' tunebook here, and hundreds of recordings.
At the moment I'm sorting through the hundreds of recordings, adding tunes that I've missed, which is taking me ages, but it's good fun because it means I'm listening to something different every time I get into my car, and I'm picking up some new tunes too.
Next I have to go through and edit the whole thing, and then I'm going to let some musician friends of mine have a look at it and I'll make changes with their help. I'll make it available here when it's finished.
At the moment there's the 50 I had already, then below that there's a further 250 "session warhorses", then about 450-500 tunes that are standard session fodder (neither particularly common nor particularly rare - I'd rather say something like that than "intermediate"), then some more tunes which are rarer. The rarer ones I might end up cutting out, or I might end up keeping some of them.
Whatever happens it's going to be a bloody massive list, and all of the tunes which are considered warhorses will be on there. Anything you find that isn't on there will be tunes that are popular in a particular local area, or rarely heard tunes.
Mark, I hope you break them out into form--reels, jigs, slip jigs, etc. That way, people can concentrate on not just tunes but also the forms that are most common at their own sessions.
The 250 "session warhorses" are stuff like Bothy Band hits, and also tunes that were popularised by Michael Coleman like the ones out of his classic Tarbolton/Longford Collector/Sailor's Bonnet set. Also included in the 250 are the kind of tunes you might find in those horrible books of "100 common session tunes"!
I also forgot to mention that each tune is going to have a coupla bars of abc to show which one it's referring to. That's also taking me ages, although I've done 300 already.
X-posted with you Will. In answer to your question, yes it's broken down by rhythm as well, reels first, then jigs, then slip jigs, then hornpipes, then slides, polkas, etc. I'll send you a copy in a coupla weeks by e-mail - I'll need you to have a look at it before I post it anyway.
The thing that's going to be different about this list is that there's no "beginner/intermediate/advanced" thing, because I don't believe in that. The tunes are grouped according to how they function in your average session, and how you can expect people to react to them. Drowsy Maggie, for example, is going to function differently to Patsy Tuohey's, and you can predict a different reaction. One's an overplayed classic that's fallen out of favour (which could mean that it could be welcomed b/c it hasn't been played in years) and the other is a lesser-known tune that's definitely within the standard repertoire because it's appeared on some influential recordings such as Matt Molloy's first solo album.
Mark, I've got a list going of "essential reels," culled from Alan Ng's "100 most recorded tunes," the database here, numerous printed collections, etc. Right now, it's at about 300 reels. I was going to do the same "first two bars of abcs" to help i.d. tunes.
OK, maybe it's just me, but what people are looking for here is often the distilled version of the stuff that you're doing, Mark. Not to dissuade you from your work that you're doing to compile this list!
But it seems to me that people are actually looking for a *good* 100 most common session tunes kind of list (as opposed to the "horrible" ones you've referred to...)
I am aware that something like that might be regional, and attempts at that might be heavily argued, but instead of increasing the size of the list, how about trimming it down? (Of course, that just invites lots more argument... But the argument is interesting and revealing too...)
Thanks to all for the comments, list and ABC's. It isn't Sean Ryans or The Lonesome. I think I managed to pick up the first four bars of the tune I know as Paddy Ryans Jig and I believe the rest of the fist part is much the same.
The key is G and it goes like this:
EAA EAA..BAB G2 A..Bee edB..dBA GED.
Rev, I'm not sure I agree with pruning the list. I think that's up to the player.
For example, there are, say, 400 reels that are widely played, that "everyone knows." I think it would help to know what those 400 reels are. But then it's up to our hypothetical player to determine which ones are played at his/her local session and put a priority on learning those. And then to choose some other reels out of the 400 to learn so that s/he will likely be able to fit in at the session in the next town over.
In other words, besides arguing over which tunes are in the "100 core session tunes," I think we should debate how many tunes should be in that list. Or how to format the list. What seems most useful to me is a list of the 300 or 400 most widely played reels, with maybe 100 of them highlighted as the "ones everyone knows and doesn't mind playing." Then do the same with jigs, slip jigs, hornpipes, etc.
And then you travel to Ballyferriter and sit in on a cranking session that goes till 6 am and they don't play a single tune off your beloved list.....
The main reason I'd push for making such a list more comprehensive rather than pruned is that the tunes are connected to each other. For example, if you know Rolling in the Barrel but not In the Tap Room, you'll likely end up sitting out have the set. Or you'll find that the smaller cluster of core tunes are all in D and G, and you won't know any of the Edor and Ador and Amaj tunes people typically link them to in sets.
Bob, some of those books are dumbed down under the mistaken notion that newcomers to this music need simplified settings of the tunes, to the point of obliterating the tunes' defining qualities in favor of making the easier to play on whistle or fiddle.
The problem with most attempts to explain or elucidate this music is that they come from outside the tradition--only someone on the outside feels the need for such explanation or elucidation. Anyone on the inside, well pickled in the music, doesn't think in terms of "what are the most common session tunes?" They're a given.
It's one of those times where "if you have to ask, you probably won't understand the answer."
Like bambi, I will get a core repertoire from the lists and go from there. So the question was answered.
Although I must also add that not everyone has access to 'the inside' at an early age and, as in my case, the 'pickling' is coming later in life. I do agree with the dumbing down comment though. I would want to learn a tune as I hear it. Not some setting that has been developed just to make it easier. That defeats the object.
Tunes for an intermediate fiddle player
Tunes for an intermediate fiddle player
There was a question on suitable tunes for an intermediate whistler posted in July 2007. I have found the list by Dow posted as a reply useful, but a comment in one reply stated that some popular session tunes had been left out as they may be 'worn out'. I am particularly looking for session jigs and one in particular which may have another name. I was referred to it as Paddy Ryans Jig, but can't find it anywhere.
I am trying to build up a reasonable repertoire before imposing myself on a session and would appreciate some help.
# Posted on April 28th 2008 by celticrichie
Re: Tunes for an intermediate fiddle player
It is'nt this one instead= Sean Ryan's Jig
jim,,
X:461
T:Lonesome Jig, The
T:Sean Ryan's Jig
R:jig
H:Also played with 2nd part the same both times through: version 2
D:De Dannan: Selected Jigs and Reels.
M:6/8
L:1/8
K:Ador
cBA BAG|AGE DB,G,|~A,3 ~E3|DEG A2B|!
cBA BAG|AGE DB,G,|~A,3 ~E3|DB,G, A,2B:|!
cBA ~a3|bag edB|GBd ~g3|age dBG|!
Ace ~a3|bag edB|GBd ~g3|edB A2B|!
cBA ~a3|bag edB|GBd ~g3|GBd GBd|!
~c3 dcd|ede gab|age dBG|EFG A2B|!
"Version 2:"
|cBA BAG|AGE DB,G,|~A,3 ~E3|DEG A2B|!
cBA BAG|AGE DB,G,|~A,3 ~E3|DB,G, A,2B:|!
|:cBA ~a3|bag edB|GBd ~g3|GBd cBA|!
~c3 dcd|ede gab|age dBG|EFG A2B:|!
# Posted on April 28th 2008 by FIDDLE4
Re: Tunes for an intermediate fiddle player
Every session is different, and it's difficult to build a "reasonable repertoire" without actually going to your local sessions to see what they are playing. While you're at it, you should just take your fiddle along, and if you're invited to join, you can play whatever you already know, and listen on the ones that you don't know.
But Dow's list is a good one, and there are several other lists that have been posted over the years. Or maybe just look at the members section, and click on the tunebook tab to see the tunes that have been most added to people's tunebooks on this site. Some people consider some of the common tunes to be "worn out", but they're also tunes that pretty much everybody knows, and you'll find that people will be happy to play them with you, especially if you're new to the session.
And I have always told people to stop trying to be "ready" before you start going to sessions. You want to be at least semi-proficient with your instrument, but you're never going to be "ready" to play a session until you get out and start doing it...
# Posted on April 28th 2008 by Reverend
Re: Tunes for an intermediate fiddle player
celticrichie
Dont worry about a big repertoire, if your a beginner,,
muck in there, I went to the Miltown Malbay thing with
a new fiddle and 4 tunes 2reels 2jigs,, I and listened and watched How the music was played - and if they played any
of my tunes Well it was a Bonus,,
Go for it-
jim,,,,
# Posted on April 28th 2008 by FIDDLE4
Re: Tunes for an intermediate fiddle player
"Intermediate fiddler" covers a wide possible range of abilities. And "easy" jigs can always be refined and experimented with. Some good solid jigs that show up in a lot of sessions (all of them in the tune databases here) include:
East to Glendart
Lilting Banshee
Scatter the Mud
Jimmy Ward's Favourite
Up in the Air
Tripping Upstairs
Joe Derrane's
Brendan Tonro's
Mice in the Cupboard
Fly in the Pint
Michael McGoldricks
Top of Cork Road (aka Father Flynn's)
Tatter Jack Waslh
Finbar Dwyer's Favourite
Garret Barrey's
Tar Road to Sligo
The Woodcock
Rolling Waves
Humors of Trim
Cook in the Kitchen
Toung Tom Ennis
Killavil Jig
Apples in Winter
Whelan's Fancy
Joy of My Life (Donnybrook Fair)
Sean Ryan's (aka the Castle--see Jim's abcs above)
Sean Ryan's (aka the Nightingale, often played with the Castle)
Hole in the Hedge
That's a start.
# Posted on April 28th 2008 by Will Harmon
Re: Tunes for an intermediate fiddle player
With all due respect--and I really mean that, sincerely--Dow's list may have some regional tendencies.
The tunes you see by going to http://www.thesession.org/members/ and clicking the "Tunebook" tab are very common at beginner-friendly sessions in my area. For what that might be worth.
Now, I'm sure that some longtime session players would consider many of those tunes "worn out." But at least you could be reasonably sure that somebody else would know the tune. (Even if they roll their eyes before playing it.)
# Posted on April 29th 2008 by John Galt
Re: Tunes for an intermediate fiddle player
Any one person's list (such as Dow's or my own) will be biased to the places that person has played. When I posted my list, I was hoping other people would weed through it, add their own nominations for common session tunes, etc. But it never really took off. In part, I think, because it was already too overwhelming for most people realtively new to this music.
But in all seriousness a good list of common session tunes should include something like 300 to 500 tunes just to cover the "usual suspects."
# Posted on April 29th 2008 by Will Harmon
Re: Tunes for an intermediate fiddle player
i'm in a similar position to you, celticrichie,
i started start on the banjo recently,
i printed out dows list with a view to working my way through it all.
at the same time, i have listened to and searched out
anything in the itm vein that tickled my fancy.
months down the line i have a fair few on dows list ticked off and learnt,
but a larger list, scribbled at the bottom of the page,
of great tunes i heard elsewhere and felt *compelled* to learn.
my view is this: its all very well learning someones list of personal favourites - or indeed statistical likelyhoods,
but if the tunes dont grab ***you***, you just wont practice them,
and when they come up at a session, you will be off the boil if you join in.
i would suggest learning 2 or 3 very very obvious sets which you can play if asked,
otherwise just listen, and learn the tunes you love - these are the ones you will become good at.
and when you take these to your local session, you might teach them a new tune or 2.
happy bowing
i know this doesnt answer your original question, sorry..............
# Posted on April 29th 2008 by bambi
Re: Tunes for an intermediate fiddle player
Just to let you know that over the last few years I've been in the process of putting together a more extensive list. It's based on a mixture of every source I can lay my hands on to try and limit regional bias: all the sessions I've ever been to in different countries, tunebooks from different countries, online tune indexes, the members' tunebook here, and hundreds of recordings.
At the moment I'm sorting through the hundreds of recordings, adding tunes that I've missed, which is taking me ages, but it's good fun because it means I'm listening to something different every time I get into my car, and I'm picking up some new tunes too.
Next I have to go through and edit the whole thing, and then I'm going to let some musician friends of mine have a look at it and I'll make changes with their help. I'll make it available here when it's finished.
At the moment there's the 50 I had already, then below that there's a further 250 "session warhorses", then about 450-500 tunes that are standard session fodder (neither particularly common nor particularly rare - I'd rather say something like that than "intermediate"), then some more tunes which are rarer. The rarer ones I might end up cutting out, or I might end up keeping some of them.
Whatever happens it's going to be a bloody massive list, and all of the tunes which are considered warhorses will be on there. Anything you find that isn't on there will be tunes that are popular in a particular local area, or rarely heard tunes.
# Posted on April 29th 2008 by Dr. Dow
Re: Tunes for an intermediate fiddle player
Mark, I hope you break them out into form--reels, jigs, slip jigs, etc. That way, people can concentrate on not just tunes but also the forms that are most common at their own sessions.
# Posted on April 29th 2008 by Will Harmon
Re: Tunes for an intermediate fiddle player
The 250 "session warhorses" are stuff like Bothy Band hits, and also tunes that were popularised by Michael Coleman like the ones out of his classic Tarbolton/Longford Collector/Sailor's Bonnet set. Also included in the 250 are the kind of tunes you might find in those horrible books of "100 common session tunes"!
I also forgot to mention that each tune is going to have a coupla bars of abc to show which one it's referring to. That's also taking me ages, although I've done 300 already.
# Posted on April 29th 2008 by Dr. Dow
Re: Tunes for an intermediate fiddle player
X-posted with you Will. In answer to your question, yes it's broken down by rhythm as well, reels first, then jigs, then slip jigs, then hornpipes, then slides, polkas, etc. I'll send you a copy in a coupla weeks by e-mail - I'll need you to have a look at it before I post it anyway.
# Posted on April 29th 2008 by Dr. Dow
Re: Tunes for an intermediate fiddle player
Way ahead of me, as usual. I should have known. ;>}
# Posted on April 29th 2008 by John Galt
Re: Tunes for an intermediate fiddle player
The thing that's going to be different about this list is that there's no "beginner/intermediate/advanced" thing, because I don't believe in that. The tunes are grouped according to how they function in your average session, and how you can expect people to react to them. Drowsy Maggie, for example, is going to function differently to Patsy Tuohey's, and you can predict a different reaction. One's an overplayed classic that's fallen out of favour (which could mean that it could be welcomed b/c it hasn't been played in years) and the other is a lesser-known tune that's definitely within the standard repertoire because it's appeared on some influential recordings such as Matt Molloy's first solo album.
# Posted on April 29th 2008 by Dr. Dow
Re: Tunes for an intermediate fiddle player
Mark, I've got a list going of "essential reels," culled from Alan Ng's "100 most recorded tunes," the database here, numerous printed collections, etc. Right now, it's at about 300 reels. I was going to do the same "first two bars of abcs" to help i.d. tunes.
I'll email it to you in the next day or so.
# Posted on April 29th 2008 by Will Harmon
Re: Tunes for an intermediate fiddle player
OK, maybe it's just me, but what people are looking for here is often the distilled version of the stuff that you're doing, Mark. Not to dissuade you from your work that you're doing to compile this list!
But it seems to me that people are actually looking for a *good* 100 most common session tunes kind of list (as opposed to the "horrible" ones you've referred to...)
I am aware that something like that might be regional, and attempts at that might be heavily argued, but instead of increasing the size of the list, how about trimming it down? (Of course, that just invites lots more argument... But the argument is interesting and revealing too...)
# Posted on April 29th 2008 by Reverend
Re: Tunes for an intermediate fiddle player
Thanks to all for the comments, list and ABC's. It isn't Sean Ryans or The Lonesome. I think I managed to pick up the first four bars of the tune I know as Paddy Ryans Jig and I believe the rest of the fist part is much the same.
The key is G and it goes like this:
EAA EAA..BAB G2 A..Bee edB..dBA GED.
# Posted on April 29th 2008 by celticrichie
Re: Tunes for an intermediate fiddle player
That's The Lilting Banshee
# Posted on April 29th 2008 by Will Harmon
Re: Tunes for an intermediate fiddle player
Here: http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/60
# Posted on April 29th 2008 by Will Harmon
Re: Tunes for an intermediate fiddle player
Rev, I'm not sure I agree with pruning the list. I think that's up to the player.
For example, there are, say, 400 reels that are widely played, that "everyone knows." I think it would help to know what those 400 reels are. But then it's up to our hypothetical player to determine which ones are played at his/her local session and put a priority on learning those. And then to choose some other reels out of the 400 to learn so that s/he will likely be able to fit in at the session in the next town over.
In other words, besides arguing over which tunes are in the "100 core session tunes," I think we should debate how many tunes should be in that list. Or how to format the list. What seems most useful to me is a list of the 300 or 400 most widely played reels, with maybe 100 of them highlighted as the "ones everyone knows and doesn't mind playing." Then do the same with jigs, slip jigs, hornpipes, etc.
And then you travel to Ballyferriter and sit in on a cranking session that goes till 6 am and they don't play a single tune off your beloved list.....
# Posted on April 29th 2008 by Will Harmon
Re: Tunes for an intermediate fiddle player
The main reason I'd push for making such a list more comprehensive rather than pruned is that the tunes are connected to each other. For example, if you know Rolling in the Barrel but not In the Tap Room, you'll likely end up sitting out have the set. Or you'll find that the smaller cluster of core tunes are all in D and G, and you won't know any of the Edor and Ador and Amaj tunes people typically link them to in sets.
# Posted on April 29th 2008 by Will Harmon
Re: Tunes for an intermediate fiddle player
Ummm, which books are the horrible ones? And what's wrong with them?
# Posted on April 29th 2008 by Bob himself
Re: Tunes for an intermediate fiddle player
Bob, some of those books are dumbed down under the mistaken notion that newcomers to this music need simplified settings of the tunes, to the point of obliterating the tunes' defining qualities in favor of making the easier to play on whistle or fiddle.
The problem with most attempts to explain or elucidate this music is that they come from outside the tradition--only someone on the outside feels the need for such explanation or elucidation. Anyone on the inside, well pickled in the music, doesn't think in terms of "what are the most common session tunes?" They're a given.
It's one of those times where "if you have to ask, you probably won't understand the answer."
# Posted on April 29th 2008 by Will Harmon
Re: Tunes for an intermediate fiddle player
Thanks Will CTP. Nice one.
# Posted on April 30th 2008 by celticrichie
Re: Tunes for an intermediate fiddle player
Sorry. That should be Will CPT. Respect.
Like bambi, I will get a core repertoire from the lists and go from there. So the question was answered.
Although I must also add that not everyone has access to 'the inside' at an early age and, as in my case, the 'pickling' is coming later in life. I do agree with the dumbing down comment though. I would want to learn a tune as I hear it. Not some setting that has been developed just to make it easier. That defeats the object.
# Posted on April 30th 2008 by celticrichie