A new tune each Wednesday (more or less), chosen arbitrarily by your Webmaster, a mixture of traditional and new (but traditional in style) tunes. Site visitors are encouraged to nominate tunes for this page.
This week’s tune:
Cloud Forest Waltz, by Michael Bell of the Iowa-based Barn Owl Band (possibly now disbanded?). See a link to a short bio of Michael in the Notes section.
Last week’s tune:
1814. No, this is not “In 1814 we took a little trip / Along with Col. Jackson down the mighty Mississip”. It’s either 1) a Danish tune written in celebration of the amalgamation (?) of Sweden and Denmark in 1814 (?), or 2) a Swedish slängpolska from Södermanland, take your pick. Either way, it’s a great tune.
Recent Tunes of the Week:
- Soldier’s Joy, arguably the most popular traditional tune of all time. Listen to ten of the many dozens of versions around the world in the Notes section, plus a YouTube of a Norwegian circle dance set to Soldier’s Joy.
- Waiting for the Boatsman, derived by fiddler Melvin Wine (1909-2003), of Copen, Braxton County, West Virginia from a hymn his mother sang. Reportedly, he would sometimes sing the hymn’s lyrics before playing the tune. They began, “Oh, I’m waiting for the boatman, he is driving o’er and o’er.”
- Luke the Bear, one of our favorite David Kaynor reels. See the Notes section for a set of David’s tunes, Luke the Bear along with Michael Robinson and Flagstaff.
- Lonesome Moonlight Waltz, a classic Bluegrass waltz by Bill Monroe. Don’t miss the wonderful YouTube on that page played by Alison Krause, Aly Bain and friends.
- Luke the Bear, composed by David Kaynor and arranged by him with two more of his tunes in the order Michael Robinson, Luke the Bear and Flagstaff for the Vermont Fiddle Orchestra.
- Frank’s Reel. Despite its run-of-the-mill title, this reel by John McCusker is a keeper and features some nice syncopation in the B part.
- Merry Sherwood Rangers, aka Durham Rangers, aka (probably locally, here?) Donegal German, a jaunty Irish hornpipe.
- Bay of Fundy Reel. Here is another great tune from the Canadian Maritimes (where I was priviledged to live for five years in the 1970s). As you may know, the world’s highest tides occur in the Bay of Fundy, an incredible 16 meters (53ft) at the head of the Bay.
- da Auld Resting Chair by by the legendary Tom Anderson of Shetland. The story goes that he composed this tune in honor of the chair his father (grandfather?) sat in while teaching Tom, as a boy, to play the fiddle. Tom is credited with nearly single-handedly reviving traditional Shetland fiddle playing.
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- Background: I started this site about twelve years ago largely for my own convenience, but it quickly grew to be useful for a number of other musicians in my area. Since then it has grown far beyond my original vision, with over 1,100 tunes posted and around 6,000 user sessions per month from more than 30 countries. Until now I have built and maintained the site out of my own pocket but its increasing size and complexity is requiring more outside resources and costs; hence this appeal. So if this site is helpful to you, please consider a small contribution.