Tune of the Week


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:

Merry Sherwood Rangers, aka Durham Rangers, aka (probably locally, here?) Donegal German, a jaunty Irish hornpipe.

Last week’s tune:

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.


Recent Tunes of the Week:

  • 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.
  • Valse des Poêles (Waltz of the Stoves). Reportedly, the composer, Simon Riopel, “spent a whole day moving stoves (des poêles) and could hardly move his hands, so he wrote this really nice waltz that didn’t require his fingers to be too fleet.”
  • Tobin’s Favourite. This lilting jig is probably from Ireland, but possibly England.  Do you know its origin?   It’s not only Tobin’s favorite but one of ours around here too.
  • Father John Angus Rankin’s March, composed by the immortal Jerry Holland some time around 1996.  See him play it in Glendale, Nova Scotia at a tribute concert for Fr. Rankin in the YouTube on the page.
  • Dark as a Dungeon, this classic ballad about coal mining by Merle Travis has been recorded by many artists including Johnny Cash (see the included YouYube), but even without lyrics, it’s a great tune.
  • Jer the Rigger, a traditional(?) polka from Ireland(?).  “Jer” is pronounced as in Jerry, or “Ger” as in Gerald.
  • The Wonder Hornpipe, by Newcastle (England) fiddle player James Hill (around 1850).  So named (we think) because guitarists always wonder where that E chord in the B part came from.
  • Santa Anna’s Retreat.  Yeah, I know it’s a long way from the North Atlantic, but it’s a great tune anyway, with maybe an Irish connection. See the Notes section.
  • Mind Yourself Of The Turkeycock Or The Turkeycock Will Bite You.  This jig (or slide, played in 12/8) from Ireland is nearly as wonderful as its title is … intriguing!

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  • Background: I started this site about eleven 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 4,500 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.