"Session" tunes?

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Daithi
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Post by Daithi »

I used to know a Jazz musician who told me, in Jazz circles, there is something known as "The Book"; all Jazz musicians worth their salt know all the tunes in "the Book", thereby allowing them to sit in on a session anywhere in the world and be able to jam away.

Is there such a collection of tunes for the whistle?

Slainte.


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Daithi on 2001-07-04 11:48 ]</font>
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Brian Lee
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Post by Brian Lee »

There isn't any ONE book mind you, but there are MANY MANY MANY books full of anywhere from 100's to 1,000's of Irish session tunes! I don't believe you could ever realisticly learn them all.

I'd reccommend finding a local group of Irish musicians and sit in with them. Even if you're not playing, it's good to get the feel for the tunes and the speed they play.

Don't know if this helpe, but perhaps it's a start.

Brian~
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TonyHiggins
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Post by TonyHiggins »

"The Book" in Irish music circles, if there is something close to that, is L.E.McCullough's "121 Favorite Irish Session Tunes." McCullough is a whistle player, but I've met many non-whistle players who use it. The beauty of it is 4 cd's with all the tunes played fairly slowly, once with no ornamentation, then once, slightly faster, with ornamentation. Put together with the printed music, it's an ideal way to learn tunes that are popular at sessions.

A second book I highly recommend is "110 Ireland's Best Slow Airs," published by Mel Bay, available thru The Whistle Shop, that has 2 cd's with all the tunes. Those 2 books are enough to keep anyone busy for quite awhile and give you plenty of variety.
Tony
tephillah
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Post by tephillah »

In my area, the book that has become our "Bible" is The Fiddler's Fakebook, by David Brody. It contains nearly 500 tunes of various regional and national styles. I'd be lost without it!
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Post by Grannymouse »

Where does one find The Fiddler's Fakebook?
(like I need another book.... but seems to go along with the WhOA and MIAD) Gm



On 2001-07-04 16:43, tephillah wrote:
In my area, the book that has become our "Bible" is The Fiddler's Fakebook, by David Brody. It contains nearly 500 tunes of various regional and national styles. I'd be lost without it!
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Post by tephillah »

Hi GM!
I bought my copy at a festival last fall, and I don't remember the name of the vendor, but I'm sure you could find it through Amazon.com. It's published by Oak Publications, if that helps. Hope you find it!
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Post by StevieJ »

If the suggestions above don't provide enough material (!) here are a couple of others. Dave Mallinson Publications in England have put out good books of standards, including "100 Essential Irish Session Tunes", "100 Enduring Irish Session Tunes" and "100 Evergreen Irish Session Tunes". You can find more info on Dave's web site:

http://www.mally.com/mallysite/pages/index.html

To go straight to the page featuring these collections, visit this link: http://www.mally.com/mallysite/pages/page/irish.html

Another excellent collection, also published in England, is the pioneering series of 4 volumes of "Music from Ireland" by Dave Bulmer & Neil Sharpley. These were put out in the 1970s and are out of print, as far as I know. If you see them, grab them. Great tunes, very good versions. A pirated photocopied version of the entire series has circulated widely among Irish musicians in Canada under the name "The Black Book". It's a great pity that they have not been republished.


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: StevieJ on 2001-07-05 08:41 ]</font>
Eldarion
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Post by Eldarion »

From the limited face-to-face interaction I get from celtic musicians, I get the impression that The Book for celtic music is "O'Neill's Music of Ireland". I've heard people compare it to the Bible of Irish music.

Its this book of tunes collected by this O'Neill's guy over a century, and theres a total of about 1800 tunes in there. I'd imagine if you know all the tunes in there, you might have no problem playing (repetoire-wise) in any session in the world. This is availible at the whistle shop and at some other whistle retailers listed at Dale's link page.

Come to think of it, you should also be able to download the tunes that are straight out of the book from some tune websites.

By the way, which book is The Book for Jazz?

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Eldarion on 2001-07-05 08:59 ]</font>
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Post by StevieJ »

On 2001-07-05 08:57, Eldarion wrote:
I get the impression that The Book for celtic music is "O'Neill's Music of Ireland".
Eldarion, O'Neill's is an essential resource, but if what you want is to acquire a session repertoire, I'd strongly advise against simply wading through it. Too many tunes are not played today, and of those that are, the current versions are often significantly different. BTW for dance music there is another O'Neills, "1001 Gems -- The Dance Music of Ireland", would be better for session stuff, although the same caveats apply to that volume too. The 1800-tune volume has slow airs and Carolan tunes and other miscellaneous stuff as well as dance music. There's also been an edited "reissue" of O'Neills by Miles Krassen, Oak Publications, but I would also advise against that, for different reasons.
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Post by Daithi »

On 2001-07-04 14:03, TonyHiggins wrote:
"The Book" in Irish music circles, if there is something close to that, is L.E.McCullough's "121 Favorite Irish Session Tunes
Excellent, just what I was looking for! I'll search around and see if I can find this. Thank you very much!

Slainte.
Daithi
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Post by Daithi »

Wow, thanks for the OVERWHELMING response! I'll start with a couple of these great suggestions, which I am sure will last me for years to come!!!

I don't actually know the name of "the book" for jazz musicians; it's not a style I was every into, I just thought it was a neat concept. I am glad to hear it more or less carries over into Irish whistle playing.


Thanks so much,

Daithi


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Daithi on 2001-07-05 15:13 ]</font>
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rich
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Post by rich »

For what it's worth, the jazz book is "The Real Book" (as compared, I suppose, to a 'fake book' :smile: ). It's not quite as demanding as it sounds; most players know the changes of the tunes they need anyhow, and the Real Book's just a handy place to find that one tune that doesn't sit right. (Before whistle and flute, I played jazz bass.)
<ul>-Rich</ul>

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: rich on 2001-07-05 15:26 ]</font>
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