Easy cover songs

BillChin · Post by **BillChin** » Mon Aug 11, 2003 9:18 am

Jerry's thread about his impromtu concert performing "Scarborough Fair" leads to my question. What are some recognizable easy tunes for people to learn and play in public? The one that comes to my mind is "Greensleeves." There are many beginners, and many others that might enjoy easy additions to their repetoire. Let's hear about some of the early songs that you learned to play.
+ Bill

slowair · Post by **slowair** » Mon Aug 11, 2003 10:38 am

Good thread.

The three non trad songs that I play almost every practice are:

1. The Star Spangled Banner
2. Amazing Grace
3. Over the Rainbow

You have to do some half holing on the Star Spangled Banner, but it's easy stuff.

And there is always Danny Boy.

Good luck.

Can't wait to see what others contribute.

Mike

Switchfoot · Post by **Switchfoot** » Mon Aug 11, 2003 10:46 am

The hobbit theme from Lord of the Rings
(now where can I get the sheet music? jk)

BrassBlower · Post by **BrassBlower** » Mon Aug 11, 2003 11:27 am

In a few months, what is probably the greatest resource for whistle tunes will come around once again: Christmas songs!

Whistle-man · Post by **Whistle-man** » Mon Aug 11, 2003 12:12 pm

"Scarborough Fair" - That's a great song!

I have been playing some non-trad songs around the campfire this summer on the Low D.

What's the possibility of getting the music for this one?

BillChin · Post by **BillChin** » Mon Aug 11, 2003 6:47 pm

Whistle-man wrote:"Scarborough Fair" - That's a great song!

I have been playing some non-trad songs around the campfire this summer on the Low D.

What's the possibility of getting the music for this one?

The tune finder
http://trillian.mit.edu/~jc/cgi/abc/findtune

turns up a batch of MIDIs for Scarborough Fair. The third one on the list sounds the most familiar to me (with 3/4 timing, key G, CLSW specials).

With a MIDI of melody only, tunes are learnable by ear, so something like Windows Media Player to play the tune is often enough. To see the notes or print out sheet music you may need a MIDI program that displays the notes on the staff. There are shareware/freeware programs that do that.
+ Bill

didymus · Post by **didymus** » Mon Aug 11, 2003 8:34 pm

Here it is. Tab is also available at this site.

http://sniff.numachi.com/~rickheit/dtra ... NSLVS.html

Blackbeer · Post by **Blackbeer** » Mon Aug 11, 2003 9:13 pm

What I find is that tunes that are in your head will come out of the whistle. Just play the tunes you hum all the time. You will realy be supprised. Right now I`m messing around with Al Jolson tunes. I grew up listening to him and some of those songs are so inbedded they are down right easy to play. A lot of 30`s swing music works on the whistle. Lots of half hole practice. How about western swing. Maybe the Texas Playboys. Oh heck endless possabilities.

Tom

Whistle-man · Post by **Whistle-man** » Tue Aug 12, 2003 4:46 am

Thanks you guy's I found the music!

pete humphrey · Post by **pete humphrey** » Tue Aug 12, 2003 5:00 am

[quote="Blackbeer"]What I find is that tunes that are in your head will
come out of the whistle. Just play the tunes you hum all the time.

I too, find tunes you have known for sometime, are far easier to play, so any new tune that I want to learn, I play over and over, and it seems to help "get the tune into my head" but not too sure rest of family enjoy repeat performances, guess headphones, to add to shopping list(after new C whistle)
regards pete :roll:

tansy · Post by **tansy** » Tue Aug 12, 2003 9:46 am

i've been playin an early bob dylan tune that i've always loved, "northcountry blues". it is the most lonesome of tunes, i use it to lead into "the fogy dew".
tansy

madguy · Post by **madguy** » Tue Aug 12, 2003 9:56 am

Tansy, that name sounds familiar. What Dylan album is it on?

~Larry

tansy · Post by **tansy** » Tue Aug 12, 2003 10:09 am

larry, i think it is on "another side of bob dylan" album. it lies really nicely on the whistle and is very easy to work up.
it's one of those tunes that's been with me my whole adult life

just leaked out on the whistle a few days ago.
best, tansy

madguy · Post by **madguy** » Tue Aug 12, 2003 10:13 am

tansy, thanks for the info. I've always been a Dylan fan.

~Larry

BillChin · Post by **BillChin** » Tue Aug 12, 2003 6:46 pm

Thanks for the suggestions. I found a MIDI for Scarborough Fair and an audio version of Dylan's North Country Blues. The latter would be a major project for me because I am not familiar with the tune. The former is 18 or 20 bars of relatively easy music that repeats over and over, so I highly recommend Scarborough Fair, even for the beginner beginners.

The Lord of the Rings song, if it is the one that the Switchfoot is talking about is in both movies, and is prevalent at the end of "The Two Towers." I learned it by ear after replaying that section over and over about 20 times. It is a beautiful, haunting, slow melody, well suited for whistles.

The post requesting the Shaker song "More Love," brings to mind the Shaker song "Simple Gifts." It is another relatively easy tune that most will recognize when they hear it.

As for playing what is in my head, I have the gift (or curse) that most of the time the tunes playing in my head are original melodies. When I find words to go with them I have original songs. This has two main benefits: first I tend to be incredibly comfortable performing them. The second benefit is that no one knows if I make a mistake because no one is familiar with the song.

So far:
Amazing Grace
Greensleeves (and many other Christmas time tunes)
Lord of the Rings song (hobbit song?)
North Country Blues (Bob Dylan)
Scarborough Fair
Simple Gifts
Somewhere Over the Rainbow
Texas Playboys (and various other Al Jolson tunes)
The Star Spangled Banner