Question for Session Players - Top Six Session Tunes

dfernandez77 · Post by **dfernandez77** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 12:14 am

Ok, perhaps a silly question, yet I will ask nonetheless. I have no fear of being silly.

I (like many of us I assume) have music books, CDs, and other goodies. You know the ones, "100 most Stupefyingly Stupendous Irish Session Tunes."

Well, I don't have time to learn 100 tunes this week. So here's the setup - and the question:

I show up and watch the session you hang with a couple times, then politely ask, "What are the top 6 session friendly tunes - not too challenging - that I should start practicing, and should I gain proficiency join in with y'all one day? Like, something everyone enjoys playing that a mediocre player can practice well, then join in and not be a buzzkill."

Of course I assume there will be differences from one area to another, and from one session to another. But with enough answers I can do some stats and see if there's some consensus.

Mitch · Post by **Mitch** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 3:10 am

Hi Dfer,

These are the ones I SHOULD be learning (some of them I have):

Kesh Jig
Silver Spear
Morrison's
Ryan's jig
The girl at the bar
Pigeon on a gate

many more but these are the top six - damn fiddlers!

Jayhawk · Post by **Jayhawk** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 6:46 am

It's much better to ask this at the session you're going to play at than on a general board - I've played in sessions in several cities, and their common tunes all varied. Same with sessions in my own city.

Here's a few common ones from my perspective which may be different than anyone elses:

Reels - Silver Spear, Maid Behind the Bar, Wind that Shakes the Barley, The Banshee

Jigs - Willie Colemons, Ships in Full Sail (could be Ships are Sailing - one is a jig the other a reel and I mix them up), Morrisons, Donnybrook Fair

Hornpipes - Boys of Bluehill, Home Ruler, Off to California, Harvest Home, Rights of Man

Polkas - Sean Ryans, Ballydesmond 1 & 2 (at least that's how we number them in KC), O'Sullivans/Mickey Chewing Bubblegum, Britches Full of Stitches

Slipjigs - The Butterfly, Drops of Brandy, Kid on the Mountain

I know that's more than 6, but six of any of those will get you going.

Eric

colomon · Post by **colomon** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 6:53 am

Is "Ryan's Jig" a slipjig, or is it a Sean Ryan jig or what? I've never heard of a jig called just "Ryan's", and thesession.org isn't helping much. There is a nice "Sean Ryan's" which is pretty common and a nice tune, but the first part spends a good bit of time beneath a D whistle's range.

The problem with making a list like this is three of the tunes Mitch names will get you branded as a clueless noob at our session, and one of the remaining ones about half of the locals don't know.

I'll try to play along -- while I'm sure there are sessions out there where these are not known, here are six good solid session tunes which are pretty reasonable on whistle, and probably won't make experienced players roll their eyes too much if you start them. But I'm sure your milage may very.

Banks of Lough Gowna (jig) (some people play it in A minor, I guess, but you should learn it in B minor IMO)
Willie Coleman's (jig)
The Cock and the Hen (slipjig) (in F# minor or B minor -- lots of people have recently recorded it in F#, but I think our fiddlers prefer B)
Earl's Chair (reel)
Jim Donoghue's (reel)
Speed The Plough (reel) (see http://thesession.org/tunes/display/901 , there's more than one common tune with this name)

Wormdiet · Post by **Wormdiet** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 7:08 am

Serious question:

Is there any harm in appearing to be a clueless newb if one is, in fact, a clueless newb? Maybe we are more friendly down south here, but nobody would get a cold shoulder for starting a basic tune if they are new to a session. Now, if they were a jerk in some other way, that's another story.

My six:

Butterfly
Lilting Banshee
Star of Muenster
Sally Gardens
Silver Spear
Kesh

peeplj · Post by **peeplj** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 8:56 am

Here's what I would list, based on the sessions in our area:

Morrison's Jig
Banish Misfortune / Smash the Windows / Off She Goes
(a.k.a. "the Vandalism Set")
John Ryan's Polka
Mason's Apron
Cooley's Reel
Fanny Power

It's a rare session where these tunes don't get played.

Other tunes that you should know:

Kesh
Maid Behind the Bar
Home Ruler
Off to California / Harvest Home / Boys of Bluehill hornpipes
The Wise Maid
Swinging on a Gate
The Red Haired Boy
Tripping Up the Stairs
The Murrow
Salmon Tails Up the River

--James

John S · Post by **John S** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 9:13 am

Well said Wormdiet; if the session is full of eye-rollers find one with people less up their own arsess.

John S

doogieman · Post by **doogieman** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 9:27 am

No shame at our session being new. When I was new I simply said "I have no idea what's going on here, but I wanna learn". I got lists, suggestions etc and got my arse to the woodshed (where I still spend lotsa time!) A new guy showed up on Tuesday with books and a music stand - classical player - reading everything down like ca-razy! Welcome.

Our top 6:
Road to Lisdoonvarna
Kesh Jig
Off to California
Flowers of Edinburgh
Rakes of Kildare
John Ryans Polka

Jayhawk · Post by **Jayhawk** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 9:55 am

I wonder if what I know as Sean Ryan's polka is really John Ryan's polka. I'm bad with tune names and could easily have confused the two.

Eric

dfernandez77 · Post by **dfernandez77** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 11:46 am

I knew there would be great diversity. Yet I already see some tunes in common - even between the US and Australia.

Silver Spear for example popped out without any objective statistical analysis.

Keep the lists coming. I'll do some kind of data compilation when the entries stop coming in.

Thanks,

Black Mage · Post by **Black Mage** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 3:09 pm

Our session is full of newbies (I still consider myself one) and intermediate sessioneers, and only occationally do hot shots show up.

Unseen122 · Post by **Unseen122** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 3:24 pm

Nobody said Drowsy Maggie yet?

I play at 2 sessions, one with rotating hosts, one in a different state. I hardly ever play the same tunes from session to session. Although there are a couple that usually pop up here are 6 of them:

The Connachtman's Rambles
Drowsy Maggie
Morrison's
The Sally Gardens
The Foxhunter's Reel
Boys of Bluehill

shadeclan · Post by **shadeclan** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 11:24 am

Mitch wrote:Hi Dfer,

These are the ones I SHOULD be learning (some of them I have):
. . .Pigeon on a gate. . .

Pigeon on a Gate!!! OUCH!!!

I think that I should be proficient with that one . . . in about 10 years!

Ro3b · Post by **Ro3b** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 11:48 am

From our session:

The one John plays after the first one
The one that goes "dum de dum de diddly dum"
The one Philippe was playing for a while, but stopped
That Ed Reavy tune we play in a different key
The tune we don't play
Paddy Fahey's

Tommy · Post by **Tommy** » Fri Mar 17, 2006 1:00 pm

Some are played in sets.

Boys Of Bluehill / The Butterfly
Rights of man
The Foggy Dew