Peter Laban wrote:Yes, you do want a party piece for when you are put on the spot so the group can feel you up.
Peter, sounds like sessions in Clare have gotten a lot more, um...interesting since the last time I was over.
Do you ever wonder why you don't get many women at your sessions (or perhaps why the ones you do get are dressed rather provocatively and can't seem to actually play their instruments)?
Is the number one session tune in your neck of the woods "Touch Me If You Dare"? Followed closely by "I Will If I Can"?
There are plenty (possibly better) books to learn from, John Walsh's session tune book, David Taylor's Yellow and Blue books, Brid Cranitch's also Yellow, Blue and Orange books (what's with the colour coding?), Randy Miller's fiddle tune book etc are all good sources for tunes. I went the Ceol Rinnce way but if's sessions you're after these few will do you, learn all tunes in any of them and you'll be flying it.
Wanderer wrote:At every session I've been to, at least a few tunes from L.E. McCullough's 121 session tunes book have been played. I know that's not exactly the answer to your your specific question, but as previously mentioned, your specific question doesn't have a solid answer.
I find many of L.E.'s settings unusual, for example, his B-part of the Earl's Chair is unlike what I hear people play.
So do I. Silver spear and dunmore lasses immediately come to mind as tunes that needed tweaking after learning from his settings. But the list of tunes in the book seem pretty common in sessions around these parts.
Depends on where you are, from what I have seen in the book (I don't actaully own it) they look pretty normal to me. Although, Larry only lives about an hour away and has hosted one of the sessions I go to. So those may be the "New Jersey" settings.
As for the Brid and Matt Cranitch books, they are good. Although, I have stumbled across some odd tunes in those.
My advice, if there is a session near you go to it and see what everyone is playing. Ask for the names if you want to look for the sheet music, other wise just let them get absorbed into your memory.
Peter Laban wrote:There are plenty (possibly better) books to learn from, John Walsh's session tune book, David Taylor's Yellow and Blue books, Brid Cranitch's also Yellow, Blue and Orange books (what's with the colour coding?), Randy Miller's fiddle tune book etc are all good sources for tunes. I went the Ceol Rinnce way but if's sessions you're after these few will do you, learn all tunes in any of them and you'll be flying it.
Norbeck's ABC tunes are also a good place to start. If I hear a tune in a session and I don't quite get it, I'll look it up in Norbeck's.
I want to thank you all for posting...this is great information, just the sort of thing I was hoping to get. (I noticed another thread above this one about session tunes, which I intend to read next.)
I posed my question here not knowing exactly how to ask for guidance. Since Tional in March, I've come back to the whistle (after being waylaid by bodhran-playing for awhile. ::insert appropriate bodhran joke here::) Since March, I've been learning songs found in the 121 Favorite Session tunes, and have also been trying to pick up songs on CDs, such as the Bothy Band and, yes, Music at Matt Malloy's. However, I wondered if those sources were both accurate (in the case of the 121 Tunes) and also relevant time-wise, since it has been a few years since the Bothy Band CDs were made. So, it occurred to me that these forums offer a superb source of knowledge on which tunes it might be good to start learning first and plucked up my courage to ask.
Tell us something.: Whistle player, aspiring C#/D accordion and flute player, and aspiring tunesmith. Particularly interested in the music of South Sligo and Newfoundland. Inspired by the music of Peter Horan, Fred Finn, Rufus Guinchard, Emile Benoit, and Liz Carroll.
Tell us something.: I used to be a regular then I took up the bassoon. Bassoons don't have a lot of chiff. Not really, I have always been a drummer, and my C&F years were when I was a little tired of the drums. Now I'm back playing drums. I mist the C&F years, though.
What gets played at a session on any given night might be different than what tune could one know and play across the globe at a traditional Irish music session anywhere and then fairly expect everyone to know it and join in. My vote for that single tune is Miss McLeod's Reel.
So all this talk about going to your local session and learning the tunes played at the session is great advice, which sessions in St. Louis are you going to?
I know there is one at Music Folk Wednesdays at 7ish and at the City Museum on Monday nights. If you go with a recording device and a notepad to write the names down, that would be a start!
Are you taking whistle lessons from anyone? Have you been in contact with St. Louis Irish Arts, I believe they teach whistle there?
Good luck and remember to record the versions of the tunes at the session and listen to your recording and play along with it when you are able to..
A friend recently recommended "300 Tunes from Mike Rafferty", transcribed and compiled by one of his students. I've just started to dive into it but the settings seem very nice and flute/whistle friendly. You can get it from Ossian: http://www.ossianusa.com/Merchant2/merc ... e=01173-BK
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