Classic tunes that should never be stopped playing

[chris_coreline]

Summertime
Scarborough Fair
Fever
Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone
Theme to the Brady Bunch

I don't play ITM

the tetris music
summer is a cummin in
Vagabonds (new model army)
The Privite Psychadelic Reel - sax solo (The chemical brothers (also, not a reel))

[mutepointe]

Theme to the Brady Bunch...

Which leads nicely on to "what is the most inappropriate tune you've heard or been asked to play on a whistle?"
(Not that the theme to the Brady Bunch is anappropriate in any way.)

It's been said that the ukelele is a good "sh*t detector". If you can play a tune on a uke and make it sound good, then it's a good tune. Does the same apply to the whistle?

What's the most inappropriate tune mikey?

I like playing this song in a scattered crowd of people that's not really paying attention to me because all of a sudden a good percentage of the baby boomers in the crowd will jerk their heads around.

[walrii]

Gershwin's Summertime sounds good on a whistle, although you have to half-hole* one note.

I've been learning that one and it is a nice tune for the whistle. The music I have shows the tune in A minor with no F nats in the score at all, so you could play it as written without half-holing. I play it in B minor on the whistle. What note do you half-hole?

[okewhistle]

At the session I go to there are a couple of people who pride themselves in playing tunes no-one else knows: what's the point of that? They sit there with their eyes closed sawing away and we're supposed to be impressed. The point of a session is that other people can join in and for that you need the old staple tunes.

If people want to play a tune no-one else knows then instead of charging through at full gallop, why not slow it down and teach it? I suppose it would take a lot of confidence to do that, but I for one would really appreciate it. The the group could slowly widen its repertoire of tunes everyone knows.

[MTGuru]

At the session I go to there are a couple of people who pride themselves in playing tunes no-one else knows: what's the point of that? They sit there with their eyes closed sawing away and we're supposed to be impressed. The point of a session is that other people can join in and for that you need the old staple tunes.

Yes and no. Too much of that can surely ruin a session. But it's also your opportunity to acquire those new tunes. Bring a recorder and get them down, and be sure to get the tune names from the players if they have them. Then go home and do your homework. The next time, you can close your eyes and join the conspiracy.

Also keep in mind that tunes no one else knows at your session may be common session tunes elsewhere. Find out where those players are sourcing their tunes from, and go to the source if you can. That's a great way to grow your repertoire.

There are many points to a session, and listening can be just as important as playing. I've got a good sized tune hoard, but if I spend, say, 1/3 of session time just listening, that's often time well-spent.

If people want to play a tune no-one else knows then instead of charging through at full gallop, why not slow it down and teach it? I suppose it would take a lot of confidence to do that, but I for one would really appreciate it. The the group could slowly widen its repertoire of tunes everyone knows.

Well, the flippant answer is that sessions aren't lessons. With experienced players, sometimes 2 or 3 reps of a tune at normal speed are all they need to start playing along. This is also a good skill to acquire. But it's always OK to ask for a slow run-through of a tune you particularly like after a set is finished. That's just good session courtesy.

Finally, if the tune-solo guys are a constant problem, by all means talk to them. Maybe they're not aware of what they're doing, or maybe they need to be told that excessive showing off is out of place. Maybe they're frustrated that no one else is learning their tunes. Good communication is usually helpful in these cases.

[Nanohedron]

At the session I go to there are a couple of people who pride themselves in playing tunes no-one else knows: what's the point of that? They sit there with their eyes closed sawing away and we're supposed to be impressed. The point of a session is that other people can join in and for that you need the old staple tunes.

If people want to play a tune no-one else knows then instead of charging through at full gallop, why not slow it down and teach it? I suppose it would take a lot of confidence to do that, but I for one would really appreciate it. The the group could slowly widen its repertoire of tunes everyone knows.

There seems to be a fine line between mere showboating and playing new stuff for everyone's benefit, but if these said unknown tunes you mention remain pretty much the same every time, then there's your opportunity for learning them right there. Slowing down won't necessarily help you learn the tune any better; your memory works the same as it will whatever the playing speed, and you catch the tune in your own good time as it's reencountered. Better yet, bring a wee recording device: you can learn the tunes quicker than just sitting in at a session, you'll soon be able to play along with the showboater, and the spotlighted solo act ethos is snuffed. Most satisfying. Personal inclinations against showboating aside, I sometimes have a new set of tunes that are for the greatest part unfamiliar to the rest, but I like them too much to not play them, and so I keep trotting 'em out until everyone learns the set. Then I ditch it.

Recording devices are common at my sessions; we're always learning from each other, and the yokes help speed up the process. I really should invest in one someday, myself. I keep forgetting to.

Here's a possible session-friendly exception to the dreaded solo act: I've asked if people knew a particular tune, and they ask how does it go, and I play a bit of its diddle-ee-dee, and they say no they don't have it but ask me to play it anyway, and so I have to solo it warts and all, and often as not they say keep bringing it up because they want to learn it. That works.

To me a session's a session, not The Nano Show. It's all in how you go about it.

(Oops. Crossposting w/ MTGuru. )

[MTGuru]

(Oops. Crossposting w/ MTGuru. )

And we're saying the same things.

[Nanohedron]

I think we probably share a brain.

[hoopy mike]

...Bring a recorder...

Is that the Baroque session?

[Nanohedron]

Ba-DUMP chaaaaa.

[MTGuru]

Who invented this stupid language anyway?

I demand we switch to blockflute/beakflute and uptakeapparatus/enregistrator immediately!

I think we probably share a brain.

Half for each of us? Hmm, that explains a lot.

Furthermore, I think .... uh, what was I saying?

[Carey]

Recording devices are common at my sessions; we're always learning from each other, and the yokes help speed up the process. I really should invest in one someday, myself. I keep forgetting to.

Nano and others who are wanting to record - a couple months ago I discovered that the mp3 player I bought for $23 USD contains a voice recorder function. It is quite good at recording the session. I just set it to record and set it on top of a picture frame behind me. To my right, where my flute sticks out. Then I record the whole session. The flute is loud enough to hear what I'm playing (if I'm playing and not listening) to critique my own output. Of course the new tunes jump right into it and I can extract them later and learn them by ear in fewer calendar days. Still takes me a number of times thru to get a tune tho.

The biggest problem with this one is it will only record two hours at one go. Then it turns off. It will hold more, so I don't know why it's limited to two hours. I had another one that would just go until it filled up.

The other problem is it's REALLY easy to leave it on the picture frame and go home.

[hoopy mike]

The biggest problem with this one is it will only record two hours at one go...

I'm impressed - *only* two hours?!

[Mack.Hoover]

Irish Washerwoman
Gary Owen
The Road to Loostenvarna
Off She Goes
Blarney Pilgrim
Scotland the Brave
Red Haired Boy

[Carey]

The biggest problem with this one is it will only record two hours at one go...

I'm impressed - *only* two hours?!

Yeah, I hate to admit our excesses, but starting at 3:00, if we quit before 9:30 we feel cheated. Some people come and go, and some of us stick for the whole thing.

By the way, here's what the recordings sound like:
http://www.box.net/shared/udz85q42hp

(I picked this clip not for the musicianship, but because it's one of the "ol' standards" listed here)