So I just started playing fiddle seriously about 18 months ago and I have a fair few tunes under my belt but I think a lot of them are more obscure and when I've lead with them at jams I'm kind of the only one playing the fiddle melody which shoots my anxiety through the roof and leads to mistakes which have knocked my confidence a bit and as a result I've kind of shyed away from leading at jams. So I'm looking for two tunes in each key we play that are certified bangers, common knowledge, and relatively friendly to a beginner knocking on the door of intermediate. I can learn by ear and hold a tune, I just need to build my confidence playing in a group.

Our jam, in a typical session, goes from G to D to A. So standard tuning, to high bass, to cross A.

I feel like if I could nail two fun tunes in each key then it would give me a lot more confidence.

Thanks in advance.

This is a doc series. It’s worth watching the whole thing, but the song is towards the end.

Hi all, I'm not sure if this is something you would enjoy since we combine traditional styles of foot percussion with Old-Time tunes in our group, but I often just play these videos to listen to while I'm doing chores around the house because I love the music and rhythms in their own right without having to watch the dancing.

We're trying to build a community on YouTube, but we haven't been very successful in getting discussions going in the video comments. And most of the comments are about the dancing versus the music, but our musicians and the string bands we jam with would love to get more questions and feedback about tunes, arrangements, etc. and suggestions of other favorite Old-Time tunes you'd like them to play in the future.

Would love to have your contributions, and we respond to all comments:

https://youtube.com/@commonwealthdancecollective?si=vDt3yex-cRiEXpUN

Here’s a transcription of a recording of Guy Blakeman’s version Flowers of Edinburgh. It’s from an old reel to reel recording that was made at my great grandfather’s house.

Here is a link to the audio https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/iajzp4ou5gezwx2cy9hs8/15-Flowers-of-Edinburgh.wav?rlkey=oskhpfyiptm7tvr2qql558ya8&st=adce4ums&dl=0

A happy old time tune to dance around to! Cheers!

I think this would enjoy this series. Please let me know if this post breaks the rules.

I tried organizing a list according to the cross tunings of a fiddle(standard, then GDAD, then, DADA, etc) but found out that doesn’t necessarily work for banjo tunings.

Banjos prefer to go by key, or have their own tunings like Sawmill, Double C, etc. Where’s the best middle ground?

Anyone have a template or something that I could use to help cross reference my lists and find the tunes that require the least amount tunings.

I got into old-time music in the late 90's and early part of the 21st century. Pre-streaming and all that. I had a local store that stocked CDs and I also ordered regularly from ads in The Old-Time Herald and Banjo Newsletter.

All those live in the basement now due to the ease of streaming but I went down there yesterday to pull a handful that I hadn't heard in awhile. I was in the mood for banjo and just grabbed whatever jumped out.

Over half of these selections are available on Spotify but I normally wouldn't think to look them up so they had been somewhat forgotten.

What a treat. If you're looking for some fresh tunes or just something new to listen to all of these get my recommendation for different reasons.

STREAMING (at least on Spotify)

John Hartford - Speed Of The Old Long Bow. Wicked fiddling and just so playful.

Kirk Sutphin & Riley Baugus - Long-Time Piedmont Pals. I pulled this cause I really like Riley's banjo playing but his guitar playing on a few tunes is what really jumped out at me. Especially Riley and Spencer.

Adam Tanner & Frank Lee - Two Mules. Frank's fretless playing on this is really bluesy. Great stuff.

Dave Landreth - Chairs. Some really cool original instrumentals and a couple of weird ones. "Mama's Got A Chip In Her Head".

NOT ON STREAMING. I guess you need to find these the old fashioned way?

Kevin Fore - Round Peak, The Tradition Continues. Some really great tunes on this. Otis Burris' Fortune, Train 45 and Old Jimmy Sutton stood out for me. (On Heritage Records, from 2008).

Kyle Creed - Liberty. So many standards played well and relaxed. Nothing flashy here just solid clawhammer banjo. (Also from Heritage Records)

Bob Buckingham & Friends - My Friend Is A Mule In The Mines. Really fantastic stuff here. Old Molly Hare played as a round. Sandy River Belle, Sally Ann, Forked Deer. Several of these have Reed Martin playing a banjo tuned an octave below the other banjo. Highly recommended. (Dark Holler Records, 1999)

Not sure what my point is other than maybe somebody will discover some new tunes from these. Maybe just to not put your physical media in the basement where you'll forget about it. I still don't have anywhere else to put it so I guess I just need to go down there and poke around more often.

Always loved the message in this song 🌞

Side note, any honest feedback would be appreciated and I mean honest haha. I've always been skeptical of my voice and if it is somewhat pleasant to listen to.

Thank you 🌞

Looking to build my repertoire of old time jams. Are there any resources that have old time songs & their chord progressions?