# Music by Genre > Celtic, U.K., Nordic, Quebecois, European Folk >  Top 10 celtic standards?

## kidgloves2

I'm really getting more into celtic music. But if you had to make a top 10 list of tunes that everyone should learn, what are they. If you ask me the same question about Jazz, I could come up with a good list.

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## Bertram Henze

Reminds me of Richard Grindal, a scottish author who wrote a lot about Scotch Whisky and evaded the difficult task of stating a Top Ten of single malts by asking all his friends for their personal top ten, then calculating a merged list.

If you want to follow that recipe, here are my ten most popular:

The Mason's Apron (reel)
Morrison's Jig
Kesh Jig
Merrily Kissed the Quaker (jig)
Dennis Murphy's/John Ryan's (polkas, to be played in this sequence)
The Boys of Blue Hill (hornpipe)
Chief O'Neill's (hornpipe)
The Gravel Walks (reel)
The Atholl Highlanders (reel)
Man of the House (reel)

Be aware that some of those are so super popular that they are hardly ever played anymore for reasons of boredom. 

Bertram

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## Narayan Kersak

Temperance Reel
Morrison's jig
Swallow Tail Jig
The Kesh
St Anne's Reel
Boys of Bluehill
Maid Behind the Bar
Red Haired boy
Soldier's Joy
Rights of Man

In all the jams I've played in, these have come up most often across the board.

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## Avi Ziv

Another way is to go to thesession.org and click on "members" and then select the Tunebook tab. You will see a sorted list of tunes by popularity. Popular in that context means the tunes that people put most often in their personal tunebooks. 

Avi

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## Bob DeVellis

This question comes up from time to time. We all have our personal favorites but there's no universal "Top 10." There are several thousand tunes in the Irish traditional repertoire and lots of regional variation in what gets played where. As Bertram pointed out, if a tune is too well known, some session-goers will look down on it. The question really needs to be answered contextually. In what context will you be playing these tunes? If you're playing for folks in a nursing home, the melodies for some Irish-American pop songs may get a better reception than traditional tunes. If you're playing with session musicians, there may be a handful of currently "hot" tunes that everyone is enjoying that may not be popular at a different session. In Ireland, an old time or bluegrass tune may be very welcomed whereas in the US it may go over like a lead balloon.

Pick a few tunes you like and make them your own. If you can play them convincingly, people will enjoy listening. If anything, there may be some advantage to choosing a lesser-known tune. If you primarily want a sense of participation, ask the people you'll be playing with which tunes they most often play. I hope this doesn't come across as negative or condescending. That's not my intent at all. It's a question most of us have asked at some point (I know I have), only to find that there may not be a simple answer.

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## Mike Buesseler

For someone just getting into Irish trad music, I can understand wanting to know what tunes to start learning first when, as Bob says, there are thousands. I _think_ that might be the intent of the OP. And, unfortunately, I agree that there is no easy answer. 

A good friend and very seasoned session player I know told me to pick tunes that 'spoke' to me most and learn those first. He seemed to feel that enjoying the music you play came first and foremost. 

If you've found a session you hope to play in, I guess I'd pick the tunes that spoke to me from _their_ list. In the case of my session guru friend, their list has nearly 200 tunes! Fortunately, I am having no trouble finding tunes that 'speak to me' from that list. But, still, from 200, I have the same problem you have--which ones first (and will I live long enough to ever catch up!)? So, I choose my favorites and pick away.

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## zoukboy

I'll just chime in here and agree with what bobd and mikeb said, and add that the very best thing you can do is find a session that is near you and learn the tunes they play. I think it's a lot more important to play with the folks that are in your area than to learn tunes in isolation (which is not really learning them, by the way) in the hopes of playing them at some point at festivals or camps. The rapport between musicians and the community they develop in a session are valued much more than which 50 or 100 tunes you know.

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## Avi Ziv

When I started playing in sessions, I did not know one single tune that they were playing. Not even one... The people at the session were very inviting and encouraging though. I found out that many of the tunes were in the John Walsh collection and that was a good reference point. Interestingly enough - I learned a lot (and still do) by "osmosis" - listening closely and emulating. It's amazing sometimes to find out that you know a tune although you are certain that you never actually sat down to learn it. 

Avi

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## Jim MacDaniel

> This question comes up from time to time. #We all have our personal favorites but there's no universal "Top 10"...


Agreed, and even music book publishers have a hard time agreeing on a top 100 or 110, but some of those tunebooks with CD's are a great place to start -- although as others suggest, local "favorites" will vary greatly from session to session. Waltons publishes _many_ of such tunebook/CD sets, including _110 Irish Mandolin Tunes_ from Paul Kelly* on this page of their on-line catalog.

* For more on Paul Kelly, here is a link to his superb _Mandolin Album_. (While not neccessarilly performed in session-style, it is a wonderful collection of tunes from Europe and Quebec, and is performed very well.)

(NFI)

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## BBarr

I have taken the approach of learning tunes that are on the top IRTrad artists albums. Firstly, I did it so I could hear how the tune should/could be played and would have them in my head. Secondly because other people with any exposure to IRTrad will probably have heard those tunes since they've been recorded and are likley to have more exposure.

I bought the first 2 Bothy Band albums and have learned most of the jigs and reels. This has influenced my 'current' list but I have a few from Danu, Planxty and Chieftains as well.

Dusty Miller/Dowd's No. 9/Silver Spire
The Maids Of Mitchelstown
Bucks of Oranmore
Music In The Glen/The Humours Of Scariff/The Otter's Holt
Old hag you've killed me/Dinny Delaney's/Morrison's jig
Salamanca/The Banshee/The Sailor's Bonnet
Green Groves Of Erin/The Flowers Of Red Hill
The Kesh Jig (Still learning the remainder of this set)
The Navvy On The Shore/The Rainy Day
Pretty Peg/Craig's Pipes
16 Come Next Sunday (Ive learned both the main melody and the 2nd melody line to an extent)
Martin Wynne's/The Longford Tinker

I have found a fellow Mandolin player that is playing along with me but he's not as into IRTrad as I so it probably wont last #

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## Eddie Sheehy

Here's a bunch, pick 10.

Morrisson's 
Old Man Dillon 
Merrily Kissed the Quaker 
King's Fancy 
McGuires
darley's
Christmas Eve
The Foxhunter
Hunter's House
The Wise Maid
The Maid Behind the Bar
The Red Haired Boy
The Rakes of Mallow
Bhios-sa La i bPort Lairge
March of the High Kings
Brian Boru's March

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## steve V. johnson

Mike B wrote, "... pick tunes that 'spoke' to me most and learn those first."

It's great fun all around when a player who is new to a session brings in a tune that they really like and play with feeling, and it's one that the session doesn't play, and they pick it up and it becomes a regular part of the session repertoire.

Mmmboy, that's fun.

stv

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## Steve L

Great advice as usual from Bob and Roger. It's amazing what a tiny amount of music 10 tunes is in this idiom. Most tunes are arranged in sets of 2 and three usually with modulation between. One set of jigs, one set of reels, 2 polkas and 2 hornpipes and there's 10 right there. By my estimate that's about 3/4 of a pint of tunes :Smile:  .

I like tune books that are arranged in sets so new players can get a feel. I really like the Foinn Session books put out by the Comhaltas. The BBC's virtual session is a great place to pick up a basic collection with the ability to play along with great players online for free. You can google virtual session or do an archive search for a link. 

This is an idiom where, if you're not learning by ear, standard notation is the rule and tab is the exception. There is a good collection of tab from what I understand both here and at Nigel Gatherer's site.

Good luck...this is fabulous music!!!

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## Got8Strings

WOW! The BBC's virtual session is cool!

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## TimPiazza

For a good start, you might look for a good book/cd compilation like "Irish Session Tunes: Blue Book" where you will get about a hundred tunes, and the CD plays them at a moderate pace so you can pick the things out by ear that aren't written on the pages. For style tips, look at the articles in The Mandolin Sessions, and any of the articles or videos Mike Keyes has put together. Mike has done some awesome work explaining Irish ornamentation on mandolin.

Tim

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## Jeff Hildreth

"celtic" tunes or Irish Trad tunes ??

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## Lou Scuderi

That's a good question, Jeff. Back in Albuquerque, I (and my band) used to play "celtic" tunes all the time, but when I came to Tucson, I started going to a sessiun where all we play is "IRISH TRAD!!" (you need the exclamation points), and I discovered that they're not the same.

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## JeffD

Sessions differ. In my neighborhood there is a Celtic session - and they accept Irish, Scottish, and things that kind of sound Irish or Scottish.

Then there is an Irish session, and they don't go in much for the more obvious Scottish tunes, strathspeys and that.

And, as I may have mentioned in other posts, I know a hard core session where, depending on who is "running things" they only play reels!

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## steve V. johnson

OK, so you call a session "celtic" when you play other stuff than Irish tunes?

We call 'em Irish sessions, play -predominantly- Irish sets, but also Scottish, French Canadian, Cape Breton, Shetland...
all manner of stuff as it comes, as folks bring 'em in. # Some fine Cajun/Creole players came and played their stuff... #

Somehow none of our session folks (Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio... St. Louis...) like to use the term "celtic". # I never hear it used among those folks. # Only the pop bands use the term. # 

I suppose that, since we play stuff we've cadged from The House Band, Patrick Street, Boys of the Lough, The Battlefield Band, Aly Bain, Breton and Galician stuff from John Skelton, Vasen, Matapat, ... etc., etc., (without conciously meaning to expand geographically or ethnographically, but just picking up tunes & sets we like to play) we're playing music from various Celtic ethnicities... #it could be called a "celtic" session... #But what we play isn't even limited to celtic ethnicities.
And it comes from secondary sources.

But somehow our core, and primary, identity is with Irish music.

We've not had great success with session "leaders". #We seem to be too anarchistic, and I think we all like it that way.
Min and I have been to sessions that have been long established (just visiting) with designated or hired Leaders, and some of them seem quite successful. # Others kinda feel like Italy under the fascisti... # #  # ##but are well-established, vital and ongoing... # So it's not for us to judge how others do stuff. #It's a profound responsibility of anarchists to respect other folks' ways... 

It's all sorta confusing. Except for the part where we just play tunes.

stv

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## JeffD

> It's all sorta confusing. #Except for the part where we just play tunes.


 

We don't even usually call 'em "sessions". We have always called them "jams".

Most of the tunes do not come from any particular recording, but from what everyone else seems to be playing. A couple of collections of xeroxed sheets have made the rounds, and of course the Fiddlers Fake Book and the Portland Collection are becoming standard.

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## steve V. johnson

JeffD sez, "We don't even usually call 'em "sessions". We have always called them "jams"."

Yeah... it was that way for a while... but we found that folks showed up expecting to play their new original song and have folks "jam" along with it, and bluegrassers showed up and were disappointed that no one took solos...

So around here, the blues, bluegrass and alternative folks "jam" the Irish and OldTime folks "session". It's just sort of evolved that way...

In the summer when folks travel and go to Irish festivals, our locals seem to pick up tunes from other players. In the winter it seems that the tunes come from recordings, books, and tune banks like TheSession.org, the Riley School (Cincinnati) collection of mp3s of the tunes they teach, and such.

More and more folks are carrying little digital recorders, using their iPods and so on, to record sessions when they
travel (it's a college town here, so a number of our folks go to conferences, etc., and find sessions when they travel),
and so some of the new tunes and sets come from that.

I've been hearing more and more about the Portland Collection, tho not from folks right here.

stv

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## Jim MacDaniel

Steve -- thanks for referencing Comhaltas; what a wonderful on-line resource that web site is! (And I love the interactive glossary.)

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## Alex of the North

Are there established keys for these? Or, is everyone transposing like mad?

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## Mike D

By and large, Irish and Scottish tunes are in specific keys, usually D maj, Gmaj, Eminor, Aminor, Bmin, and the various Mixolydian modes. Very mandolin friendly. Punters at our sessions are often astounded that a group of musicians who may be playing together for the first time seem able to play together so easily. The standard keys thing makes it look easy, so long as you know the tunes. Sometimes a cheeky fiddler will crank a tune in G up to A, but I don't really see people transposing in sessions much.

Mike

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## Matt Hutchinson

Great topic, I've just got O'Neills Music of Ireland and was wondering where to start with so many tunes! These lists will give me a great point to jump in at.

Thanks,

Matt

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## Bertram Henze

O'Neill's: It's always safe to consult more than one source. These days, I picked up a reel from session people and they said it is "Farewell to Erin". Consulting O'Neill's and session.org yielded two different tunes, the one on session.org was the right one.

Transposing: What Mike wrote, plus: A few tunes are around in several keys (I know two for the Coleraine Jig), and it seems that in Scotland many G tunes are transposed to D to fit pipes (e.g. I got confused in mid-session by Merrily Kissed the Quaker in D, without the third part).

Bertram

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## Matt Hutchinson

> O'Neill's: It's always safe to consult more than one source. These days, I picked up a reel from session people and they said it is "Farewell to Erin". Consulting O'Neill's and session.org yielded two different tunes, the one on session.org was the right one.


Great advice, thanks for that. I'll find an alternative source for each tune as I learn it & see how they differ.

Cheers,

Matt

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## JeffD

> Consulting O'Neill's and session.org yielded two different tunes, the one on session.org was the right one.


I agree and I disagree.

How different were they. If they referenced totally different tunes, then right means that the one on session.org was the tune you wanted to get. No problem.

But if they were really varients of each other, then I disagree. What does "right" mean. Something written down is static by definition, and all the tunes evolve and change with every playing. Hopefully all of us will add our own emphasis and mark to the tunes we learn - not that we make the tunes over, we just make them ours. 

So then someone hears me play an old war horse of a tune, and I play it perhaps with a little different inflection, a more driving emphasis, or an added triplet over there, all from years of jamming, and that someone looks it up in O'Neills or on session.org and concludes I am not playing the "right" version. Yikes!

Part of the fun of this music is to learn how different musicians have played this or that tune.

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## JeffD

> I've been hearing more and more about the Portland Collection, tho not from folks right here.


It is mentioned from time to time. 

I have tune book aquisition syndrome (TBAS), but with all the tune books I have, (a couple of six foot long shelves and several stacks on the floor) I come back to the Portland often.

The Portland Collection is becomming kind of a standard. If you got 100 players in the US to list their top 10 tune books, the Portland Collection, (especially the blue one, volume 1) and the Fiddler's Fake Book would probably be on just about everyone's list. O'Neills would be on many many lists as well. 

I am on my second O'Neills, and Fiddler's Fake Book, by which I mean the first ones are worn through and held together with binder clips, so I had to purchase them new. My Portland is in danger of same.

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## Bertram Henze

> How different were they. If they referenced totally different tunes, then right means that the one on session.org was the tune you wanted to get. No problem.


That is the case for "Farewell to Erin".

O'Neill's: 2-part reel in G
session.org: 4-part reel, part 1 in G, parts 2,3,4 in D

None of the parts of the one bear any resemblance to any of the parts of the other. Calling that variants I'd call taking liberties.

The right one is defined as being the one I had in my ear, wanted to play and find the notes for (a definition local to my personal preference, admittedly).

It is possible, that the one from session.org is found under a different name somewhere in O'Neill's, but - you know - life is too short.

No problem? I agree.

Bertram

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## zoukboy

> Originally Posted by  (JeffD @ Feb. 15 2008, 16:54)
> 
> How different were they. If they referenced totally different tunes, then right means that the one on session.org was the tune you wanted to get. No problem.
> 
> 
> That is the case for "Farewell to Erin".
> 
> O'Neill's: 2-part reel in G
> session.org: 4-part reel, part 1 in G, parts 2,3,4 in D


Bertram,

If we're talking about the same tune, the one that starts on the low A:

~A,3C ~E3F&#124;GEDB, G,B,DB,&#124;  etc., 

then it's definitely not in G and D. The first part is in A Dorian and the 2nd, 3rd and 4th parts are in A Mixolydian. Don't let the "key signatures" confuse you - this is a modal tune and the usual rule of 1 # = G major/E minor and 2 #s = D major/B minor doesn't apply.

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## zoukboy

> Originally Posted by  (JeffD @ Feb. 15 2008, 16:54)
> 
> How different were they. If they referenced totally different tunes, then right means that the one on session.org was the tune you wanted to get. No problem.
> 
> 
> That is the case for "Farewell to Erin".
> 
> O'Neill's: 2-part reel in G
> session.org: 4-part reel, part 1 in G, parts 2,3,4 in D
> ...


Just checked my copy of O'Neill's (1850 Melodies) and only saw one version of "Farewell to Erin", in D Mixolydian - not G. :-)

I've heard this one a lot in sessions but not as frequently as the A Dorian tune mentioned earlier - no doubt because the Bothy Band recorded it.

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## Flowerpot

I've heard Farewell to Erin in A Dorian, and it kind of switches to A Mixolydian in the latter parts (C natural becomes C#). 

it's hard to come up with a list of 10, because the preferred tunes vary from one region to another, the most popular ones can be overplayed, etc.  But here's my best shot (I'm no expert, but I've heard all these is sessions from both Tucson and NC)

Merrily Kissed the Quaker
Drowsy Maggie
Banish Misfortune
Maid Behind the Bar
The Merry Blacksmith
The Gravel Walks
Sliabh Russel
The Kesh
The Sally Gardens
Muenster Buttermilk
Man of the House
The Silver Spear
The Connaughtman's Rambles
The Blarney Pilgrim

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## JeffD

> O'Neill's: 2-part reel in G
> session.org: 4-part reel, part 1 in G, parts 2,3,4 in D
> 
> None of the parts of the one bear any resemblance to any of the parts of the other.


Then its clearly two different tunes.


Its when chosing between two variations of the same tune that I object to using the word "right" or "wrong".

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## Bertram Henze

> If we're talking about the same tune, the one that starts on the low A:
> 
> ~A,3C ~E3F&#124;GEDB, G,B,DB,&#124;  etc., 
> 
> then it's definitely not in G and D. The first part is in A Dorian and the 2nd, 3rd and 4th parts are in A Mixolydian. Don't let the "key signatures" confuse you - this is a modal tune and the usual rule of 1 # = G major/E minor and 2 #s = D major/B minor doesn't apply.


You're right, that's the one I meant.

And I meant the key signatures, you're right also there. That is a custom of mine based on two circumstances: first, from my young days of violin lessons oh-so-long ago, I've learnt that the key signature tells me where to put my fingers on each string in the first position (and I am still using that violin fingering, even with the OM) - that's all I need to know to play the correct notes; secondly, when I go to sessions with my wife where she frequently accompanies tunes with a harmonica, I often quickly call out to her which harmonica is applicable (G or D); in my folk band days, I had the same pattern with a whistle player. I am aware that one key signature fits several modal scales, but I bother about that only when I have to tell a guitar player what chords he could use, which is not very often. When I do double stop accompaniment, I successfully work by ear without thinking.

I will try to use more correct terms in the future. I am beginning to think this line of topic, if continued, would rather belong into the Theory forum...

Bertram

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## Griffis

Like the OP, I am really coming to love Celtic music and want to explore it further.

I come from a more blues/jugband/pre-bluegrass stringband country background but am now itching to learn about Celtic music.

Unfortunately, I am not well-schooled on particular pieces and, I'm ashamed to say, I do not read music.

Does anyone know of a good source for a Celtic mandolin instruction book in tablature with an acompanying CD so that I could both hear the tunes and learn to play them?

Thanks.

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## Bertram Henze

No need to be ashamed (or any other emotions), it is more a matter of what is practical. Irish tunes are mostly written in notes because they are played by so many different instruments.
In your situation, I'd refer to session.org, where they have for most tunes an ABC notation, which you can have converted to Midi files here and at least listen to them, thus learning by hearing just like many Irish musicians do (even I pick up a tune from a recording if I can't get the notes and love it strongly enough to take the bother). You might not get every single note right that way, but there is an allowance for variations anyway.

Bertram

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## Jim MacDaniel

> Like the OP, I am really coming to love Celtic music and want to explore it further.
> 
> I come from a more blues/jugband/pre-bluegrass stringband country background but am now itching to learn about Celtic music.
> 
> Unfortunately, I am not well-schooled on particular pieces and, I'm ashamed to say, I do not read music.
> 
> Does anyone know of a good source for a Celtic mandolin instruction book in tablature with an acompanying CD so that I could both hear the tunes and learn to play them?
> 
> Thanks.


If you have the full version of TablEdit, you can import ABC tunes directly into it and display the tunes in tab, as well as listen to it via TablEdit's midi/playback function.

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## Steve L

John Phillipe Berthoud's "Irish Mandolin Playing: A Complete Guide" has both notation and tab. #It's published by Mel Bay and you can see and hear samples on the Mel Bay website.

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## mjpetrie

My approach into Irish music has been predominantly influenced by the groups that drew me in, then I found where they were getting their tunes (collections). I since play through alot of tunes and look for tunes with a unique signature so that it stays interesting to both our group and the audience. I would recommend Brendan Breathnach's collection (5 volumes). I really liked the folks at Custy's traditional Music Shop in Ennis, County Clare. Check out their web page. The problem with the O'Neill's, by Miles Krassen, is that it is written in (supposedly) the style of the Slingo masters... way too ornamented, rolls everywhere. I prefer working from a more basis tune and then ornamenting it myself in a manner that fits the instrument you're playing.

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## Griffis

> John Phillipe Berthoud's "Irish Mandolin Playing: A Complete Guide" has both notation and tab. #It's published by Mel Bay and you can see and hear samples on the Mel Bay website.


Thanks for the tip. I just ordered this one to start with. I'm unfamiliar with most of the tunes, so I'm glad there's a CD included.

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## ruraltradpunk

Griffis,
You can get tab for tons of trad tunes at this website: www.banjolin.co.uk/tunes/tunelist.htm
Also, try to listen to as much trad stuff as possible to get familiar with the feel of the tunes (jig vs. reel vs. hornpipe etc) and to hear them in different settings. And don't limit yourself to listening to stuff with mando content on it - listen to pipers, fiddlers, box players, banjo, flute, whistle, the lot! I make compilation CD's of all the tunes I want to learn and then just listen to them over and over while I'm driving. Once a tune is stuck in your head it's real easy to just pick the notes out by ear. Mick Moloney's "Strings Attached" album is available on iTunes now - he plays mando as well as tenor banjo on that. Oh, and check out www.clarefm.ie  Clare FM radio has all their trad music programmes available online - they rock!

Jill

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## Griffis

> Griffis,
> You can get tab for tons of trad tunes at this website: #www.banjolin.co.uk/tunes/tunelist.htm
> Also, try to listen to as much trad stuff as possible to get familiar with the feel of the tunes (jig vs. reel vs. hornpipe etc) and to hear them in different settings. And don't limit yourself to listening to stuff with mando content on it - listen to pipers, fiddlers, box players, banjo, flute, whistle, the lot! I make compilation CD's of all the tunes I want to learn and then just listen to them over and over while I'm driving. Once a tune is stuck in your head it's real easy to just pick the notes out by ear. Mick Moloney's "Strings Attached" album is available on iTunes now - he plays mando as well as tenor banjo on that. Oh, and check out www.clarefm.ie # Clare FM radio has all their trad music programmes #available online - they rock!
> 
> Jill


Thanks, Jill. That's great advice. I was just thinking today that I need to sort of push myself into a "Celtic mindset" in a way. Sounds cheesier than I mean it to, but I need to learn the sounds and scales to an extent where they come more naturally to me. It's its own world in a way, and one I have yet to explore.

I'm a lifelong music lover and collector, but I somehow never fell into ITM or Celtic stuff as much (though I listen to and play a lot of music derived from that and sort of "Americanized."

Anyway, I'm so new to the stuff I barely know where to start learning real, old trad tunes, as far as knowing what the "standards" are. So much out there.

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## Barbara Shultz

I agree on the value of making CD's of the songs you like, and bombard yourself with them. Once you have a song in your head, it's SO much easier to play it, without knowing how to read notation or tablature, and without knowing much music theory at all!

Think of songs that you could pick up your mandolin and play with very little thought.... happy birthday to you, we wish you a merry christmas... that sort of thing. You can do that because you DON'T have to think... your fingers just manage to play the song that is playing in your head.

If you do the same with the tunes you like, it really doesn't matter what key they are in, or if you want to play it in the same style that the recording is in, although, I love to play my mandolin along with the tunes and songs I have on CD, so in that respect, it's easier with recordings that are conducive to the tuning of a mandolin...

My car has a 6 cd player in it, and I will take a road trip of thousands of miles, and listen to the same 6 cd's over and over... but, this only works when I'm alone, as my man will say, 'haven't we already listened to that one?', haha!

Barbara

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## jc2

O'Neil"s is a great place to start. Keep in mind that it's famous for typos, most notably wrong key signatures. If you try it and it doesn't sound right, tweak the key, usually lose a sharp, and try again. Here are some of my favorites:

Reels-

Music in the Glen (if you like LOTS of notes)
The Rose in the Garden
The Star of Munster
Swallow's Tail
Snow on the Hills

Jigs-

Blarney Pilgrim (a real finger-twister)
Top of the Hill
Gillian's Apples
Top of the Cork Road
Tripping It up the Stairs

Hornpipes-

The Kildare Fancy
Big Jim Boulton's
Whistling Mike

Irish polkas are a more modern development and not included in O'Neil's. The beauty of thesession.org is that if you are logged in, you can listen to midis of the tunes before you bother to download or print them.

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