Booth Shot Lincoln

Here's a simple old time tune in cross-tuning. I learned it from one of my students, who learned it off of an Uncle Earl album.

Edward in the Treetop

Here's an old time tune I learned off of Rayna Gellert and Susie Goehring's album "Starch and Iron."

Sonny Riordan's

My friend and bandmate Colin has been studying Irish traditional music at the University of Limerick for the past year or so and he occasionally sends me tunes he's learning. Here's a polka he sent me recently.

Salt River

Finally! An old-time tune! This one I learned off of one of Bruce Molsky's recordings.

The Laird of Drumblair

Here's a Scottish strathspey I learned from the playing of Donegal fiddler Tommy Peoples. It's a quick and easy one to learn. (Don't be fooled by the fast notes, they're just up-and-down the scale.)

Siobhan O'Donnell's

Here's a happy reel in A written by John Brady. I learned it in order to teach a student of mine who wanted to learn it, too.

Ways of the World

Crooked and cross-tuned.

Pat and Al's

I've been posting less frequently because I'm in the middle of preparing my master's thesis, and it's going to get worse before it gets better, so as per usual, in a stressful time I've learned a Liz Carroll tune. Here's a jig from her Lost in the Loop album.

Walk Along John to Kansas

I learned this old-time tune off of Tatiana Hargreaves' album. Tatiana is a young but awesome fiddler. This tune is an old tune, and I don't know much about it except the ibiblio says it comes from "the south."

Callahan

Here's a fun old crooked tune I learned off of a Bruce Molsky recording.

Donegal Lasses

I went to a workshop this weekend by Laura Cortese.  She gracefully recorded a couple of tunes into my handy dandy recorder for me to learn.  This jig was one of them.  I have adopted some of her Scottish flavor for it.

For the Love of Music

Here's a slip jig written by the amazing Liz Carroll.  She plays this on her album Lake Effect - and in the set she plays this tune first in G and then in A.  I'm playing it here in A.

Breaking Up Christmas

So I've enjoyed a week or so of a break from learning a new tune everyday.  It's been very nice.  So now, to break up my Christmas Break, a very fitting tune.

The Potato on the Door

Here's another Liz Carroll tune. She's seriously my favorite tune-smith of all time.

Valse des Poêles (100th Tune!)

Today I learned a beautiful waltz written by Simon Riopel, a quebecois fiddler.

Dad's Reel

I love crooked tunes!  This crooked tune is a Quebecois tune, of which 75% is identical to another tune called Reel Des Eboulements.

Seamus Creagh's

Today was kind of perfect.  I wrapped up this last week of working on two different research projects and taking a midterm exam and really needed a weekend.  So today I woke up late, did some laundry, and then traveled up to an abandoned farm and picked apples from a couple of neglected heirloom apple trees.  It was just what I needed.

Laura's Reel

Today my beautiful cousin got married!  This tune is dedicated to her.

Buffalo Girls

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving AND Columbus Day!  The day the Post Office gets to close but no one else does!  Well, USPS, your days are numbered anyway, so I hear.

St. Kilda Wedding

I recorded this video yesterday, but youtube was under construction and/or cyber attack so I couldn't upload it until today.  I think that means I won't do another one today.  I'm trying for at least 4-5 a week, but I have to be realistic.  I'm working on coding about 1000 pages of NEPA documents right now, so the break to learn a tune, although welcome, is hard to justify 7 days a week.  BUT, I figure people say "I go to work everyday," and really that means, "I go to work 4-5 days a week," so I'm still justified in saying I'm learning a tune everyday.