Rambling Pitchfork

Today I returned to an old favorite source of tunes - Caoimhìn Ò Raghallaigh and Mick O'Brien's album, Kitty Lie Over.  I've tuned my fiddle down to their tuning - down a major third from standard.

Five Miles from Town

I have Rayna Gellert's recording with Susan Geohring on repeat.  By the end of this project (July 2012), I will probably have done every single tune on that album.  I LOVE IT.  So this is another one, called Five Miles from Town - tuning is standard with the low G string tuned up to an A. (ADAE)

Reel of Eight

A couple days ago I skyped with Métis fiddler Jennilee Martineau and she taught me this tune.  It's crooked because the first half of the A-part has 10 bars.  I had a tough time getting the bows right - it's exactly opposite from what I am used to. The important thing, I learned, was that the upbeat gets the emphasis, so anything you can do with your bow to stress the upbeat is good.

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.

Let the Bottle Circulate

Here's a cool little Scottish slow reel I learned from Laura Cortese today at a workshop.  She learned this from the whistle player from Old Blind Dogs.

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.

Goodbye Girls

Another Old-Time tune!  I learned this one off of Rayna Gellert's and Susan Goehring's album "Starch & Iron."  I listened to it over and over today at work.  It's such a cool, unpredictable tune.  I think Rayna learned this tune from Andy Cahan.