Category Archives: Tunes

A delectable treat (un delicioso gusto)

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From the Huasteca region, i.e., northern Veracruz. That’s in Mexico.

The fiddler is Osiris Caballero who visited Fiddle 4 Twin Fiddle last week. His group, Los Utrera performed at World Music Wednesday the next night. Thanks to Yahvi Pichardo for arranging this visit. Yahvi and Maria McCullough assist in this rendition of La Cielito Lindo.

Another version in the Son Huasteca style can be found on the CD Folk Songs of Illinois #2: Fiddlers, played by Chicago’s own Sones de Mexico. Full disclosure: I co-produced this CD.

Paul Tyler, convener

Tunes from Matt Brown

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A selection of tunes from Matt Brown, one of the rising stars in the old-time music firmament.

Press the arrows to listen or right-click the blue title to download and save on your computer.

Matt sez: “Roscoe comes to us from the great Kyle Creed of Surry County, North Carolina. The tune is named after guitar player Roscoe Russell. This one is great for dances!”
Roscoe

Roscoe slow


“This version of Fire On the Mountain is one of my all-time favorite tunes. And not enough people play it. Isham (pronounced “Ice-um”) Monday of Monroe County, Kentucky played this beautiful tune with lots of drones, and in a low cross-tuning. I’m in AEAE on this version, but you can get most of the notes (if not all of the drones) in standard tuning.”
Fire on the Mountain

Fire on the Mountain slow


“This is Burnett & Rutherford’s version of the classic Cumberland Gap. It’s sweet, simple, and in G.”
Cumberland Gap

Cumberland Gap slow


Matt Brown visits the Fiddle Club of the World meeting on Sunday, May 2 at 6:30pm at the Leadway Bar & Gallery (5233 N. Damen) in Chicago. Click here to register.

Tunes from Genevieve (Harrison) Koester

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A selection of tunes from Dear Old Illinois (both a place and the life work of Genevieve’s father, Garry Harrison). Gena plays with her dad in the New Mules, a band featured at the Old Town School’s Trad Fest in January 2008. The first of these tunes is from the David McIntosh collection of folksongs from Southern Illinois from the middle of the last century. The next two are tunes Garry collected from downstate fiddlers 30 years ago.

Press the arrows to listen or right-click the blue title to download and save on your computer.

Across the Plains of Illinois “Source version is unaccompanied ballad singing by Ollie Barnard of Cave-in-Rock, IL. . . . I’ll sing all the words when we all get together but it has a nice tune by itself too.”

Across the Plains of Illinois slow


Sally Johnson from “Otis Reynolds of Geff, IL. There are a million versions of Sally Johnson, and most of them are very note-y and embellished. This one is the opposite. :)” (Warning: not the version transcribed in Dear Old Illinois.)

Sally Johnson slow


Who’ll Cut the Britches? from Henry Soper of Mt. Vernon, IL. “The full title given by Mr. Soper was the verse:
Oh boy, who’ll cut the britches?
Daddy cut them out, and mammy sewed the stitches.”

Who’ll Cut the Britches? slow


Genevieve Koester will be the featured guest at the Fiddle Club of the World meeting on Sunday, April 18 at 6:30pm at the Leadway Bar & Gallery (5233 N. Damen) in Chicago. Click here to register.

Some Tunes from Dennis Stroughmatt

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Some tunes from Upper Louisiana, aka the old French district of Illinois and Missouri, straddling the Mississippi River down from St. Louis. Dennis here gives us a brief intro to each tune. More stories to come on March 18 at the Leadway.

Press the arrows to listen or right-click the blue title to download and save on your computer.

Old Man Lucky in the key of D: “Old Man Lucky I learned from Charlie Pashia, right at the source. It was a song (no lyrics) for a guy named LaChance. He was a lucky man, and that was his name too.”

Old Man Lucky slow


Grandmere In waltz time in G: “Grandmere is a story song. It means Grandmother Complains. I learned it from Ida Portell in Potosi , MO.”

Grandmere slow


D’ou Viens in A: “D’ou Viens Tu is iShepherd, from where did you come.’ It’s a Christmas song. Also from Ida Portell. But I got the fiddle part idea from Roy Boyer.”

D’ou Viens slow


Dennis Stroughmatt will be the featured guest at the Fiddle Club of the World meeting on Sunday, March 28 at 6:30pm at the Leadway Bar & Gallery (5233 N. Damen) in Chicago. Click here to register.

Some Tunes from Liz Knowles

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Ready for some Celtic/Irish tunes. Before she headed off to China, Liz gave us these to try. Each recording has the tune played slowly, and then up to tempo.

Press the arrows to listen or right-click the blue title to download and save on your computer.

The Black Rogue – jig


Gone for His Tea – reel


The Factory Smoke – hornpipe


Liz Knowles will be the featured guest at the Fiddle Club of the World meeting on Friday, February 19 at 7:30pm at the Leadway Bar & Gallery (5233 N. Damen) in Chicago. Click here to register.

Kenny Stone tunes

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Important Notice: We apologize, but once again we must postpone Kenny Stone’s visit to the Fiddle Club of the World. The workshop listing currently reads that the new date is March 7, 2010. That date is not yet confirmed. Check back soon. I guarantee that Kenny Stone will be our featured artist soon and help us become more bluegrass-worthy.
-Paul Tyler

Kenny Stone is veteran bluegrass fiddler, with a performing career that started when he was nine. He released his first album in 1989, at the age of nine, and followed that up with series of recordings and tours with a variety of bands, including his own, the Kenny Stone Unit and Midwest Wind. Family life and work has taken him off the road. But he continues to perform with the Chicago Bluegrass Band and to teach select students at his home in Dyer, Indiana.
Kenny Stone
Kenny Stone

The Fiddle Club of the World is pleased to present Kenny Stone to a new audience of fiddlers. He’s looking forward to playing through a potpourri of standard old-time and bluegrass tunes. He’s also offered us several of his own originals.

Buckley Barndance


Grangers Farewell


Kenny Stone will be featured guest at the Fiddle Club of the World meeting on January 24, 2010 at 4:00 pm at the Leadway Bar & Gallery (5233 N. Damen). Click here to register.

Pete Sutherland Tunes

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Here are some Pete tunes, sent to us from the Champlain Valley of Vermont. These will be great to play in the jam. The reel is, in Pete’s words “from our local hero, Louis Beaudoin.” The second tune –pronounced tess-fie-yay–is an Ethiopian waltz song. The last is from the Skillet Lickers.

Dad’s Reel

slow


Tesfaye


Streak o’ Lean

slow


Click here to access Paul Tyler’s notation of a couple of Pete’s tunes.

Pete Sutherland, along with Mark Roberts & Jeremiah McLane, will be performing at the Fiddle Club of the World‘s meeting at 7:30 on Friday, October 16 at the Leadway Bar & Gallery (5233 N. Damen). Click here to register, or call 773.728.6000.

Arto Järvelä tunes

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Here are solo fiddle performances by Arto of three tunes we can all play together at the jam. Arto learned both the march (marssi) and polska from Elias Tallari of Kuortane, Finland. The waltz (valssi) is “efter” (from the playing of) Johan Petter Ragvals of Övermark.

Peli-Jussin syömämarssi

slow

Peli-Jussin syömämarssi can also be heard on the CD “Arto Järvelä Plays Violin” (there is a tunebook with the same name) one of the many you can purchase from Arto during his residency at the Old Town School.

Mäläskän kuoleman polska

slow


Both polskas and waltzes are in 3/4 time. But it is easy to hear that they are for totally different dances.

Ragvalsin valssi

slow


Go here to view Paul Tyler’s notation of Arto’s tunes.

Arto Järvelä will be performing at the Fiddle Club‘s meeting on Friday, September 25 at the Leadway Bar & Gallery (5233 N. Damen). Click here to register, or call 773.728.6000.

Some Tunes from Dan Gellert

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Dan sent us recordings of these tunes played at a moderate tempo. The first two are in the key of C. The third is in Bb. Be brave and give it a try.

Shelvin’ Rock

New Five Cents

Brushy Run

Just added, a D tune, from a 1985 album of Dan’s band, Shoofly.

Sugar Hill

Send a comment and let us know which two of these four tunes you especially want to work through at the Fiddle Club session.

Dan Gellert will be performing at the Fiddle Club of the World’s meeting on Saturday, March 28 at the Leadway Bar & Gallery.

You can register for the Fiddle Club meetings as a workshop. Cost is $20. Call 773.728.6000 or to register on line, go here. Space is limited.

Tunes from Karen Solgard

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Here are some tunes played by Karen Solgrad on a Norwegian hardanger fiddle.

Reiselaat fra Hallingdal

Steffasgard

Trondelag Bridal March

Go to Karen Solgard’s transcriptions of these Norwegian tunes.

Karen Solgard will be performing at the Fiddle Club of the World‘s meeting on Sunday, November 30 at the Leadway Bar & Gallery. Click here to register, or call 773.728.6000.