Hi -
If anyone can give me a marked up copy of any of the posted sets with
chords (Ted Cahill?), I can easily add the chords and re-post the sets.

Happy Holidays! and the days are getting longer!

Ralph

Hello,

This email message is a notification to let you know that
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   File        : /Tunes/HardimanTheFiddlerSet.pdf
   Uploaded by : rpalmer_14 <palmer.r.violin@...>
   Description : Hardiman the Fiddler set (i.e., not Hardy Man)

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f

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rpalmer_14 <palmer.r.violin@...>

Hi Ralph,

The set I was thinking of was the set you described minus Scataglen, just Willy
Coleman/Mooncoin/Whelan's. The other "Whelan's" set on the yahoo group is the
one that Arbo (the flute/whistle/banjo player from NYC) played once.

Hardy Man is actually Hardiman in all the collections I've seen. It's a cool
tune.

One other thing: the set I've encountered at the Harp with Lord Mayo's is: Paddy
on the Handcar/Lord Mayo's March.

Good to start collecting this stuff in one place.

Also, there was a funny version of the Black Rogue that Carol had printed out,
but it looks like that version was corrected now that I'm looking at what's
actually posted. Is that right?

Good Holidays to everyone. Maybe see some of you on the 28th.

TED (Whistle Ted)


>>> "rpalmer_14" <palmer.r.violin@...> 12/23/2008 1:28 PM >>>
Hi, All -

I just added 4 new files to the "Tunes" folder:
Hardy Man the Fiddler set (9/8 tunes);
Indian Point set;
The Phoenix set; and
Scartaglen (a slide {12/8} that we played a couple of weeks ago).

I have some confusing notes about another possible set, with Willy
Coleman's, Mooncoin, Whelan's and Scartaglen. What's up with that? Did
we just talk about tunes frequently played as sets, or were we
actually talking about making up a set?

Ted, I think it would be great if you could put together a new list.
If you do, I'd be glad to make sure all of the tunes and sets are
posted in the Tunes folder.

Have a great holiday, and I hope I see everyone on Sunday!

Ralph

Okay, I've uploaded cleaner (and smaller, I think) copies of the Hardy
Man the Fiddler set and Scartaglen.

Please let me know if you get extra lines on those files now, or if
you get them on any other files in that folder (i.e., the Tunes folder).

Thanks,

Ralph

Aargh! I found those ugly lines in the .pdf for the Hardy Man set and
for Scartaglen. I don't have time to fix Scartaglen now, but I've got
a better looking Hardy Man the Fiddler. Actually, I'll go ahead and
fix Scartaglen. Any others?

Ralph

Hi, All -

I just added 4 new files to the "Tunes" folder:
Hardy Man the Fiddler set (9/8 tunes);
Indian Point set;
The Phoenix set; and
Scartaglen (a slide {12/8} that we played a couple of weeks ago).

I have some confusing notes about another possible set, with Willy
Coleman's, Mooncoin, Whelan's and Scartaglen. What's up with that? Did
we just talk about tunes frequently played as sets, or were we
actually talking about making up a set?

Ted, I think it would be great if you could put together a new list.
If you do, I'd be glad to make sure all of the tunes and sets are
posted in the Tunes folder.

Have a great holiday, and I hope I see everyone on Sunday!

Ralph

Hello,

This email message is a notification to let you know that
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   File        : /Blackthorn Tunes/borderwaltz.bmp
   Uploaded by : ted_cahill <TedCahill@...>
   Description : Boda Waltz, another nice tune!

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ted_cahill <TedCahill@...>

Hello,

This email message is a notification to let you know that
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   File        : /Blackthorn Tunes/Paddy Fahey Set.doc
   Uploaded by : ted_cahill <TedCahill@...>
   Description : Set #12 from their first album, Market Town. Sheet music by
Noni.

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ey%20Set.doc

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ted_cahill <TedCahill@...>

Hello,

This email message is a notification to let you know that
a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the celticsession
group.

   File        : /Paddy Fahey Set.doc
   Uploaded by : ted_cahill <TedCahill@...>
   Description : Set #12 from their first album, Market Town.  Sheet music by
Noni.

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Regards,

ted_cahill <TedCahill@...>

Hi, everyone -

I've taken the Cantrip tunes from Ted and massaged them. I found that
most sources on the web were in different keys (except Donegal Lass),
so I transposed the tunes. The transposed tunes are all together on
the celticsession site, under <Cantrip tunes, revised>. The file with
the four tunes together is simply called Cantriptunes.pdf. I also
posted (in the same folder) all four tunes individually; for the ones
I transposed, I put the new key first, then the key from Ted's file.
As always, anyone who wants a copy of my ABC files (or wants to know
about ABC in general), just let me know. I hope this is intelligible
and the files are helpful.

Pleasant playing to all,

Ralph

Hello,

This email message is a notification to let you know that
a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the celticsession
group.

   File        : /Cantrip Tunes/Cantrip Tunes.doc
   Uploaded by : ted_cahill <TedCahill@...>
   Description : 4 Cantrip tunes I really like; we play The Bwar Dance on Sunday
mornings

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Hello,

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group.

   File        : /Music with Chords/pgh.pdf
   Uploaded by : ted_cahill <TedCahill@...>
   Description : Session Music with Chords

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ted_cahill <TedCahill@...>

Hello,

This email message is a notification to let you know that
a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the celticsession
group.

   File        : /pgh.pdf
   Uploaded by : ted_cahill <TedCahill@...>
   Description : Session Tunebook

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Regards,

ted_cahill <TedCahill@...>

Nice tip, Ralph. I know a lot of people who use the TuneFinder.

TED

>>> "rpalmer_14" <palmer.r.violin@...> 10/20/2008 9:45 AM >>>
Hi, Everyone -

It felt good to be back after my hiatus! Between moving and being sick
(and not wanting to infect anyone), I missed over a month.

For those of you who use The Session to search for and download or
print tunes, especially if you're not using ABC directly, I'd like to
recommend an alternative: John Chambers' Tune Finder. The display is
not perfect, but it's a lot better than The Session, I think. Also,
you can easily and simply download tunes as ps, eps, gif, png, abc,
text, and pdf. You can't post tunes TO the Tune Finder, only find
them. The Session is one of the sites searched by the Tune Finder, so
you can get any tune that's on The Session. Another nice thing about
the Tune Finder is that you can search in four different ways,
including title (whole or part), notes (initial ABC notes), and
contour. With contour, you simply specify which way a chunk of music
(anywhere in a tune) goes from note to note, ignoring repeated notes
(i.e., up or down). The Tune Finder then returns all the tunes with
that pattern anywhere in tune. Great for finding alternate titles,
tunes you can't remember the name of, or tunes you can only remember a
snatch of (but not the title).

Ralph

I'd like to repeat how much I enjoy the Sunday Sessions!

As for the oops : I forgot to include the url for the Tune Finder:

http://trillian.mit.edu/~jc/cgi/abc/tunefind

Take care,

Ralph

Hi, Everyone -

It felt good to be back after my hiatus! Between moving and being sick
(and not wanting to infect anyone), I missed over a month.

For those of you who use The Session to search for and download or
print tunes, especially if you're not using ABC directly, I'd like to
recommend an alternative: John Chambers' Tune Finder. The display is
not perfect, but it's a lot better than The Session, I think. Also,
you can easily and simply download tunes as ps, eps, gif, png, abc,
text, and pdf. You can't post tunes TO the Tune Finder, only find
them. The Session is one of the sites searched by the Tune Finder, so
you can get any tune that's on The Session. Another nice thing about
the Tune Finder is that you can search in four different ways,
including title (whole or part), notes (initial ABC notes), and
contour. With contour, you simply specify which way a chunk of music
(anywhere in a tune) goes from note to note, ignoring repeated notes
(i.e., up or down). The Tune Finder then returns all the tunes with
that pattern anywhere in tune. Great for finding alternate titles,
tunes you can't remember the name of, or tunes you can only remember a
snatch of (but not the title).

Ralph

Hey All,

Some info on the origins of "The Dark Island", introduced last
Sun., 10/12:

'Also known as Dark Island, Dark Isle, Dr Mackays Farewell To
Creagorry, Dr. McInnes's Farewell To South Uist.

The island of Benbecula was the inspiration for the emotive song The
Dark Island. Written by David Silver of Inverness, the musician -
journalist, who wrote the words, and was asked to write a song for a
BBC Thriller called "The Dark Island", filmed here in Benbecula. He
reveals how the quiet, lonely place was in mind for the number, and
the words were set to music by the accomplished accordionist Ian
Maclachlan from Creagorry. The tune has become a classic since it was
first sung in 1963. There are more than 50 different recordings by
Scot's, among them; Ann-Lorne Gillis, Peter Morrison and Kenneth
Mackellar although fittingly the recording which gets most airing on
radio is by Silver/Maclachlan on accordion.'

Lyrics can also be found at the same site:
http://www.geocities.com/area51/Zone/6338/eil_dor.htm


And a word on the oxymoronic naming of "The Crested Hens" ~~~

'Crested Hens is a translation. According to Gilles, himself:  "I was
15 and couldn't decide on a title.  One day we were playing at
oxymorons and my friend said "Poulles Huppees"!  We all laughed at
that for a long time, so I decided to name the tune that.... I know
it's a dumb title, but we were just dumb kids".

He seemed to think, at that time, that getting credit was more
important than collecting royalties. This tune used to be mentioned a
lot as " a 400 year old Breton tune. Brettagne hens are the only ones
that grow crests". None of that is true. Gilles is from Centre --
couple of hours south of Paris.

His own playing of the tune is generally "Fasht and Bad" with a
hemiola to it.'

See you next Sunday!
Noni

Hi Diana,

If you look on the files section, the set list is there as well as
sheet music for many of the tunes we play.  We will also have books
with us full of music.

See you Sunday!

Ted

--- In celticsession@yahoogroups.com, "diana_j_brewer" <dbrewer@...>
wrote:
>
> Hi folks,
>
> I'm new to this, and planning on coming for the first time this
sunday. Do I have it right that
> there are set lists? Will the list be posted here in the next
couple of days? How does it all
> work?
>
> yours in newness,
> Diana
>

Hi folks,

I'm new to this, and planning on coming for the first time this sunday. Do I
have it right that
there are set lists? Will the list be posted here in the next couple of days?
How does it all
work?

yours in newness,
Diana

Hi Ralph,

Sounds good. I envy those of you who can read music fluently. It's a skill
that's on my agenda to learn. Since I don't read music efficiently, I learn
virtually all my tunes from recordings, turning on the "repeat" button on the cd
player and playing along with the recording. I usually have a correction phase I
go through where I have to work to memorize certain notes or phrases that I'm
playing differently because I think the phrase should descend when it ascends or
some such. It takes me a lot of repetitions to get it matched up if it's a new,
unusual tune, and then more repetitions to keep it in my memory day to day. It's
a pretty laborious process, but I usually like it anyway, and when I'm done, I
have the tune "in my head," and when I play, I'm often listening to a memory of
that particular recording.

That just ended up being the way I started out because I couldn't read music
very well, but many experience players told me that was the ideal way to learn
traditional tunes anyway. I've since read the same emphasis on learning by ear
in many books about playing traditional music like Grey Larsen's and Shannon
Heaton's. They do say that reading music is a wonderful tool to have in the kit,
one that I want.

Good time playing this past Saturday at the Energy Park, and of course Sunday
morning, too.

See you all soon.

TED
>>> "Ralph Palmer" <palmer.r.violin@...> 9/16/2008 1:18 PM >>>
Hi, Ted -

I agree with everything you say, although I'd like to add some comments. I
put standardize in quotation marks because I do realize that standard
usually means standard to a particular group of musicians. I do think using
sheet music has a place in traditional music, including the music we're
playing. When I first started learning NE fiddle tunes, it was because I had
heard the tunes at contra dances and wanted to learn to play them. I would
hear four or five tunes that I really liked at a dance, but by the time I
got home, I couldn't remember how even one went, much less what key it might
be in. Asking the musicians what the tune was and where I might find it
allowed me to learn to play the tunes. I do make an effort to listen to
differences between what I'm playing and what others are playing, and
sometimes to adjust to what I'm hearing. I really do use some of those tunes
I've posted as reminders, not as what I actually play. My ear-learning is
coming along slowly. I'd like to do more, but it's time consuming at the
beginning. I agree it's a valuable skill to cultivate. As far as the tunes
I've been posting, I'm really open to suggestion, especially as to sources.\

Ralph

On Mon, Sep 15, 2008 at 8:52 AM, Ted Soulos <soulost@...> wrote:

>   Hi everyone,
>
> Thanks, Ralph for working on this. I've got a couple of caveats to add.
>
> The main one is for people relatively new to session playing and irish
> music. Make sure you work on learning the tunes by ear as well as from a
> score. It can be especially useful to find recordings made by respected
> traditional players. I take learning by ear to mean simply memorizing the
> melody of the tune, although in my case this takes MANY repetitions and is
> much easier said than done. Part of the advantage to focusing on playing the
> music by ear is that you can hear what others are playing, and begin to
> adapt to different versions of tunes.
>
> Also, it's important to remember that there are multiple versions of tunes
> out there. Some are more "standard" than other. The prime example for me
> being the reel, Drowsy Maggie. The version in the Portland Collection is one
> I've never heard played at a session or on a recording. I think it's
> important to try to seek out these "standard" versions when we can, but then
> realize that there will often simply be variations to the tunes.
> Thesession.org is also notorious for posting slightly strange versions of
> tunes, and it's the first posting that goes up as the main music score; any
> other versions people post (for example if someone wants to post a
> "standard" version), go into the comments tab, but they're often in ABC
> format. I'd recommend for the Irish stuff, finding sources that are focused
> on traditional playing as opposed to contra dance (like the Portland
> Collection) for scores that we're going to post.
>
> That said, it will be useful to have the music to a body of tunes available
> so that people can have a reference and learning tool.
>
> TED (whistle player Ted)
>
> >>> "rpalmer_14" <palmer.r.violin@... <palmer.r.violin%40gmail.com>>
> 9/14/2008 3:29 PM >>>
>
> Hi, All -
> Ted was saying one of the reasons for posting the sets was that it
> would help "standardize" the versions we're using. If we want to do
> that, then I probably should modify the sets I've posted to reflect
> the versions most of us are familiar with. For most of the sets, I
> looked at multiple versions and picked one that looked either close to
> what I was familiar with, myself, or one that didn't look to complex.
> I often use the versions I posted as suggestions or reminders, rather
> than as gospel. There are at least a couple of possibilities for
> improving the situation : I could go through and use the Portland
> Collection (or New England Fiddler's Repertoire or Waltz Book)
> versions; or people could let me know what they're used to and where I
> might find it, and (if people seem to agree on a particular version) I
> can use that version. If it's online and it's in ABC format (like on
> the The Session website, I can easily get it and use it. An accurate
> URL would be a help, or at least the name of the website (like "The
> Session"). Also, since my original idea was to help avoid multiple
> book-switching during playing (by getting each set on a single page),
> I didn't do Si Begh Si Mohr or Josefin's - I could post them, as well,
> if you guys think it would be helpful.
> Happy playing,
> Ralph
>
>
>



--
Ralph Palmer
Greenfield, MA
USA
palmer.r.violin@...

Hi everyone,

Thanks, Ralph for working on this. I've got a couple of caveats to add.

The main one is for people relatively new to session playing and irish music.
Make sure you work on learning the tunes by ear as well as from a score. It can
be especially useful to find recordings made by respected traditional players. I
take learning by ear to mean simply memorizing the melody of the tune, although
in my case this takes MANY repetitions and is much easier said than done. Part
of the advantage to focusing on playing the music by ear is that you can hear
what others are playing, and begin to adapt to different versions of tunes.

Also, it's important to remember that there are multiple versions of tunes out
there. Some are more "standard" than other. The prime example for me being the
reel, Drowsy Maggie. The version in the Portland Collection is one I've never
heard played at a session or on a recording. I think it's important to try to
seek out these "standard" versions when we can, but then realize that there will
often simply be variations to the tunes. Thesession.org is also notorious for
posting slightly strange versions of tunes, and it's the first posting that goes
up as the main music score; any other versions people post (for example if
someone wants to post a "standard" version), go into the comments tab, but
they're often in ABC format. I'd recommend for the Irish stuff, finding sources
that are focused on traditional playing as opposed to contra dance (like the
Portland Collection) for scores that we're going to post.

That said, it will be useful to have the music to a body of tunes available so
that people can have a reference and learning tool.

TED (whistle player Ted)

>>> "rpalmer_14" <palmer.r.violin@...> 9/14/2008 3:29 PM >>>
Hi, All -
Ted was saying one of the reasons for posting the sets was that it
would help "standardize" the versions we're using. If we want to do
that, then I probably should modify the sets I've posted to reflect
the versions most of us are familiar with. For most of the sets, I
looked at multiple versions and picked one that looked either close to
what I was familiar with, myself, or one that didn't look to complex.
I often use the versions I posted as suggestions or reminders, rather
than as gospel. There are at least a couple of possibilities for
improving the situation : I could go through and use the Portland
Collection (or New England Fiddler's Repertoire or Waltz Book)
versions; or people could let me know what they're used to and where I
might find it, and (if people seem to agree on a particular version) I
can use that version. If it's online and it's in ABC format (like on
the The Session website, I can easily get it and use it. An accurate
URL would be a help, or at least the name of the website (like "The
Session"). Also, since my original idea was to help avoid multiple
book-switching during playing (by getting each set on a single page),
I didn't do Si Begh Si Mohr or Josefin's - I could post them, as well,
if you guys think it would be helpful.
Happy playing,
Ralph

Hi, All -
Ted was saying one of the reasons for posting the sets was that it
would help "standardize" the versions we're using. If we want to do
that, then I probably should modify the sets I've posted to reflect
the versions most of us are familiar with. For most of the sets, I
looked at multiple versions and picked one that looked either close to
what I was familiar with, myself, or one that didn't look to complex.
I often use the versions I posted as suggestions or reminders, rather
than as gospel. There are at least a couple of possibilities for
improving the situation : I could go through and use the Portland
Collection (or New England Fiddler's Repertoire or Waltz Book)
versions; or people could let me know what they're used to and where I
might find it, and (if people seem to agree on a particular version) I
can use that version. If it's online and it's in ABC format (like on
the The Session website, I can easily get it and use it. An accurate
URL would be a help, or at least the name of the website (like "The
Session"). Also, since my original idea was to help avoid multiple
book-switching during playing (by getting each set on a single page),
I didn't do Si Begh Si Mohr or Josefin's - I could post them, as well,
if you guys think it would be helpful.
Happy playing,
Ralph

Hello,

This email message is a notification to let you know that
a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the celticsession
group.

   File        : /Tunes/Trip to Athlone set.pdf
   Uploaded by : rpalmer_14 <palmer.r.violin@...>
   Description : I found and fixed two errors: a typo and wrong key signature

You can access this file at the URL:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/celticsession/files/Tunes/Trip%20to%20Athlone%20se\
t.pdf

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http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/groups/original/members/web/index.htmlfiles

Regards,

rpalmer_14 <palmer.r.violin@...>

Hi, All -

I've finished uploading my set PDFs. For anyone that I've sent PDFs to
in the past, I think the only changed set is the Trip to Athlone. The
previous version had either two or three Black Rogues, both or all in
G. The other two tunes in the set are in D, and that's the way the
Teds were playing it on Sunday, so I put Black Rogue into D. If I've
messed up on the transposition, someone please let me know.

Pleasant playing to all,

Ralph

Hello,

This email message is a notification to let you know that
a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the celticsession
group.

   File        : /Tunes/Banish Misfortune set.pdf
   Uploaded by : rpalmer_14 <palmer.r.violin@...>
   Description :

You can access this file at the URL:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/celticsession/files/Tunes/Banish%20Misfortune%20se\
t.pdf

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Regards,

rpalmer_14 <palmer.r.violin@...>

Thanks to Ted for setting this up! And thank you for sending me the
invitation - I neglected to get either your email address, Ted, or
find out what the group was named.

I'm uploading my PDFs of the sets - both the ones one the Heath list
and the ones from an earlier list. These are sets only, not single
tunes that are in common books. If someone needs a single tune, I
would be happy to try to find it, make a PDF, and either email it
directly to the requestor or post it to the website. Also, if the
version I've used in a set is weird, or if people would like a
different version, I'll try to accommodate that, as well. I tried to
find reasonably simple versions of the tunes to use for the sets.

Ralph