Tom, Brad & Alice

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or
Tom Sauber
or
Deep Ellum
or
Dry and Dusty
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or

Alice Gerrard

West Virginia Farewell

Wild Hog in the Woods

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or
or

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Las Chaparreras.

A simple huapango in the style of Son Huasteco.
slow version of Las Chaparreras.

El Caballito

A more complicated Son Huasteco huapango.

More to come. Check back in a few days.

Felipe Valle & Juan Rivera are the featured guests for the Fiddle Club of the World’s meeting on Sunday, July 20 at the Leadway Bar & Gallery (5233 N. Damen).

Go here to register.

In fiddle classes at the Old Town School, we seldom get around to teaching tunes in the key of C. That’s a shame. There are so many good ones. Larry Warren, a gentleman I met on FIDDLE-L, posted a private page of sound clips of C tunes contributed from fellow FIDDLE-L subscribers. Here’s my contribution of a few gems (IMHO) that I don’t think made it to Larry’s page.

Blue Buggy Bounce
I learned this nearly 30 years ago from Hector Phillips, of Petersburg, Indiana. I made this recording ten years ago for a FIDDLE-L compilation CD. Rhys Jones is on guitar.

Hector Phillips can be seen and heard in “Tough, Pretty, or Smart: A Portrait of the Patoka Valley Boys,” a film by Dillon Bustin and Richard Kane.

Postuns Jig
Even longer ago, I learned this one from Paul Gifford, who was then living in Ferndale, Michigan. He learned it from Merritt Olsen, from the nearby Detroit suburb of Birmingham. I heard Merritt play once–he also played a button box accordion–and greatly regret that I never went to visit him. Of course, at that time I could barely scratch out an identifiable tune.

Walter Harmon’s Hornpipe in C
And this one I learned in 1979 from Donald Duff of Lizton, Indiana. He learned it from Mr. Harmon, an older local fiddler who helped Mr. Duff get started when he was a kid. Jimmie Campbell of Dolan, Indiana played the tune as well, and called it “Old Bob.” Same name, different tune from one Garry Harrison collected.

Just so the record is straight, I am the fiddler on all these recordings. Any clunkers are mine and mine alone. Enjoy the tunes, and maybe we can play one of two of them at the upcoming open session of the Fiddle Club on July 15.

Paul Tyler, convener

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Oyster River Hornpipe

This mp3 is about 6 minutes long. Here’s an abridged mp3 (two times through the tune).
shorter recording

Played by Frank Hall (fiddle), Lena Ullman (banjo) and Paul Tyler (guitar). Recorded October 2007 when Frank and Lena were visiting from Ireland. Frank, a long-time resident of Bloomington, Indiana, learned the tune from Lotus Dickey. Note the chord changes in the B part (Em & B7).

And here’s an example of Lotus playing the tune in a medley with “Weller’s Reel” and “Green Fields of America,” recorded at the Indiana Fiddlers Gathering in 1982, with Dillon Bustin (guitar) and Linda Handelsman (hammered dulcimer).

Oyster River Hornpipe medley

The Fiddlers Gathering (aka Battle Ground) is coming up the last weekend in June.
The Tippecanoe Battlefield in Battle Ground, Indiana is a 2 1/2 hour drive from Chicago.
The setting is a beautiful setting. The folks are friendly. The jam sessions are lively.

Paul Tyler, convener

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Note on the recordings: Following customary practice, the tunes are played on two fiddles tuned a full step lower (F-C-G-D). One fiddle plays the melody, and the second fiddle plays chords with some harmony and counterpoint. The slow versions are played on a single fiddle in standard tuning (G-D-A-E), to make it easier to learn the tunes without having to retune. For the jam session with the Whedbees, we’ll all tune down a step.

Choupique Two-step
A tune recorded by Nathan Abshire, played in the style of the Balfa Brothers.
slow version of Choupique Two-step

Kathleens Waltz
From Dennis McGee (1893-1989), who recorded in the 1920s and ’30s with Sady Courville and Ernest Fruge on second fiddle, and with Creole accordionist, Amédé Ardoin. He recorded again in the 1970s with Sady Courville.
slow version of Kathleens Waltz

Lake Charles Two-step
A tune by this name was recorded by Creole musicians Bois Sec Ardoin, an accordionist, and fiddler Canray Fontenot. Will & Holly’s version, learned from the Balfa Brothers, is also known as “Texas Two-Step.”
slow version of the Lake Charles Two-step

All tunes recorded by P. Tyler at Whedbee home in Chicago on April 21, 2008

Will & Holly Whedbee are the featured guests for the Fiddle Club of the World’s meeting on Saturday, May 10 at the Leadway Bar & Gallery.

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Ten Cents
From Jim Reed of Benton, Illinois.
slow version of Ten Cents

Bob Walter’s Hornpipe
From Bob Walter (1889-1960), who played on the radio in Shenandoah, Iowa and for many dances on the Central Plains.
slow version of Bob Walter’s Hornpipe

Leonard Finseth’s Polka in G
A Norwegian-American fiddler from Mondovi, Wisconsin.
slow version of the Polka in G

All tunes recorded by P. Tyler at Chirps’ new country home in LaGrange, Wisconsin on March 30, 2008

Go to Paul Tyler’s transcriptions of these Chirps Smiths tunes.

To hear the first batch of Chirps Smith tunes.

Chirps Smith is the featured guest for the Fiddle Club of the World’s meeting on Sunday, April 20 at the Leadway Bar & Gallery.

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Stella’s Jig
From Stella Elam (1902-83) of Brownstown, Illinois.
slow version of Stella’s Jig

Rocky Road to Jordan
From Casey Jones (1910-87), who played on the radio in Shenandoah, Iowa.
slow version of Rocky Road to Jordan

Mississippi Palisades
An original by Lynn “Chirps” Smith.
slow version of Mississippi Palisades
From Chirps’s home recordings. Watch this space for more.

Go to Paul Tyler’s transcriptions of these Chirps Smiths tunes.

To hear more Chirps Smith tunes.

Chirps Smith will be performing at the Fiddle Club of the World’s meeting on Sunday, April 20 at the Leadway Bar & Gallery.

For now, the Old Town School is handling the club meetings as if they were workshops. Call 773.728.6000 to register. Cost is $12. Your name will then be entered on a list that allows entrance to the club meeting. Only those registered for the workshop will be considered members. Space is limited. Register early.

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Kerry Polkas
(The Ballydesmond Set)

Kerry Slides
(The Cat Jumped in the Mouse’s Hole/ If I’d a Wife)

unnamed reel
[In the key of D, it reminds me of Dickey's Discovery.]

All tunes were performed by Paddy Jones with Rus Bradburd at a concert in Silver City, New Mexico in 2007. Recording courtesy of Rus Bradburd.

Go to Paul Tyler’s transcriptions of these Paddy Jones tune.

Paddy Jones will be performing at the Fiddle Club of the World’s meeting on Friday, March 14 at the Leadway Bar & Gallery.

For now, the Old Town School is handling the club meetings as if they were workshops. Call 773.728.6000 to register. Cost is $12. Your name will then be entered on a list that allows entrance to the club meeting. Only those registered for the workshop will be considered members. Space is limited. Register early.