Hi Dusty,

"I'll Tell Me Ma".

I've added this to Val's "A New Tune to Learn" thread in the Irish Group.

Learn a New Tune

(bottom of the page)

Thanks, Martha. I don't know that one but it looks approachable enough from the tab. Thanks for the suggestion.

Martha E said:

Thanks, James. I play all three of those with my regular dulcimer group, so they were among the first I put on the list.

James Phillips said:

I have to admit, John, that I didn't know that one. But I just gave it a listen and it sure is fun! I'll put some tab together, maybe even some lyrics and chords, and add that to the list. Thanks for the suggestion!

john p said:

You have to include 'I'll Tell Me Ma' as well.

Ken,as two songs (different in lyrics and tune) in the Irish folk canon are routinely called "Banks of the Bann," I prefer "Be Thou My Vision" tospecify the tune commonly called"Slane."

Ken Hulme said:

One of my favorites is Keel Row:

http://threeriversdulcimersociety.net/Music/Keel%20Row.pdf

Dusty, a couple I'd suggest are already on that list - Water Is Wide, Southwind, Morning Has Broken. Good luck with this!

William -- Be Thou My Vision is the "churchified" version of the old Irish tune called Banks of the Bann. Be Thou is much slower and the emphasis is completely different, although the notes are the same.

Thanks, William. The Minstrel Boy was the first fingerpicking tune I ever tried, and I'll definitely add that to the list. I also learned Annie Laurie from some tab Nina Zanetti posted on her website, so I'll definitely add at least those two. the list of songs I have to learn, though, is getting pretty long, so I'm not sure how many of the others will make it to the list before the event itslef. Thanks for the suggestions.

William Craig Mann said:

Consider:

Scotland the Brave, The Minstrel Boy, The Green Hills of Tyroll (The Scottish Soldier), The Battle's O'er

and a little more complex:

Mo Guile Mear, Be Thou My Vision, McLeod's Reel, Annie Laurie, Endearing Young Charms

I think that history is accurate, Peter. And I just paid for another year of the website. As long as the website is up, the list will be, too, although it may evolve over time.

Peter W. said:

I read that Irish emigrants went to Liverpool first to escape from unemployment. From there the big ships to America departed, and many of them decided to give it a try.

Please keep your list online - I guess I'll like to try out some of them during the summer...

Consider:

Scotland the Brave, The Minstrel Boy, The Green Hills of Tyroll (The Scottish Soldier), The Battle's O'er

All of the above are commonly played on the bagpipes and are fairly simple dulcimer pieces.

Not common bagpipe tunes, and a little more complex:

Mo Guile Mear, Be Thou My Vision, McLeod's Reel, Annie Laurie, Endearing Young Charms

Scotland the Brave is a good suggestion, Babs. Thanks.

Babs Greene said:

... I always thought of it as English rather than Irish since it mentions Liverpool. Now that I think about it, though, it was always sung by those Irish groups like the Clancy Brothers, the Pogues, and Tommy Makem, wasn't it?

In several sources (like here in German: http://www.grapeviners.de/Main/Lyrics/Leaving%20of%20Liverpool.html ) I read that Irish emigrants went to Liverpool first to escape from unemployment. From there the big ships to America departed, and many of them decided to give it a try. So there's at least a chance that the song's roots are Irish... But I can't proof. It is a beautiful song anyway...

Please keep your list online - I guess I'll like to try out some of them during the summer...

I guess it's fair to say, Guy, that you are an uncommon musician in many ways. Peter mentioned Down by the Sally Gardens as well, so I'll be learning that one and adding it for sure. Thanks!

Guy Babusek said:

Babs, I have a couple of books of Celtic tunes but I don't really know which ones are the more common ones, so rather than just choosing tunes at random, I'm looking for those that a lot of players would either know or at least be interested in learning. I'll definitely check out the book you mention, though.

Babs Greene said:

Linda, the list is obviously a personal one. I included what I thought to be common tunes as well as tunes that I happen to know. I'll check out Red is the Rose. And we might play Wild Mountain Thyme, but I won't put it on the list with tablature since it's still under copyright. Thanks for the suggestions!

Linda W. Collins said:

This is quite a varied list. How about adding:

Red Is the Rose

Will Ye Go, Lassie Go? (Wild Mountain Thyme)

Thanks, Ken. I could probably add Lock Lomond and Auld Lang Syne right away. The others I'll have to learn first. But thanks for the suggestions.

Ken Hulme said:

Loch Lomond

Banks of the Bann

Maire's Wedding

Auld Lang Syne

Tramps and Hawkers

Thanks, Peter. I'll check out Down By the Sally Gardens. And its funny, but I just arranged a version of Leaving of Liverpool for my regular dulcimer group, but I always thought of it as English rather than Irish since it mentions Liverpool. Now that I think about it, though, it was always sung by those Irish groups like the Clancy Brothers, the Pogues, and Tommy Makem, wasn't it?

Peter W. said:

you could add

... Down by the Sall[e]y Gardens

and perhaps...

... Leaving of Liverpool

Looks like a great list to me. I tend to do a lot of so called "Celtic" music, but I don't think most of mine is very common LOL. Down By The Sally Gardens might be a nice addition to your list.

This is quite a varied list. How about adding:

Red Is the Rose

Will Ye Go, Lassie Go? (Wild Mountain Thyme)

If you need it, TAB for each of these is in my book Beyond the Basics .

Best of luck with the jam!

Linda

www.cabinhillmusic.com

Scottish folk tunes are what I particularly love, Dusty. Here's a few common, simple ones that aren't on the list

Loch Lomond

Banks of the Bann

Maire's Wedding

Auld Lang Syne

Tramps and Hawkers

You're list is perfect, Dusty!

Just to make it a little more perfect , you could add

... Down by the Sall[e]y Gardens

(one of the first dulcimer pieces I ever played; I recorded this just a few weeks after I started to play the MD)

and perhaps...

... Leaving of Liverpool

Hello good people of FOTMD. I have been asked to lead a Celtic jam at this spring's Berkeley Dulcimer Gathering . I agreed to do it only after making it clear that this would not be an Irish or Celtic "session" but would more resemble a song circle in which we focused on Celtic tunes, including many slower tunes.

The way this jam is being publicized, people are invited to bring a song to play or to learn one from the jam leader (me). And I was asked to put together a list of tunes, ideally with tab, that people could examine ahead of time. I have started that process, and added a page of Celtic Tunes Commonly Played on the Dulcimer on my website.

Please take a look at that list and let me know if I have left out any obvious tunes. I am not necessarily looking for your favorite Irish polka or Scottish lament, but rather tunes that are commonly played on the dulcimer. For example, just yesterday someone suggested that I add "Farewell to Tarwathie" and "All Through the Night." To be honest, I am not looking for anything too complicated, either, for I have to be able to play and perhaps teach any song on the list.

And just for the record, I am fully aware that the very term "Celtic" might be offensive to some in that it glosses over the differences among Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Cornish, Manx, and Breton musical cultures. No offense is intended. But from the perspective of the vast immigrant land of the U.S. of A., music from the various Celtic cultures does exhibit some shared characteristics that differentiates it from, for example, Afro-Caribbean music or Baltic music or klezmer or whatever. As a further confessional, I think so far I only have Irish, Scottish, and Welsh tunes on the list. (I ask particular forgiveness from the Breton family I lived with for 6 months in the late 1980s. Pardonnez-moi.)

I welcome any suggestions you have. And if you have none because my list is so wonderful, well I'd love to hear that too.