20 Songs you need to know

[nanaimo]

I think I have seen something like this around the Cafe before but can't seem to find it.

As a rookie, just over 5 months into playing the mandolin, I am thinking ahead to when I will be able to get to a camp or symposium. I am looking to be pointed in the direction of a 'list' of essential tunes that I shoud have memorized. I am sure that there are probably many different lists, but there must be certain tunes that are a must. Any help with this search is appreciated.

Kelly

[Miked]

How about these?

[mandopete]

Just 20?

Not really trying to be my usual sacarstic self, but without knowing the context of your desire to learn material it's hard to gauge what you should learn. In the bluegrass world there's any number or standard "fiddle tunes" that get called out at a jam. Then there's songs (with singin') and bext to keep those pretty simple and know the lyrics (i am ashamed).

But best of all is learn to listen (I am ashamed). I have heard some really great players recently in jam sessions who may not have ever heard the music before, but one or two times through they are realy getting it and without a pre-conceived notion of that the music is "supposed" to be all sorts of wonderful things happen.

[Mandolin Mick]

Well, it depends on the style of music that you want to play. I'm really only familiar with Bluegrass mandolin. Even then, do you mean licks/solos or the songs in general? Bluegrass solos would be Rawhide, etc., while the essential songs would be Salty Dog Blues, Roll in My Sweet Baby's Arms, etc. But, I'm a Bluegrasser ...

[nanaimo]

OK, Got ya! Let me start with Old time tunes ( I also like Celtic)

[JeffD]

Well, it depends on the style of music that you want to play

It really does depend. There are 20 essential bluegrass tunes, 20 esential old timey tunes, 20 essential Irish traditional tunes... and so on.

[JeffD]

All right, old timey!

[Mike Snyder]

Paring that down to 20 very basic songs will be tough. Everyone's preferences should show up real fine.
Soldier's Joy Cripple Creek
Liberty Old Joe Clark
Ragtime Annie Red Wing
Turkey in the Straw Kitchen Girl
Mississippi Sawyer Barlow Knife
Forked Deer Golden Slippers
8th of January Liza Jane x3, big, little and goodbye
Arkansas Traveller
Angelina Baker
Bile 'em Cabbage
Cluck ol' Hen

I've tried to stay away from ITM, Scottish pipe tunes, Cape Breton, Quebecois, good lord it goes on forever. Little sense in it because all these tunes are derivative of some older tunes that were derivative of old-world tunes that were derivative of...................................Some I've listed I don't play because they're in the cliche cycle. They'll be back eventually.
I have a list of 50 or so that I use busking. Ten or eleven off this list get played. I'd be interested in more regional lists.
Top 20 Ozarks Old Time, Top 20 Appalacian, Top 20 Georgia Stringband. Portland, San Francisco, Nogales, Traverse City, Portland (the East one) et al!

[nanaimo]

Thanks for the list Mike. This is a start - Some I have already and will search out the others.

Kelly

[SincereCorgi]

As determined by voting:

http://www.bluegrassguitar.com/top10_allvotes.php

[Mandolin Mick]

Another good one is Garryowen (Gary Owen)!

[GRW3]

Kelly,

This is really a very regional kind of thing. You basically have to go to jams to find out what they are playing to know what you need to learn. Around these parts, songs are king, you can go for months and never play a tune. (Using the Song = words + music and Tune = just music rule.) Lot's of people can do the tunes, like Soldier's Joy, Old Joe Clark, Redwing, etc., etc., they just don't. I know a bunch of tunes just because I like to play them.

My communal effort in songs is learning choruses of a lot of songs so I can do harmony parts. People always want me to do harmony in jams so I do my best to oblidtge. The songs I learn are strictly what appeals to me. I do try to keep them in the 'jammable' range but not always. By learn I mean memorize, I do not carry a big jam book (though I do keep a song list tucked in my tone gard, I remember more songs than I remember I know).

[Henry Eagle]

Learn Bill Monroe with Flatt & Scruggs! Kelly if you wish, cronologically in chunks of twenty. I'm serious. When you're through with them, stay with Monroe. (20, 20, 20...) See if you can use your skills on Flatt & Scruggs, Jimmy Martin and Reno & Smiley. (Comparatively infrequent mandolin breaks, but great for playing rhythm and singing along!) Should keep you busy for awhile. If ten years from now you found out it helped, send me a Nanaimo bar, yum, yum!
Henry

[re simmers]

Keys of C, G, D, A, Bb, B (Rebecca when you're ready). Stuff with different right hand stuff. Waltzes. Minors. There's plenty of tab available, in addition to videos, etc to learn this list. I had a lot of success with Harold Streeter tab, Dan Huckabee, Jack Tottle's Bluegrass Mandolin and Mel Bay's Deluxe Bluegrass Mandolin(Ray Valla), but mostly from lessons from Ron Pennington. Nothing beats a good teacher.

Rawhide
Wheel Hoss
Billy in the Lowground
Soldier's Joy
Arkansas Traveler
Salt Creek
Red Haired Boy
Bill Cheathum
Moonlight Waltz
Old Joe Clark
Clinch Mountain Backstep
Jerusalem Ridge
Southern Flavor
Kentucky Mandolin
New Camptown Races
Wildwood Flower
Bury Me Beneath the Willow
Black Mountain Rag
Blackberry Blossom
Stoney Lonesome

Different parts of the country will have different lists.

Bob

[Andy Alexander]

Learn the tunes on "Kenny Baker Plays Bill Monroe".

[HddnKat]

I'm in the same region as George, and I agree about here the majority of jam fodder is songs (and in my neck of the woods, they tend to be 50 year old country songs at that). When they do tunes, some of the more popular ones not yet mentioned are San Antonio Rose, Midnight on the Water, Cherokee Shuffle and Panhandle Rag (in E of all God-awful keys because that is where the dobro player likes it). Recently our jam-master challenged us to learn Black Mountain rag in memory of Doc, but I"m not there with it yet.

Kelly,

This is really a very regional kind of thing. You basically have to go to jams to find out what they are playing to know what you need to learn. Around these parts, songs are king, you can go for months and never play a tune. (Using the Song = words + music and Tune = just music rule.) Lot's of people can do the tunes, like Soldier's Joy, Old Joe Clark, Redwing, etc., etc., they just don't. I know a bunch of tunes just because I like to play them.