Tunes that improve technique

[Seamus B]

I am still a beginner, but I am working through Irish and English folk tunes so that I can play at my local sessions. Sometimes I find that they use similar notes and movements, and I have found myself wanting to learn tunes that force me out of my comfort zone.

A good example would be that I only play a couple of songs when I need to use my pinky for that 7th fret E-string B-chord (The Kesh Jig for instance). I also tend to only really play across the D and A strings, with movement up to the E string for the B section of songs.

I rarely, if ever, use the G string which is a shame because I rather like the minor chord sound of songs that use the G and D strings.

So, do people know songs (perhaps 2 or 3) that they recommend for improving elements of play?

[Jim Mullins]

Big John McNeill
Big Sciota
Molly Bloom
Blackberry Blossom (playing the A part on the E strings)

The other thing you could try is playing tunes without using your index finger. Somebody told me that the ring finger and pinky are connected physiologically in a way that other fingers are not, resulting in more difficulty using the pinky independently. I've found that with mindful practice and use of the pinky, my ability to use the pinky (and trust it) improves quite a bit

Good luck!

Jim

[UsuallyPickin]

As a beginner any tune you learn is going to help you firm up the foundations of good playing and using" proper" technique. I do recommend that once you learn a tune or song transpose it to another key or octave to help you learn more of the fingerboard. This will also cause you to work out your pinky. Fiddle tunes are mostly written in G D and A. Those are the "best" keys that lay out on a mandolin or fiddle but there is soooo much more musical real estate to investigate on a mandolin fingerboard. Singers have a range and it is up to us as instrumentalists to be able to accommodate them with good accompaniment.
Insofar as specific tunes Blackberry Blossom is a good suggestion. The St. Anne's Reel is another as is Down Yonder. Luck and patience. R/

[Bill McCall]

Ragtime Annie tab from mandozine for string crossing work, the A part especially.

[T.D.Nydn]

Technique,,,a good one is Bobby Osborne''s "sure-fire"...or anything by Calace really...

[JeffD]

The other thing you could try is playing tunes without using your index finger.

I was forced to do this when I had problems with my index finger. The problems cleared up eventually, but the skill enhancement was immense. I recommend doing something like this.

[CarlM]

The Rights of Man especially the B part played up the neck has been useful for me.

[Teak]

Anything that makes you play in Bb or Eb.

Look up "River, Stay Away from My Door". Eb. Makes you use closed positions throughout, chords and melody.

[Mark Wilson]

Devils Dream in A
Blackberry Blossom in G (agree with Jim)

[Ky Slim]

You mentioned that you are learning English and Irish session tunes and that you rarely get to use your G string. This is because many of these tunes are common on D flutes and whistles where D is the lowest note. As a beginner, the idea of transposing a part up or down an octave may seem huge or intimidating but it's not that bad.

You said you play "Kesh Jig". That melody starts on G and does not go lower than G in most arrangements or settings. Try starting Kesh on your open G String. It sounds really nice that way in my opinion.

Another trick is try to substitute lower notes within the melody. For example, substitute the low B note (4th fret G string) with the B note at the 2nd fret of the A string in melodies. A nice place to try this is "Swallowtail Jig". It's easy and sounds cool.

Also, if you want to develop your pinky do try playing tunes without your index. It works.

Good Luck!

[Jill McAuley]

My advice would be to seek out slightly more challenging tunes, as you'll find ones that incorporate the G string more as opposed to simpler tunes such as the Kesh. Off the top of my head I'd be thinking of reels like The Jug of Punch, The Lads of Laois, Martin Rocheford's and several of Finbarr Dwyer's reels. The Castle Jig also incorporates the G string. When I started out playing years ago my teacher asked me if I wanted to learn standard session tunes or tunes that were a little more challenging and I opted for the latter. It really wasn't any more difficult than learning a simple tune since my teacher taught tunes to me line by line, and it meant that from the get go I was playing tunes that used the high "b", and ones that utilized the G string as well.

[foldedpath]

For tunes that will stretch beyond the B note on the E strings while still keeping you in the Irish tradition, try learning some transcriptions of O'Carolan harp tunes. Many of those will take you out of first position. Like "O'Carolan's Welcome," one of my favorites, that climbs up on the E strings in an A dorian version. Harp tunes are a great way to break out of common fiddler/mandolin pitch range.

To move down on the G string, try taking a tune in A mixolydian or A dorian and find the "octave down" version by re-fingering on the G and D strings. I do this when playing with Scottish smallpipes where many tunes are in A, so the mandolin voice can be heard underneath the pipes. Try it with a tune like Brenda Stubbert's Reel. I think Cape Breton fiddlers call this a "low turn," and it's a common variation in that style that also works on mandolin.

[Mark Gunter]

I really enjoy tunes that lead you across all four strings with the melody. Here are some examples that I enjoy; maybe you will too.

1. Caledonian Laddie
Sheet Music
(http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/scottish-mandolin-tab/caledonian_laddie.htm)http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/scottish-tab-midis/caledonian_laddie.mp3
You'll notice in that sheet music two pickup notes on the D string; substitute those for a triplet on the G string, 2-4-6. I play the triplet by hammering on the 4 & 6. If you play it that way, the tune takes you across all four strings. I prefer the version arranged by Brad Laird in his Mandolin Song Book published by Watch & Learn, there are other triplet ornamentations in it besides the one I mentioned.

2. If you have and use TablEdit, there are some cool tunes at mandozine that take you across all four strings; here are a couple of my favorites:

Poor Richard's Blues (http://www.mandozine.com/music/search_results.php?searchfor=poor+richard&tuneselectby=C&mandolevel=&category=&songkey=&artist=&transcriber=&sortby=T&sortorder=A&submit=)

Hollow Poplar (http://www.mandozine.com/music/search_results.php?searchfor=Hollow+Poplar&tuneselectby=C&mandolevel=&category=&songkey=&artist=&transcriber=&sortby=T&sortorder=A&submit=)

[foldedpath]

For a practice tune that leads across all four strings, the best one I've played in recent years is the "Cherry Tree Reel," not to be confused with the Irish "Maid in the Cherry Tree."

It's a West Coast contradance tune, basically theme and variations as it moves from the low to high strings in first position. You can find the sheet music in the Portland Book Volume 1. There are a couple of performances online with YouTube but no great examples. Find it in the Portland Books if you have a copy.

A killer tune, a real workout across all the strings in first position.

[Will Patton]

One tune I use for technique skills is Golden Eagle Hornpipe - - uses all the strings, lots of tricky string crossings, and the B part has some interesting harmonic leaps.

[Seamus B]

Thanks to you all - as usual there is a wealth of useful feedback and tips and some tunes that I can learn to help with my technique. I have also been playing around with dropping an octave on songs I know which is really helpful. I'm also learning Harvest Home this week which really forces me to move across all the strings!

[Dacnis]

Some of the fiddle tunes with free sheet music on Mandolessons are good for the G and E strings. Most of the A part of the Glasgow Reel (Tam Lin) involves the G string. Waltz for Two Friends crosses down to middle C several times. Julia Delaney's also crosses down to middle C, in the A part, and it has a really nice B part that requires rocking back and forth between the A and E strings. I second the recommendation for Rights of Man for the E string. There's a good version at: http://www.arcelts.com/bbot1/t583.htm.