Most popular trad tunes?

[Charlie Bernstein]

Trad has taken over Maine.

So in self-defense, I'm going to see if I can learn a few of the more popular trad tunes - Ashoken Farewell, Soldier's Joy, Midnight on the Water, Angeline the Baker, and so on.

I just want to learn a few, so what do you think the essential trad tunes are these days?

Thanks!

[Denny Gies]

Ole Joe Clark, Gold Rush, Ragtime Annie, Whiskey Before Breakfast, Forked Deer.

[A 4]

What does "trad" mean in Maine? Regional differences in vocabulary, and all.

[foldedpath]

Yep, need further clarification on this "trad" thing. I use the term liberally here, but I usually mean Irish/Scottish traditional music, which wouldn't cover any of the tunes you mention. OldTime, maybe?

Edit to add: or any of the tunes Denny mentioned, but they would show up in a local OldTime jam.

[sblock]

TRADITIONAL?!? Careful...

Yes, Ashokan Farewell may be wildy popular in some oldtime circles, but it sure isn't a "traditional" fiddle tune, at least as I understand the meaning of that term. Jay Ungar wrote it back in 1982, at the Fiddle and Dance Camp that he ran with his wife, Molly Mason, at the Ashokan Center of SUNY Paltz, in upstate NY. So it's younger than our age, for many of us here on the MC! Also, Midnight on the Water was written by Texas fiddler Benny Thomasson's father, Luke, probably sometime in the 1950's. Also not traditional.

Both these waltzes are awfully fine fiddle tunes, however, and they fit pretty well into the old-time genre, even if they are not traditional.

And while we're on the subject, the reel named "Gold Rush" is a modern bluegrass tune, not a traditional fiddle tune: it was created by fiddler Byron Berline during his time with Bill Monroe. It's not exactly "traditional" either, and Monroe was apparently accredited the rights to it, at least at one point.


Finally, Angeline the Baker would be considered traditional in many circles, and it's old enough to have earned that designation, but its melody was derived from the Stephen Foster minstrel song Angelina Baker, from 1850, which is quite similar.

But tunes like Old Joe Clark, Ragtime Annie, Whiskey Before Breakfast, Forked Deer, Soldier's Joy, etc. are traditional.

Whew.

[foldedpath]

Charlie, by the way... lest it seem like we're jumping on you about the "trad" term, it's just an attempt to help you pin down some tunes you might want to learn.

There's some overlap between Irish-OldTime-Bluegrass repertoire when it comes to "fiddle tunes," and that may be closer to what you're asking about. They all play one version or another of "Red Haired Boy" or "Fisher's Hornpipe," but the way the tune is played will be very different depending on whether it's Irish, OldTime, or Bluegrass. And each of those genres has its own "core" repertoire you may want to learn, to start off with.

Welcome to the rabbit hole.

[Randi Gormley]

I was at Acadia Trad camp up in Bar Harbor last year and a lot of the tunes played in session were Irish trad -- but at camp, there was a lot of Cape Breton tunes, a touch of Scottish and a bit of contra dance tunes. the selection of ITM tunes also varied from what I normally play out here in the wilds of Connecticut, although Snowy Path seemed to be well-known to the Mainers and northerners in the group. The odd thing about trad tunes is the favorites vary by location. I mean, just about everybody knows the Kesh jig, and Boys of Blue Hill and Harvest Home, but much past that and regional differences start to prevail. The best advice is to attend a session (or jam, for those who follow that form of music) and record what you hear and ask after tune names. And there's also the chance that a tune I know as, say Rolling Waves, is called Humors of Trim out in your neck of the woods.

[UsuallyPickin]

Truly ..... regional differences means different tunes are being played. When I go to a music camp these are some of the tunes I hear people playing. Whiskey Before Breakfast D, Redwing G, Cherokee Shuffle D, Lost Indian D, Red Haired Boy A, Alabama Jubilee C, Salt Creek A, Soldiers Joy D, Arkansas Traveler D, Bill Cheatham A, Temperance Reel G, St. Anne's Reel D,
Your best bet is to go to a few jams with a recorder and catch what is being played..... Luck R/

[Charlie Bernstein]

What does "trad" mean in Maine? Regional differences in vocabulary, and all.

Good question - didn't think of that! Here it's mostly instrumental music from the British Isles and eastern Canada, very heavy on fiddle, with lots of Irish zook, penny whistle, and squeeze box thrown in.

To give you a better idea, this place is wildly popular: Maine Fiddle Camp

And Randi mentioned Acadia Trad School, which I think is a little pricier. It's another website that'll give you a idea of what passes for trad here.

[Charlie Bernstein]

TRADITIONAL?!? Careful...

Yes, Ashokan Farewell may be wildy popular in some oldtime circles, but it sure isn't a "traditional" fiddle tune, at least as I understand the meaning of that term. Jay Ungar wrote it back in 1982 . . . .

No wonder his version sounds so good!

I used to think it was new, but then someone told me it was a Civil War-era tune.

Never listen to ugly roomers!

[Charlie Bernstein]

Thanks, gang! This helps.

[Mandobar]

I have to laugh when you say "trad has taken over". My family came to Maine in the late 1800's, found the farming tough, held onto the farm here (in Kingman) and migrated south to NJ and beyond. My cousin now has possession of the family homestead and seems to be quite happy there. I returned in in the late 1990's to visit and decided to migrate back, but along the coast.

That said, I have done a lot of reading on the history of how settlers came to Maine. For the most part, at least along the coastline, the wealthier folks in Boston owned a lot of the coastline here in Maine around the 1700's. They paid people from Ireland, Scotland, and some other places to come over to the area and protect their holdings in Maine. Additionally, Nova Scotia was originally part of Maine, so the music was here long before any of us on this board were born. "Trad" in Maine depends on where you are standing. There are a lot of French-Canadians here too. We have lots of traditional music, based on different cultures. Take your pick.

Colin Woodward's book: The Lobster Coast: Rebels, Rusticators, and the Struggle for a Forgotten Frontier gives you a good idea of how the Maine Coast was settled.

That said, there are a lot of great players here, and there is a great folk music-oriented community music school in Yarmouth (just a bit northwest of Portland) that does a great job bringing music to the community called 317 Main. Lots of activities there for the young and old. Acadia Trad has a nice program, as well as the Celtic Music Festival in Belfast. But there is also Thomas Point Beach, which is a bluegrass festival, and there are some blues festivals in and around. Lots of contra-dance activity, etc.

[Charlie Bernstein]

I have to laugh when you say "trad has taken over". My family came to Maine in the late 1800's, found the farming tough, held onto the farm here (in Kingman) and migrated south to NJ and beyond. My cousin now has possession of the family homestead and seems to be quite happy there. I returned in in the late 1990's to visit and decided to migrate back, but along the coast.

That said, I have done a lot of reading on the history of how settlers came to Maine. For the most part, at least along the coastline, the wealthier folks in Boston a.k.a. the Great Proprietors owned a lot of the coastline here in Maine around the 1700's. They paid people from Ireland, Scotland, and some other places to come over to the area and protect their holdings in Maine. Additionally, Nova Scotia was originally part of Maine, so the music was here long before any of us on this board were born. "Trad" in Maine depends on where you are standing. There are a lot of French-Canadians here too. Yup! We have lots of traditional music, based on different cultures. Take your pick.

Colin Woodward's book: The Lobster Coast: Rebels, Rusticators, and the Struggle for a Forgotten Frontier gives you a good idea of how the Maine Coast was settled.

That said, there are a lot of great players here, Yup! and there is a great folk music-oriented community music school in Yarmouth (just a bit northwest of Portland) that does a great job bringing music to the community called 317 Main. Yup! Lots of activities there for the young and old. Acadia Trad has a nice program Yup! I put a link to it above., as well as the Celtic Music Festival in Belfast. Yup! But there is also Thomas Point Beach, which is a bluegrass festival Yup! That's the only time I ever saw Bill Monroe., and there are some blues festivals in and around. Yup! Lots of contra-dance activity, etc. Yup!

Well done! I think you just talked a lot of mando pickers into visiting Maine!

Been meaning to read Lobster Coast. Love Colin Woodard and have read a couple of his other books. (For anyone in the US who's into history or sociology, his American Nations is highly revealing and hugely entertaining.)

[Mandobar]

It does not appear that anyone needs an excuse to visit here, although I wish they'd pay more attention to where they are going when they are driving on our roads.

That said, the Portland Collection books are a good resource. I also think it depends on the session you attend. Different groups that jam or "session" have different favorites.

Many of "the Great Proprietors" lost their land to the "pirates" they hired to safeguard it for them, and rightly so, because they refused to pay them for their service.

[talladam]

Up here (Calgary, Alberta) I hear Cherokee Shuffle a lot for some reason. It's nice because I love that one and can actually play it a bit. Also Red Haired boy, Blackberry Blossom, Whiskey Before Breakfast, St Anne's Reel, Angeline the Baker, and Old Joe Clark are the ones that a few people around a jam circle might know.

[Charlie Bernstein]

Up here (Calgary, Alberta) I hear Cherokee Shuffle a lot for some reason. It's nice because I love that one and can actually play it a bit. Also Red Haired boy, Blackberry Blossom, Whiskey Before Breakfast, St Anne's Reel, Angeline the Baker, and Old Joe Clark are the ones that a few people around a jam circle might know.

Thanks! Hitchhiked through Alberta once. Good country!

[Charlie Bernstein]

It does not appear that anyone needs an excuse to visit here, although I wish they'd pay more attention to where they are going when they are driving on our roads. . . .

For those who have never been here: the common term for them is Massholes.

(I moved here from Dorchester and got Maine plates immediately!)

[JeffD]

The best best thing is to attend a local session, regardless of your present feelings of readiness, and see what tunes they love, and find out if there is a set list already available on the internet. Then go after it.

Two things to think about. One is that I have been jamming for many years and still do not feel ready, so don't let that stop you.

The other is that you don't really have to be ready. The jammers are there to have fun, and your figuring out what tunes they love is not going to bother them in the least. Nobody has ever ever told me "how dare you come here unprepared. Go learn some tunes and come back." It won't happen.

[Mandobar]

For those who have never been here: the common term for them is Massholes.

(I moved here from Dorchester and got Maine plates immediately!)

The tourists I am talking about have a variety of license plates, including from NJ, PA, NY, CT, Canada, etc. It is not limited to those from Massachusetts. Since Hurricane Sandy, we've had a lot of visitors from the Mid-Atlantic states. There is generally a giant sigh of relief around here right after Labor Day.

[allenhopkins]

I've heard Cherokee Shuffle, which is closely allied to Lost Indian, attributed to Tommy Jackson, who included it on an LP of square dance fiddle tunes, probably in the 1950's. Dunno if that's true.

To the tunes listed above, I'd add some popular Northeastern tunes, like Maple Sugar, Road to Boston, Barnburner's Reel, Little Burnt Potato, Jenny Lind Polka, Joys of Quebec, Staten Island Hornpipe, Rose Tree, Over the Waterfall (not really Northeastern), Devil's Dream, and St. Ann's Reel, though I believe the latter is a fairly recent Graham Townsend Canadian tune.

Some other British Isles tunes that are quite popular here -- other than the more specialized "Irish/Celtic trad" repertoire -- are Scotland the Brave, Boys of Blue Hill, White Cockade, Girl I Left Behind Me, Garryowen, Rakes of Mallow, Irish Washerwoman, Haste To the Wedding, and a variety of hornpipes: Off To California, Rickett's Hornpipe, Harvest Home, Rights of Man.

I've stuck to the more traditional, rather than the composed/attributed 19th/20th century tunes that many fiddlers enjoy playing: Down Yonder, Alabama Jubilee, Red Wing, Listen To the Mockingbird, Colored (Southern) Aristocracy, Tennessee Waltz, and such-like. The line between "trad" and just "old," and not even that "old" (cf. Ashokan Farewell) gets blurred all to hell.

[Charlie Bernstein]

The tourists I am talking about have a variety of license plates, including from NJ, PA, NY, CT, Canada, etc. It is not limited to those from Massachusetts. Since Hurricane Sandy, we've had a lot of visitors from the Mid-Atlantic states. There is generally a giant sigh of relief around here right after Labor Day.

Yup! Just thought folks here would like to hear a funny Maineism.

[ralph johansson]

Bonaparte's Retreat
Leather Britches
Say Old Man (Can You Play the Fiddle)
Beaumont Rag
Rye Straw
Katy Hill
Flop-eared Mule

In response to #5: The Gold Rush was jointly written by Monroe and Berline. By Berline's account, Monroe had the idea and Berline helped him shape it up.

[Stevo75]

Yup! Just thought folks here would like to hear a funny Maineism.

It's not just a Maineisn. I'm from NY originally and we call them Massholes too Although, as a New Yorker, I admit we shouldn't be ones to talk.

My ex is from Maine and I have spent a lot of time there over the years. It's a beautiful state!

I'll also add to the list:

Red Haired Boy
Big Sciota

[Charlie Bernstein]

It's not just a Maineisn. I'm from NY originally and we call them Massholes too Although, as a New Yorker, I admit we shouldn't be ones to talk.

My ex is from Maine and I have spent a lot of time there over the years. It's a beautiful state! . . .

Agreed. I came here by accident in '88 (a temporary job that I jumped at to get out of Dorchester) and liked it so much I never left!

[mandroid]

Gone to Cape Breton music festivals in Nova Scotia, & picked up any of their tunes?