Pop Goes the Weasel
A Child’s Song, a Jig–Pop Goes the Weasel Looking over my list of tunes in the Fiddle Tune Directory, I see a shortage of real beginner tunes. Pop Goes the Weasel is a tune requested by my younger students. It’s a jig, it’s a children’s song, but it isn’t easy. And yet, because it is […]
President Garfield’s Hornpipe
President Garfield’s Hornpipe from Sean Ryan’s Being an election year, and the race for President being more interesting than usual, here is a blast from the past. This tune, President Garfield’s Hornpipe was first published in Sean Ryan’s Mammoth Collection of fiddle tunes, not long after the unfortunate assassination of the man elected by the people […]
Crabs in the Skillet–Trad Irish Tune
Crabs in the Skillet in Tab As someone who has the zodiac sign of Cancer the Crab, I should feel uncomfortable about the title of this tune. But, I don’t. I didn’t even feel uncomfortable when playing this tune at an old time contest cost me placement in the top five. Too bad. It’s a […]
On the Boulevard–a Jig by Liz Carroll
Play a Liz Carroll Fiddle Tune from Tab Notation When I first heard On the Boulevard from the Liz Carroll album, Lost in the Loop, It seemed merely to repeat the A part an octave higher for the B part. The similarity between the A part and the B part seemed a little redundant. It […]
The Earl’s Chair
The Earl’s Chair–an Irish Reel Session Favorite When I play The Earl’s Chair, sometimes I think: The Duke of Earl’s Chair. That would be a slightly Americanized version of this great Irish fiddle reel. I first tuned in to The Earl’s Chair when I heard the Liz Carroll album, Lost in the Loop. It’s preceded […]