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Posted by JanetB
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- Play count: 208
Size: 1,280kb, uploaded 10/21/2017 8:22:45 AM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
An obscure tune for the old-time Tune of the Week, 10/20/17, this tune probably resembles well the style of Israel Welch, WV fiddler and multi-instrumentalist. The Welch Brothers (four of them and a cousin) had a popular dance band in the 1930's and all were skillful musicians. Brothers Tom and Israel Welch were still alive in the 1980's and could still play outstanding dance music.
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Posted by JanetB, written by John Reischman
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- Play count: 237
Size: 1,879kb, uploaded 4/13/2019 9:22:56 PM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
For the old-time Tune of the Week, Salt Spring is a modern composition by John Reischman, an excellent mandolinist I've been fortunate to hear, along with his talented Jaybirds band, many times.
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Posted by JanetB
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- Play count: 185
Size: 1,486kb, uploaded 2/4/2017 10:36:34 PM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
Salty River Reel is inspirational for learning more about Missouri fiddling. This old-time Tune of the Week, 2/4/17, comes from Cyril Stinnett, Missouri fiddler (1912 - 1986), though he didn't appear to have written the tune. He was a precise player, very shy they say, and very successful at fiddling competitions. His style came from the north Missouri region, influenced by Canadian hornpipes, and one of his important sources was Casey Jones, who recorded this tune in 1951. Cyril's first name is pronounced "Serl" and the recording of this piece was in the 1960's at a fiddle contest. It's upbeat, so hope you enjoy!
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Posted by JanetB, written by Ralph Whited
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- Play count: 556
Size: 900kb, uploaded 3/10/2012 1:54:58 PM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
James Bryan, the smoothest, greatest fiddler, learned this from Jim Cauthen and recorded it on his recent CD with Carl Jones, Cricket's Lullaby. Another crooked song.
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Posted by JanetB
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- Play count: 67
Size: 3,024kb, uploaded 4/5/2025 3:03:41 PM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
A sand riffle is something that happens in a river or stream. It makes a neat design in the sand, but the water flowing over it is disturbed. Apparently this tune was named for one in Franklin County, TN. That's kind of neat, as I have relatives there and have hiked along one of its creeks.
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Posted by JanetB
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- Play count: 128
Size: 1,029kb, uploaded 5/23/2020 4:17:52 PM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
From the playing of West Virginian Oscar Wright for the TOTW, 5/22/20. As our presenter says, it's a hypnotic type of tune, but I finally found a nice embedded melody.
2 comments
Posted by JanetB
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- Play count: 1484
Size: 915kb, uploaded 7/1/2011 9:03:59 AM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
Burnett and Rutherford played it as a dance tune called Ladies on a Steamboat. My mother once said that great tunes have a minor chord. This one has E minor. Does anyone agree with her? Ever since she told me that, I've found that my favorite tunes do have a minor.
6 comments
Posted by JanetB, written by Henry Reed
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- Play count: 1089
Size: 1,089kb, uploaded 8/28/2012 6:20:56 PM
Genre: Traditional / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
Henry Reed learned these from the Civil War fifer Quince Dillon. The two tunes are both in Am and one leads easily to the other in a medley.
3 comments
Posted by JanetB
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- Play count: 338
Size: 978kb, uploaded 8/18/2011 5:55:17 AM
Genre: Bluegrass / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
This was the first song I figured something out with melodic fingering. Bill Monroe is given credit for writing this, though it's very similar to I Don't Love Nobody.
6 comments
Posted by JanetB
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- Play count: 571
Size: 1,424kb, uploaded 11/1/2015 7:06:46 PM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
As played by North Carolina fiddler Marion Reece (1874 - 1941). I can hear the scolding in the A part very clearly!
3 comments
Posted by JanetB
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- Play count: 992
Size: 1,592kb, uploaded 10/8/2014 5:20:52 PM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
From the Samuel Bayard collection of Pennsylvanian tunes in Dance to the Fiddle, March to the Fife. This medley is played by Mark Tamsula and Richard Withers on their excellent CD "Up in the Batten House."
4 comments
Posted by JanetB
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- Play count: 69
Size: 3,545kb, uploaded 6/27/2026 4:03:28 PM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
Learned for clawhammer banjo from the playing of Missouri fiddler Bill Driver with some cello banjo accompaniment
2 comments
Posted by JanetB, written by Anthony Hannibal Clapp
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- Play count: 319
Size: 2,546kb, uploaded 12/24/2016 2:50:45 PM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
For the old-time Tune of the Week, 12/23/16, Anthony H. Clapp (1749 - 1816) -- said to have been an excellent fiddler and a slave belonging to the family of William Sydney Mount (famed painter of The Banjo Player) -- wrote and named this tune for the town in which he lived. Mount had it in his collections of fiddle tunes, which are kept at the Stony Brooks Museum in Long Island, NY. See this week's TOTW for more info.
3 comments
Posted by JanetB
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- Play count: 1545
Size: 1,383kb, uploaded 3/14/2012 8:25:34 PM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
Kit and I enjoy this song. Together with mandolin and banjo we're Plinky and Plunky.
3 comments
Posted by JanetB
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- Play count: 1652
Size: 1,339kb, uploaded 1/9/2013 8:40:22 AM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
From Edden Hammons fiddling, inspired by Adam Hurt's fiddling (yes, fiddling).
5 comments
Posted by JanetB
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- Play count: 75
Size: 1,898kb, uploaded 9/7/2018 8:02:03 AM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
For the old-time TOTW, 9/7/18, Shaking Off the Acorns comes from the playing of West Virginian fiddler Edden Hammons, who would have been 113 years old today. Most everybody else records it as Shaking Down the Acorns and it's definitely one of my favorite tunes of all time. It's modal and the first part has 12 measures with three 4-measure phrases.
2 comments
Posted by JanetB
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- Play count: 100
Size: 1,284kb, uploaded 5/27/2023 12:28:42 PM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
A song recorded in the 20's with wholesome lyrics. I'm playing the words as sung by the duet Burnett and Rutherford. It also goes along with the singing in the key of C on a recording by Clyde Davenport, one of my favorite old-time musicians. Check out the Tune of the Week for more.
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Posted by JanetB
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- Play count: 141
Size: 1,196kb, uploaded 12/12/2020 7:19:58 PM
Genre: Old Time / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
The Tune of the Week goes by several titles. I chose two variations, especially since Take Me Back to Tulsa was a fun piece to sing with the Rough and Ready Fruit Jar Pickers. Shear 'Em had a much older resource than Bob Wills, but I liked how and learned from Gail Gillepsie's group, Happy Valley Band, played it like a real dance tune.
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Posted by JanetB, written by Turlough O'Carolan
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- Play count: 2034
Size: 1,581kb, uploaded 10/10/2011 8:58:18 PM
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish / Playing Style: Clawhammer and Old-Time
This was Carolan's first composition at age 21, blinded since 18 years old, and embarking for the first time on his journey as an itinerant harper. The squire at his first stop suggested he compose a song about two neighboring hills where two fairy hosts had battled. Carolan's genius for writing was thus born.
4 comments
Posted by JanetB, written by Turlough O'Carolan
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- Play count: 2464
Size: 2,214kb, uploaded 6/18/2013 12:21:55 PM
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish / Playing Style: Classical
When I originally learned this I used clawhammer tuned to double D. Then I learned it in open G 3-finger picking style. Now I'm trying it again with clawhammer after more than 30 years. It's coming back to me and I still think it's amongst the prettiest tunes ever written. The story goes that Sheebeg, Sheemore was the blind harpist's first composition in 1691. It's meaning is "Little Mountain, Big Mountain" and was named for a location where a battle between fairy peoples allegedly took place.
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