How Are Tunes Chosen?

Tunes taught at the session have to meet the following criteria:

Some tunes that are easy on the fiddle--usually in the key of D--are practically impossible to play on button boxes, which favor the key of G, and vice versa. Or, they go below D, making them somewhat flute- and pennywhistle-unfriendly.

Other tunes just don't sound right without lots of ornaments and not everyone can play ornaments. And, some are just so complicated that they can't be learned in an hour.

So, a lot of careful consideration goes into choosing tunes to teach. Suggestions are greatly appreciated but have to pass the above criteria.

Common vs less common tunes? While it's nice to know tunes that lots of other players know, some more experienced players won't play the tunes common to the beginners' repertoire. Besides, we have at least 3,000 tunes to choose from. Why not expand our repertoire?

Where do the tune versions come from?

Versions are usually taken from recordings or the teaching of master musicians. We try to stay away from printed or online versions that might have errors in them. Julie transcribes all tunes to ABC directly from specific versions and credits the musicians they came from. She sometimes makes minor adjustments or combines versions to accomodate the mix of instruments we typically have.