It's always an invigorating treat when Andy Alexis chooses a song to share. He not only has personal history in performing it, but offers actual history, too. Living in the gold rush region of California, Andy has learned some songs associated with its legacy. Our new Tune of the Week, though borrowed from the minstrel tradition, showcases a gold miner, and a female one at that. Also called California Bloomer, take a look and listen to TOTW, 10/15/21, Miss Ella - Nelly Bly.

Some of our presenters go back far enough to have had closer contact with source players than many of us, as in this latest TOTW. Carl Baron played with a group in the 70's who gave him access via their own home recordings to a source player, Indiana fiddler John "Dick" Summers. It's said Summers played with the "excellence of 19th century fiddling" and Carl includes his recording for us. Enjoy a dance tune on TOTW, 10/22/21, Lowery's Quadrille.

Mark Tomko may not be any where near the west at the moment (he's in Copenhagen, Denmark), but he's still thinking about it and returns to the states soon.  In his on-going lessons with Adam Hurt, Mark has explored two versions of an old-time tune many of his know.  Come and join us in this week's exploration of how a tune can take on many faces and names, but still be the same tune.  TOTW, 10/29/21, Western Country is one to work on if it's new for you.

The international flavor of TOTW has been enhanced with Mark Gentry’s contribution of a sweet a Quebecois tune. Mark also shares an interesting biography of the fiddler and has recorded a beautiful take on it, including tab.  You'll enjoy this week's TOTW, 11/5/21, La Belle Catherine.

We had a little head start this week on a possum tune, with Mtngoat’s choice. He regularly plays fiddle tunes and has chosen one in the key of G, more rare in our repertoire. Though the title is attached to other keys and melody, we'll focus on G. Have some fun with TOTW, 11/12/21, Possum Up a Gum Stump while I figure out how you get very far climbing a stump. 

I posted last Friday, but neglected to announce it here. I took someone's place, which has happened again this week. A special guest presenter will post as a substitute later today.  My choice harmonized with the Thanksgiving theme.  Did you know at the first Thanksgiving there were actually no turkeys, but there were ducks, geese, and venison?  The tune is a very pretty one, so I hope you will enjoy the TOTW, 11/19/21, Geese Honking.

And now we can reveal our guest presenter, long-time friend and multiple-times presenter of TOTW Don Borchelt.  Don has chosen an original fiddle tune of Owen "Snake" Chapman of Kentucky. Snake's music continuously enters our growing list of tunes to explore. Read about how Don's cat enters the scene in TOTW, 11/26/21.

A treat from RG Hocutt via Joe and Odell Thompson, two brothers prominent in the Black string band tradition. RG includes a thorough history with his own nice performance. Learning about the two is a must in our old-time genre, so let's tune in to the TOTW, 12/3/21, Old Corn Liquor.

Fiddler and friend of the banjo, Billy Kearney, is offering another Owen "Snake" Chapman tune. Though the tune title is familiar, viewers will be treated to something different. Personally, I'm excited to learn from the playing of Snake -- the dynamic Kentucky fiddler who likes to make appearances on TOTW, 12/17/21, Jack of Diamonds.

This week we can enjoy and feel the wonderfully lyrical magic of J.P. Fraley's fiddle. We've covered some of his music in the past, but truly he deserves to be heard on the banjo, too.  I posted TOTW, 12/24/21, Wild Rose of the Mountain.

MtGoat has given us a Cajun tune, a lovely waltz with lyrics in French about losing a loved one.  Cajun music is indeed a resource we haven't tapped into which is rich in old time fiddling and accordian.  The music is very adaptable to banjo.  Enjoy the new TOTW, 12/31/21, Jai Passe Devant ta Porte.

Some of us think that with over 700 tunes, we've already covered a majority, but some diligent searching finds that we certainly haven't. Stephen Rapp, very active in the old-time world and always welcome on TOTW, discovered one that we were surprised hasn't been done yet.  Stephen said he even did a bit of singing on this fun tune.  Its resource fiddler is always of value to study -- Virginian Emmett Lundy.  So welcome in the new year and explore TOTW, 1/7/22, Ducks on the Millpond.

Here’s a live link for the above TOTW post:  TOTW, 1/7/22, Ducks on the Millpond.

If you look at the avatar of our presenter this week, Adam Schweigert, you see a thoughtful banjo player.  For this week's Tune of the Week he is offering one of the fiddle tunes from Samuel Bayard's remarkable collection of southwestern Pennsylvania music called Dance to the Fiddle and March to the Fife.  Come and join us -- give a try on banjo of what Adam speculates may have once been played just by fife around the time of the Civil War.  You get to hear the fiddle source whose grandfather passed it on to him. Plus get a close look at the modern day old-time fiddler Mark Tamsula bringing Bayard's music back to life in the old-time music world. I'm ready to try TOTW, 1/14/22, Old Number Third.

Sometimes on Tune of the Week we get a classic old tune whose study opens our eyes and ears to a long and rich history.  Such is this week's tune, carefully researched by stalwart presenter Jan Olov.  First recorded in the 1920's, it entered the bluegrass world, where I finally heard it in the 70's as played by Doc Watson.  Old-time banjo players have added it to our repertoire, so, if you haven't, you can now give the good old TOTW, 1/21/22, Bill Cheatham + many other spellings a try.

A bit of Prohibition history comes to us via talented banjo picker John D.  When the farmer couldn't earn a living selling cotton, he turned to raising corn to make moonshine whiskey, in spite of the risks.  Listen to this rousing old fiddle tune and our clawhammer arrangements on TOTW, 1/28/22/Four Cent Cotton.

From the state of Georgia, and thanks to the amazingly thorough presentations of both the Slippery Hill website and the Milliner-Koken Collection of Fiddle Tunes, we have this week another tune referring to whiskey.  Chosen by the diligent learner, teacher, and oft-time jammer Mtngoat, you can pick up this fairly easy, yet distinct tune in our TOTW, 2/4/22, Grand River Whiskey.

Our long-time presenter, Carl Baron, continues to play tunes on banjo with a fiddler and friends since the 1990's to showcase music at the Goschenhoppen Folk Festival in Perkiomenville, Pennsylvania.  This week's dance tune has origins going back to the 1700's, and yet plays as familiarly as many a fiddle tune we hear in old-time music.  It shows just how long this kind of music has been passed around and danced to.  Come join the discussion and music on our TOTW, 2/11/22, George Graham's Cotillion.

The new tune of the week's earliest recording, discovered by prolific presenter Billy Kearney, was in 1927, though it's said to go back before then.  Billy also comically refers to one of the recordings he found as sounding like a "Loony Tunes melody" with the feel of a "merry-go-round" song with lyrics.  Perhaps the tune was a dance number, as it resembles a spirited polka. An unusual thing about it is the title, so satisfy your curiosity and take a look and listen to TOTW, 2/18/22, Chinese Breakdown and see what you think.

If you need some education about old string bands, go listen to our favorite RG Hocutt. He's inspired me to dig out and read a book I felt compelled to buy several years ago after Wade Mainer turned 100, Banjo on the Mountain. The book's discography is 24 pages!  Stephen Wade recorded Wade's words, saying he lived so long that the music even changed its name, from "mountain to hillbilly to old time", but it was always "true country music."  Time to listen to one of those songs on TOTW, 2/25/22, Run Mountain.

The great tunes keep appearing.  This week we have an Ozark Mountain tune presented by an active musician who keeps turning up these great tunes, Mountain Goat or Mtngoat for short.  He certainly goes all over to discover more for us to hear and learn.  In his presentation I also see videos of some who I haven't seen for a long while and the renditions were most enjoyable, suitable for the title, TOTW, 3/4/22, Saddle Old Kate.

Playing a waltz in the old-timey way is a special treat on Tune of the Week. Mark Gentry of the U.K. has offered one from a 1922 source recording. It came to the United States with a name change and then became a fiddlers' contest tune. Have some fun with the  TOTW, 3/11/22, Rosebud of Allenvale (aka Rose of Sharon Waltz).

It's always refreshing to have an enthusiastic new presenter on Tune of the Week and this person admires Dwight Diller, like many of us do.  Andy Taylor of the UK has presented a short, simple tune which he claims is also difficult to play.  He finds it brilliantly written and performs it well himself in a video.  Take his challenge and offer your own recording for TOTW, Kitty Snyder, 3/18/22

In the tradition of sharing some delightful tunes around the world, Andy Alexis has uncovered a dance tune from France.  He offers links for an explanation in French of how the dance is done, videos of the tune and dance, tab and notation, and a Bandcamp link to get the whole album of the Rheingans Sisters of middle England who recorded it.  You can play in the key of G or in D, depending if you use the original notation from France or learn from the sisters and Andy.  Come listen to a neat 3-part tune for this TOTW, 3/25/22, Banjo Branle. 

Happy April Fool's Day!  I can think of some silly pranks to go along with the new Tune of the Week title, but I'll let you think of your own.  The source of the tune is from the 1939 Mississippi collection called Great Big Yam Potatoes.  It's a simple dance tune, but has a melodic feel on the poignant side when you take in the B part.  I'm also imagining an enjoyable picnic at the site of flowing water, if you don't mind the grubs...TOTW, 4/1/22, Grub Springs.