This thread gave me an idea. Does anyone else think commonly played tunes might be a good topic for a permathread?

We seem to talk about good tunes a lot - "What are your favorite jigs/reels/whatever?" I don't think there's enough space on the planet to list everyone's favorites. I don't know if I can just say I want to start a permathread, or whether I have to check with Joe or Max or somebody first.

The object is to recommend tunes for a person to learn so he/she can go to a session and have something they can play with others. Here's what I'm think of:

• We nominate tunes. These should be widely known - not a list of our favorites, but tunes actually played in sessions. (Maybe we can add an "it ain't popular, but it should be" section later on.)

• We vote on which tunes to put on the list. The voting will eliminate tunes that are only played in one session in the world. If you nominate the same tune as others, I'll consider it a vote for that tune.

• We reduce the list. I think the list ought to contain no more than, say, 50 tunes. It's a "what do I learn to get started" list, not a comprehensive one. I also think there should be a mix of tune types - marches, hornpipes, jigs, slipjigs, etc.

What do you think? Is this worth doing? Does the process sound reasonable, or do you have a better idea? Are 50 tunes too many? Too few? Am I completely nuts for proposing this?