Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes

Subject: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 01 Oct 12 - 06:56 AM

Looking to add more tunes to The Beech Tunes book. What are the 10 most popular or most played English-ish country dance tunes. I realise that the origin of many tunes is open to discussion and some of the most popular originate elswhere.

Any offers?

L in C#

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: greg stephens
Date: 01 Oct 12 - 10:45 AM

Soldiers Joy. And 9 others.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: GUEST
Date: 01 Oct 12 - 10:54 AM

Speed the Plough and 8 others

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: GUEST,Ian Gill
Date: 01 Oct 12 - 10:57 AM

Walter Bulwer's Polkas and 7 others

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 01 Oct 12 - 11:00 AM

Thanks we have those plus a Speed the Plough in a minor key

Any offers

L in C#

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: GUEST,FloraG
Date: 01 Oct 12 - 11:10 AM

Surely you need a waltz, jig, reel ( polka) and hornpipe to cover most dances.
2 hornpipes and a reel so far.
Dark Island
Blaydon races
Jenny Lind A and B parts
Portsmouth
FloraG

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: Stanron
Date: 01 Oct 12 - 11:12 AM

Constant Billy and you're nearly halfway there.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: Stanron
Date: 01 Oct 12 - 11:16 AM

Do you do 'Young Collins'?

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: selby
Date: 01 Oct 12 - 11:28 AM

The Vine Tree

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: SteveMansfield
Date: 01 Oct 12 - 12:10 PM

Enrico
Morpeth Rant
Lady In The Lake

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: Banjo-Flower
Date: 01 Oct 12 - 12:11 PM

Waltz Maguire and Patterson's

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: Brian Peters
Date: 01 Oct 12 - 12:25 PM

Salmon Tails (often paired with Jamie Allen).

There are several contributions so far that I've never heard of, in the course of playing English music for dances and in sessions for more years than I care to mention. And one or two others that I know, but have never heard in that context. Perhaps it's a regional thing.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: Murpholly
Date: 01 Oct 12 - 01:01 PM

Dorset Four Hand Reel, starts reasonably and gets faster. Wonderful tune. Wonderful dance.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: Banjo-Flower
Date: 01 Oct 12 - 02:10 PM

English Polkas

Kit Whites Square Eight & The Officer's Polka

English Jigs

Woodland Flowers & Uncle Jim's

Gerry

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: GUEST,ploppo
Date: 01 Oct 12 - 02:14 PM

Winster Gallop

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: Lester
Date: 01 Oct 12 - 02:14 PM

Fill your boots

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: Rozza
Date: 01 Oct 12 - 05:41 PM

Moon and Seven Stars and Enrico

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 01 Oct 12 - 08:38 PM

Black Nag, but you probably already have that.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: Mo the caller
Date: 02 Oct 12 - 07:04 AM

Some tunes are linked unbreakably with their dances.
Dorset 4-hand (parts 1 & 2 which is a pig to play because it's in A , has twice as many notes and needs to be played faster)
Oswestry Square (well, it's Welsh but we're on the border)
Chinese Breakdown (we always did an American square at Manley)
Black Nag is a Playford dance - Rhodri Davies calls it Mr Playford's best ceilidh dance.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 03 Oct 12 - 04:57 AM

Thanks to all - lots of goodies some we have some we don't.

Any more

L in C#

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: Mo the caller
Date: 03 Oct 12 - 05:26 AM

Have you learnt a slipjig yet? Foxhunters, Roger deCoverley, Drops of Brandy, Peacock followed the Hen etc.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: Mo the caller
Date: 03 Oct 12 - 05:28 AM

Oh, and that Black Nag is full of fast arpegios, not easy on some instruments.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: Stanron
Date: 03 Oct 12 - 09:43 AM

Les in C

Is the Chorlton Tune book available on line? I'd like to come down some time and be prepared.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: GUEST
Date: 03 Oct 12 - 01:24 PM

Hi Stanron,

about 1/4 is here:www.folkatthebeech.org

Here

The rest will go up shortly

Les

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: Stanron
Date: 03 Oct 12 - 03:27 PM

Thanks Les. I'll give it a look over.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: GUEST,Ebor_Fiddler (Well-known pedant)
Date: 03 Oct 12 - 06:26 PM

Are there not six Walter Bulwer polkas?
Then, what can be more English than Nellie The Elephant?

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: Banjo-Flower
Date: 03 Oct 12 - 06:38 PM

I thought Nellie The Elephant was an American tune

I E

Nellie The Elephant whacked a skunk

you don't get many skunks in England

Gerry

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: Leadfingers
Date: 03 Oct 12 - 09:46 PM

Maidenhead is a STRANGE song club as we play a lot of tunes !

Dorset Four Hand , Winster Galop and Rakes of Mallow is one set

Emma (aka The Swedish Waltz) and Fanny Power

Brighton Camp , Maggie in the Wood and Salmon Tails

Are samples of what we play to start the evening and in the Beer Break

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 04 Oct 12 - 10:10 AM

Hello, Les

I can't say it's popular world-wide, but a dance my little group really enjoys is 'Linnen Hall.' A friend of mine was given a copy by his teacher when taking reocrder lessons, and the teacher said it was English.

If you don't find it lying around the Internet somewhere, I can post a MIDI of it, but not today. Let me know.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: GUEST,Ebor_Fiddler
Date: 04 Oct 12 - 02:26 PM

Here's the abc's

X: 1
T:Linnen Hall
M:6/8
R:Jig
K:G
G2G A2A| B2c dBG| E2E c2B| ABG FED|\
G2G A2A| B2c dBG| EcB AGF| G3 G3::
d2d e2e| d2g dBG| d2d e2e| dBG A3|\
d2d e2e| d2g g2f| egf ed^c| d3 D3:|

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 04 Oct 12 - 07:20 PM

Thanks, Ebor.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: Brakn
Date: 05 Oct 12 - 04:53 AM

That's very nice Ebor.

So Les - What are you adding?

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 05 Oct 12 - 12:52 PM

Dunno Mike,

as usual we will get loads of suggestions from here and from various Beechists - I certainly fancy Willafjord and Spootiskerry. Quite fancy The Butterfly. But mostly looking for stuff on the easyside.

I think I will gather a pile, stick 'em all on our website in ABC and pdf, ask people to give 'em a go and print thoe most popular off and try 'em down The Beech

Les

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: Tootler
Date: 05 Oct 12 - 05:23 PM

No one seems to have mentioned Bonny Kate

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 06 Oct 12 - 03:33 AM

Great tune Tootler - we have it with Harpers Frolick

L in C#

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 07 Oct 12 - 01:57 PM

Still collecting

L in C#

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: SteveMansfield
Date: 07 Oct 12 - 03:01 PM

Get hold of copies of Nick Barber's two tune books for Dave Mallinson Music, 'English Choice' and 'English Selection'. Chock full of damn good English-ish tunes the pair of them.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: Tootler
Date: 07 Oct 12 - 03:33 PM

There's also Hardcore English from EFDSS, an excellent source of English tunes.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: SteveMansfield
Date: 07 Oct 12 - 03:48 PM

Hardcore english is a brilliant book, perfect mix of scholarship, history, and banging-tune-ness. The content filtering software at work doesn't like it though ...

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: GUEST
Date: 07 Oct 12 - 04:51 PM

Corn Riggs

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: GUEST
Date: 08 Oct 12 - 04:38 AM

Wallace and Grommit theme makes a lovely 2/4 dance tune (slightly adapted)you can't get anymore English than that

BTW Oscar Woods & co allegedly used popular tunes of the day for dances so you do have a precedent

Gerry

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 08 Oct 12 - 05:22 AM

Thanks folks, I have hardcore, two Dave Townsend's, The Great Northern - Matt Seattle, The Community Tune book and quite a few others - not to mention all the stuff from Johnny Adams via Sakford.

The 'problem' not that it is one really is knowing where to go next.

As I said above somewhere, we were "Beginners" and are now probably "Improvers" with a boook od 100 good tunes and I think we would like to gather more of the common well played tunes before we go for lesser known ones

Thanks for all help above

L in C#
Tunes this Wednesday 10 October The Beech, M21 9EG

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: GUEST
Date: 08 Oct 12 - 05:44 AM

Upton Stick?
Gloucester Hornpipe?

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: greg stephens
Date: 08 Oct 12 - 07:43 AM

Start local: there are eight different tunes called the Manchester Hornpipe, for a start.

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: Les in Chorlton
Date: 08 Oct 12 - 08:28 AM

Thanks Greg, we shall seek 'em out

Les

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 08 Oct 12 - 09:11 AM

I went to an English dance meeting a couple days ago. They did the following before I got discouraged and left:

Hole in the Wall
Duke of Kent's Waltz
Upon a Summer's Day.

So there's a view from afar - thousands of miles.

(In my view, folk dance leaders try to teach too many things in one night.)

Subject: RE: Tune Req: 10 most popular English-ish dance tunes
From: Tattie Bogle
Date: 08 Oct 12 - 09:51 AM

English - "ISH" is about the size of it! Tunes there from Scotland, Ireland, Shetland, USA and probably more!
I'd just do whatever works! We have a Dashing White Sergeant set that includes tunes from Brittany, Isle of Man and Ukraine as well as the usual tune at each end of i, and an "Irish Gay Gordons".