At the sessions I attend, the tunes we play are pretty much limited to what melody pops into the Players minds. I think we would all agree at any given session there are bunches of great tunes not played because the tune just did not come to mind and conversely some other tunes that just get played way to often…resulting in, well.. tune fatigue 
What about this…a little pocket size book that would have the tune name as well as just the first measure to jump start the tune. The book itself could have 100 + tunes depending on the historical repertoire of that given session.
I don’t think local players here are much different than anywhere else, where someone is pulling up a tune name in their head, that they remember they like, but can’t start it, you throw out the tune name to other players and no one else can start it either, but if someone is able to start it from this first measure, then everyone or many people hop right in as that first measure jump started their playing of the tune as well. With a little book like that you could go right down the list and play a S__t load of great tunes not often played, that none the less many know. Ive noticed how happy people seem when we play a popular tune here to fore forgotten 
and really only one person would need to have the book.
That said I’m guessing this idea is not original and many may have done this already… if you have, did it work?
Ben Shaffer
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Between sessions work over a bunch of tune of tune sets you normally don’t play then bring them next time you play.
I’ve seen folks with crib sheets with a few bars on them and I personally use Tunepal when I’m stuck on a tune I can’t remember.
I have boat load in my list.
What ever works I say.
The more I play without the help of any visuals tends to increase that “eureka” moment when you find that tune that works best with the one just played.
I love that… and since I’ve only been playing at session for a few years it’s more rare than I would like but it is beginning to come more frequently.
Still it comes down to playing a lot in session and working up tune sets at home alone and switching up tunes back to back over, mixing it up so you can get in and get out with ease.
That seems to work best for me.
I’ll get better some day. 
I am always reluctant to do this… mainly because I don’t have one or two other people who know the tunes/sets i do.
It’s been less of an issues because of a fiddle player who is something like a recording machine and hears something one week, comes back the next playing it… but for the rest of us, perhaps a good idea. I know there are a lot of tunes I don’t play, that I would love to play, but no one knows them…too esoteric, whatever.
Arbo
Yes. It does work, either in a little book or online form. Here’s an example of such a thing on a grand scale:
http://www.heorot.org/wordpress/index.php/houston-session-tunebook
Here’s our online tunelist, though sadly way, way out of date:
https://sites.google.com/site/louisvilleirishsessions/Home/news-schtuff/tune-list
As far as carrying stuff around I just have titles in list form. My fella has little booklets with the first few bars of ABCs, and some out-of-town friends of ours use a spreadsheet with tunes organized by type and subcategorized by key (they even have a column listing who else among their friends plays a certain tune. Needless to say, things are quite orderly when they come to visit 
).
Thanks, Cathy! Now I have 17,363 tunes! (Only kidding) Nice format, though…
Pat
I started keeping one a few years ago, but I’ve only been using it to practice.
It has about 600 tunes in it that I sort of know - well enough to stumble
along quietly on fiddle in a session. To blast out on the flute or whistle - you
really need to get it down pat though, if you have any pride.
Pride?
Around here?
You must be joking.
Isn’t it cool who looks up a post titled Brain Storm!
I keep my tunes list (with first 2 bars and name) in a booklet of folded-in-half sheets. In fact I think I might have posted the index somewhere.. can’t remember.. that’s the problem - if I think of a tune’s title it’s often not the title in the booklet .. if I’ve started the tune and get stuck I can’t find the first bars in the index cos they’ve changed slightly too .. sigh.. It’s not useful enough to bring to a session.
The only thing to do is to play lots of tunes so that more things are Coming To Mind when the opportunity presents itself. I also have found that if you empty your mind and look at your flute, tunes will come to mind, but hey maybe that’s just me. 