Do you remember which was the first tune you learned on your instrument? Do you still play it, or has it been played and practised to death in the process?
I’m considering not using the tunes I really like for practising ornamentation, in order not to “destroy” them in my ears forever.
Or is it just the same row of tunes all beginners fall in love with, beat to death and which get never played at sessions because they are “beginner tunes”? If yes, could you name a few?
Sonja
The Home Ruler. Still play it, but at sessions it’s done differently than I learned it (from an old Chieftains’ recording, a smoothed-out version w/ cello accompaniment. Very tasty.) I try to vary it from time to time to keep it fresh, but keep going back to the way I first heard it. I don’t recall who the flute player was, but that’s what got me started.
Best,
N
And I didn’t share mine…
First contact with ITM ; The Harvest Home, but I found out the title only recently.
First ITM on the harp - Morrison’s Jig or The Butterfly, I can’t remember. Probably Morrison’s.
Sonja, Morrison’s (AKA Carmody’s, BTW) would sound great on harp. Do you play wire- or nylon-strung harp?
As for ‘beginner’ tunes, I personally don’t have a problem with them. The challenge for me is to take something ‘old’ and make it fresh. Keeps me honest. 
Especially at open sessions where there are newer players, I think it’s a courtesy to them. No need to force newer players to sit idly by while the rest show off all night. It’s a social situation, and if we want new players to join the fold, we ought to make them feel welcome by letting them join in. There’s always time for the advanced stuff, and it gives the newbies a break, and an opportunity to listen to -and eventually learn- new tunes. Just my $.02 worth…
Best,
N
Rose in the Heather, because it was the first tune in my first whistle tutorial book. Though, I’m not sure if I picked it out on the 5-string banjo before trying it on the whistle…I went to Chieftains albums soon after and they were my main source of tunes.
I wouldn’t worry about ruining a tune by using it for practicing ornaments. I’d actually recommend you use a tune you know very well and have good control over. If it’s a tune you really like, it will become more interesting as you incorporate more ornamentation. Learning ornaments as a new skill tends to throw off the timing of a tune, so you don’t want additional challenges by tackling a tune you’re not familiar with.
I never really got Rose in the Heather down on the whistle. It’s not the easiest to start with. I heard a rendition of it by Stockton’s Wing not long ago that got me interested again.
Tony
Wire, and yes, it does, and harp players love it and play it a lot. There was even a joke going round at some harp event I remember: “How do Irish birds sing?” - “No idea, tell me.” - whistles E BEB…
Sonja
First reel I learnt was The Silver Spear. Still discovering new things about it thirty years later. So many tunes have stood up to repeated playing for 150 years you can’t get to the point where you have outplayed any tune.
Ken