I’ve decided that I really like how old-timey tunes sound on my whistle, so want to learn more of them (plus they’re mostly easy enough for me to play, which is always rewarding). Unfortunately I’m musically illiterate in this genre – my CD collection is mostly world music, and somehow I missed out on learning this stuff in grade school or summer camp (or wherever you’re s’pozed to…).
I extracted the two-volume Cecil Sharple Appalachian music collection from our local library, and to see which ones I like I’ve been alternately picking out tunes on my Casiotone (slow, I’m a sucky pianist) or entering them into Barfly and making it play them for me (faster, believe it or not – I’m much nimbler on the computer’s keyboard than the piano’s – plus it will also transpose 'em into whistle-able keys).
But I noticed in perusing the archives that there are some old-time music folks on the board, so I thought I should ask what tunes sound good on the whistle. Or maybe tell me where to find the basic repertoire of old-time tunes that would make me more literate in this genre, or tell me what CDs to get from the library… or whatever you might think would help a newbie figure out which tunes she wants to learn…
As for CDs, there are some wonderful field recordings. I’m especially fond of the Frank Proffitt collection (Nothing Seems Better to Me, Appleseed). Great little tunes. Dwight Diller is a good’un too, and I like the Carawan family. I also really like American Folk Songs for Children (Peggy and Mike Seeger)–really wonderful versions of some songs, and not just for kids. (His Old Joe Clark is wonderful on a fretless banjo.)
Don’t know what the ‘official’ categorization of these would be, off the top of my head, but we’ve played them in old-tyme string bands, and they sound great on the whistle:
Little Beggarman (AKA Red-Haired Boy), The Boys of Blue Hill, Dixie, Off She Goes, Off to California, Midnight on the Water, Sally Gardens…
I would like to work out Cluck Ol’ Hen, and a bunch of others… the whistle sounds good for lots more than just ITRAD.
Red Wing, Shenandoah, Red River Valley, She’ll Be Comin’ Around the Mountain, and Over the Waterfall are just a few. Actually, there are a lot of old tunes that sound great on a whistle, especially when a few ornaments are thrown in.
Two old timey American songs that I really Like to play that sound good on the whistle; Will the Circle Be Unbroken and It Takes A Worried Man. They sound good either fast or slow. I’m sure these would be easy to find midi’s and sheet music for on the net as they are old standards. I learned them in music class in grade school ( was made to sing them ).Back then the auto harp as opposed to the recorder was the school districts implement of totur … oh sorry " ideal instrument for vocal accompniament and expanding our musical souls ".This wasnt the south either it was in Wisconsin ,Michigan and Illinois. I do enjoy the tunes they taught us when played on the whistle though.
There’s a dulcimer book by Stephen Siefert called “Join the Jam” with all the tunes written out plus dulcimer tab and chords. Just about anything in there can be played on a whistle, only a couple go below the staff. Most of the tunes people have mentioned so far are in it.
“Oldtime” is really a fairly broad category that overlaps with a number of other genres, so “a basic repertoire” would be tough to come up with. Nevertheless, you can hear over 700 tunes and songs lifted from old 78s here:
Just click on the “78s” link and browse and listen to your heart’s content.
A great streaming audio site is John Salmon’s “Sugar in the Gourd”:
I also recommend you check out the following site:
Donald Zepp is fantastic guy and one helluva banjo player. These brief mp3 cuts–which were made for students or customers–are fairly common oldtime tunes. Actually, I should say most of them are common; a few of them are unique arrangements, and some aren’t oldtime at all. They are, however, all good.
Finally, if you’re looking for a CD “The Fuzzy Mountain String Band” on the Rounder label is as good a place to start as any.
I should caution you that you’ve stepped onto a slippery slope. If you find yourself playing clawhammer banjo in a year or two, don’t say you weren’t warned about the hazards of oldtime…
Wabash Cannonball
The Wayfaring Stranger
On the Banks of the Ohio
Man of Constant Sorrow
Turkey in the Straw
Goin’ Down the Road Feeling Bad
Golden Slippers
Little Mohee
We Shall All Be Reunited
Down in the Valley
Songs are grouped by the “usual” key they are played in. Also some great Celtic midis.
And old time and blue grass will often coexist. It’s been told to me that the way to tell if it’s old time vs. blue grass is the banjo player - in old time it will be claw hammer, in blue grass it will be Scruggs five finger style.
The notes are the starting notes on a D whistle, just to get me started if I haven’t done them in a while.
Redhaired Boy - Low A
Little Sparrow - Low A (Fair and Tender Ladies)
Moonshiner - high E (Jean Ritchie version)
Sweet Sunny South (minor) - low F#
Old Hog in the Wood - low E->A
Pretty Polly - low E->A
Barbara Allen - low D
I Have No Mother Now - low E->->A
The Girl I Left Behind Me - high G
Maggie Walker Blues - low G
Buffalo Skinners - low B (The Hills of Mexico)
Railroad Boy - low E
Greenland Whale Fisheries - low A
Santy Ano - high F#
Blood Red Roses - low F# has Cnat and C#
The Cruel Mother - low B
Henry Martin - low E
Lord Thomas and Fair Ellender - low D
Lord Franklin - low A (Adefedeee)
Lady Nancy - low E (A)
Hard Times - low G
As I Went Down in the Valley to Pray - low A
The Old Crossroads - low B lead-in to high E (B-c#-B d-e)
The Gospel Train - high F#
Blue Diamond Mines - low C#
Your Sweet Love Ain’t Around - low B
St. James Infirmary - low B
Bad Girl’s Lament - low F#
Roving on a Summer’s Night - low D
Alberta - low A
