I’m finding my repertoire has expanded to the point that I get rusty on some tunes. I often encounter tunes I forgot that I once played well. They come back fast anyways. How does one keep up and fresh on tunes…changing them as technique improves when you have known literally hundreds…and have a 45 yo brain?!?
Simple Lewis,
Brouse all your I-tunes collection (I am asuming you have this or similar) and put tunes you know or want to learn into a (Sessiun) folder. You can do different folders for different keys.
This way, those tunes you kinda know or used to know will keep surfacing and reminding you they are there. It is great to put flute and fiddle versions of tunes in there too. Keeps it mixed up and moving!
Gaby
Change the brain ??? 
But serious, I think a lot of people have this. Old tunes, from my begin period I don’t play anymore. I concentrate on improving, normaly with “new” tunes and go on like this through the years. And my old tunes? Who cares.
Stumbling across an old tune you have nearly forgotten can be as exciting as discovering a new tune that really trips your trigger. There was a reason you learned the old tune in the first place, and chances are that you were enthusiastic enough about the tune to learn it well.
I think applying a new enthusiasm toward remembering the old tune will do you, and those tunes, a world of good. And, perhaps, new settings or variations could be your reward.
I don’t have much to say about your brain’s age (my brain being right there with yours in age), but I will suggest going to K-Mart and buying a couple of new ones on blue light special as back ups in the unfortunate event that your current grey squishy thing should experience an unexpected break down. They keep surprisingly well in the refridgerator. 
Lewis.. Go back over your music books ,ye must have a few,and mark off all the ones ye know,then page by page book by book revisit the tune and give it some time.One of the nice things is that it is always a surprise when ye turn the page and think “oh I forgot about that one”
Quite apart frae refreshing the parts other tunes can’t reach it is a great way of practicing and improving.I did a count once a few years back and I think by now the sum is in hundreds also. The daft thing tho is that at sessions (Sessiun is a made up word and sounds like an effectation 
)the same tired old tunes come out time and time again.
A friend o mine many years ago who was a computer geek fed a lot of information into his machine re Session tunes and wanted to know what were the most common tunes played at sessions.The answer came up with a total of 36.So if ye knew those then ye would fit into any session in the world,(except the Sunday night one in The Uisge Beatha in Glaschu which is so bad that the term Sessiun would rightly apply) 
I never got the list which is a pity so maybe we could spend this yuletide compiling one.If everyone posted the 15 most common tunes played at their local session then we would get a good idea.I will compile the data and then we will have a list of sorts.It might be interesting,and beats charades with mince pies… 
Slán Go Foill
Uilliam
That’s a very good idea. I propose we do it on the ITM forum, though.
I thoroughly agree with the business about seisiún. Fine if you’re writing in Irish, but a bit silly otherwise. Same with “craic”, which was never an Irish word to begin with (“crack” in this sense has a very long pedigree in English).
Then again, I suppose we’re not all about to go around calling our instruments “elbow pipes” are we?
I think it will get a bit complicated on the ITM anyways if we start aff wi the pipe friendly tunes it will help all of us here on this forum and then perhaps we could invite the plebians on the other side to enjoin 
Slán Go Foill
Uilliam
Well, too late now…But let’s post them here as well…
That way, we can waste even more time!!!
Having recordings to refresh your memory is good for people who learn auraly. If you learn visualy or don’t have an I-pod or similar device (or want to carry it around constantly with your pipes), it’s good to have a little book (Moleskine makes a nice one if you want to hand-write all your notes) with either the beginning phrase(s) of the pieces you want to remember or the entire piece written down sans ornament. If you’re anal about it, you can do all your tunes up in Finale or some such thing and print out your own small, customized tune books to stuff in your pipes case(s).
Dionys
Thanks for starting that old buddy over on the ITM could be interesting.
I see on the graph that The Kesh is way up I would figure that is about right.Lets see if ye want to participate put a location in that way we can see topographical variations as well.
Slán Go Foill
Uilliam