This takes place next weekend and lasts until Wednesday.

One of my favourite festivals. You'll also hear music from various other instruments and song too but, of course, the harp is the main focus.
Very friendly late night sessions too and the music is at a very easy pace. All instruments welcome.

https://www.harpfestival.co.uk/

By the way, I find that harp tunes work very well on the mandolin too.... it must be the "plinking and plonking" thing.  

How about a new tune for "Tune of the Month".
Mandolin Cafe does "Tune of the Week" but I guess if we can keep "Tune of the Month" going it may open discussion between all Forum members.

I nominate the very nice tune by, our long time Forum member, John Kelly  -  Birdfeeder Waltz.

Tabs Attached - enjoy

Alcluith 

Attached Files

  The Birdfeeder Waltz(with mandolin TAB).pdf (Size: 52.26 KB / Downloads: 1)

Always a great weekend.
Mandolins welcome too as well as fiddles. I usually bring both.    

https://www.niel-gow.co.uk/

To try to open a new topic, I would ask the question about playing a specific tune. When you start out you tend to play very slowly until you master the notes then you naturally start to speed up.  I find playing in groups it tends to be that tunes are played as fast as possible and for me you lose some of the melody.  To me some reels and jigs played slower sound a lot better especially if you are listening to them rather than dancing to them.
 What are your thoughts on this?

regards

Drew

Hi to all member's,

I do not know about you but I think this is a great Forum that is being under used, which is sad as Nigel has taken the time to set it up for us all to use.

How can we help?  well I have two suggestions:

Every member invite someone to join the forum.

What is your favourite tune and why.


Alcluith

I am posting this one primarily for John Kelly, to ask him a really big favour.

My Wife's grandfather died when she was only seven but remembers that he regularly played piano at family gatherings.  After her mother's death we discovered some old  hand written music books including some original tunes and words written by him.

I have tried to transfer a couple into mandolin tabs and I have attached my attempt at his tune "The Last Waltz" which we believe was written by him for his wife about when the first met.   He also wrote an alternative to Loch Lomond for a newspaper competition which he came in second, not bad for a Geordie. ( I have attached this as well, just for interest) as I feel both are very much in the style of the time written around late 20s early 30s and would welcome your thoughts. 

My request for John is would you consider playing this for my wife, on your YouTube channel to allow her to heard it properly rather than my poor attempts? 

regards

Drew Davidson

Attached Files

  Loch Lomond NU Man.pdf (Size: 993.38 KB / Downloads: 3)
  The Last Waltz.pdf (Size: 288.39 KB / Downloads: 5)

Got the CD for Christmas which contains this track:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HLaLtrkh7c
The sleeve notes say it's from the 1870 edition of Kerr's Collection of Merry Melodies, which features several "negro jigs".
Maybe though it has other names, as it seems kind of familiar. It's a great tune anyway.

I have scheduled the coming term for the Slow Session class, and the music is available to download through my website at this page. The sets we're looking at are:

• If I Had Maggie in the Woods/Tralee Gaol (Irish polkas)
  
• Dornoch Links/Greenwoodside (2/4 marches)
  
• Margaret’s Waltz/Kate Martin’s Waltz (waltzes)
  
• The Ale is Dear/High Road to Linton (reels)
  
• Out On the Ocean/The Lilting Banshee (Irish jigs)
  
• Lay Dee at Dee/Da Ferry Reel (Shetland reels)
  
• Castles in the Air/Orange and Blue (schottisches)
  
• Off to California/The Liverpool Hornpipe (hornpipes)
  
• Hector the Hero (lament)
  

Have been trying to find the music for Aros Park for a friend. It's a 4-part 2/4 pipe march we play in the Sandy Bell's moothie group (along with John Macdonald's March).
Searching the internet reveals (along with a lot of guides and trip reports to the actual park) that it's in a collection of Addie Harper tunes, which I may buy as a last resort, but if anyone already has the dots that would be greatly appreciated.
It's a great tune tune with a very pleasing twist in the third part.

Nigel 

I have noticed that in your website the access to the tunes section comes up with error when you try to open it.

Have you made it private? so we have to login to gain access?

hope alls well with you.

Drew