We usually start the session with some of these fairly easy tunes to warm up… like Bear Dance, Hunt the Squirrel, Kafouzalem, Lucy Farr’s, Rusty Gully, Spirit of the Dance, Salmon Tails and Clare Reel – and indeed we are happy to play whichever tunes on this website that you have been practising. The tune of the month is just a way to have at least one tune that we’ve all been working on. If you’d like to listen to all the tunes, there is now a playlist on Youtube!
3.30pm at The Jericho Tavern upstairs room, Walton St, Oxford, OX2 6AE
I don’t think we can meet in April… I thought we might stand at a distance from one another in a field… but I fear that we would constitute an “illegal gathering” despite the wind blowing. I have been testing online options and none have seemed any good… yet. I hope to see you again in May. Cross your fingers (when you’re not playing).
Buy a drink (or food) from the bar and bring it upstairs.
| Slow session date | Tune of the month |
| 3rd May 2020 | Willafjord |
| 1st March 2020 | Inisheer |
| 9th February 2020 (NB Second Sunday for this month only) | The Flying Tweed |
| 5th January 2020 | 250 to Vigo |
| 29th December 2019 (Extra holiday session) |
Any tunes on the list |
| 1st December 2019 | Farewell to Whalley Range |
| 3rd November 2019 | Spootiskerry |
| 6th October 2019 | Johsefin’s Waltz |
| 1st September 2019 | Hole in the Hedge |
| 4th August 2019 (back to 3.30pm) | Calum’s Road |
| 7th July 2019 (NB 2pm) | Paddy Fahy’s reel |
| 2nd June 2019 | Tell her I will (aka Gallagher’s Frolics) |
| 5th May 2019 (back in Jericho) | Tell her I am |
| 27th April 2019 in Royal Oak pub | Any tunes on the list… |
| 7th April 2019 | Jimmy Allen |
| 3rd March 2019 | Farewell to Nigg |
| 3rd February 2019 | The Sloe |
| 6th January 2019 (back in Jericho Tavern) |
Da Lounge Bar |
| 2nd December 2018 (NB in The Chequers Pub) |
Snug in a Blanket and the Bitter Withy |
| 4th November 2018 | Denis Murphy’s Polka |
| 7th October 2018 | The Frost is All Over and Rose in the Heather |
| 2nd September 2018 | Claire Connor’s Lament |
| 5th August 2018 | The Hut on Staffin Island |
| 1st July 2018 | Flatworld |
| 3rd June 2018 | The Hills of Kaitoke |
| 6th May 2018 | Tommy Peoples’s reel |
| 22nd April 2018 (in the Chequer’s Pub as part of Oxford Folk Weekend free events) | Soldier’s Joy |
| 1st April 2018 (Easter day) | La Sansonette |
| 4th March 2018 | Poules Huppées and Kerr’s Jig |
| 4th February 2018 | Tongadale Reel |
| 7th January 2018 | The Night Poor Larry was Stretched |
| 26th November 2017 (December session a week early! back in Jericho Tavern) | Ille Bhig |
| 5th November 2017 (venue for November – Chequers Pub) | You’ve been a long time away Willy Gray |
| 1st October 2017 | The Frost is All Over |
| 3rd September 2017 | Cavers of Kirkcudbright |
| 12th August 2017 (NB SATURDAY 2.30pm for August only) |
Harvest Home |
| 2nd July 2017 | Bert MacKenzie’s Birthday Waltz |
| 4th June 2017 | Seven Stars |
| 7th May 2017 | Keel Row |
| 2nd April 2017 | Four-Up Hornpipe |
| 5th March 2017 | The Kesh Jig |
| 5th February 2017 | Rights of Man |
| 1st January 2017 | Scottish theme (see below) |
| 4th December 2016 | Brenda Stubbert’s |
| 6th November 2016 | Salmon Tails |
| 2nd October 2016 | Drowsy Maggie |
| 11th September 2016 | Jump at the Sun |
| 7th August 2016 | Calliope House |
| 3rd July 2016 | Rose in the Heather |
| 5th June 2016 | John Ryan’s Polka |
| 1st May 2016 | May Mazurka |
| 3rd April 2016 | Pearl Wedding in D |
| 6th March 2016 | Hut on Staffin Island |
| 7th February 2016 | Rights of Man |
| 3rd January 2016 | Girl with a Blue Dress on |
| 6th December 2015 | Bitter Withy, God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman and I Saw Three Ships |
| 1st November 2015 | Calliope House |
| 4th October 2015 | Rights of Man |
| 6th September 2015 | Lucy Farr’s |
| 2nd August 2015 | Tongadale |
| 5th July 2015 | Trip to Pakistan |
| 7th June 2015 | Galtee Hunt |
| 3rd May 2015 | Pearl Wedding in G |
| 5th April 2015 (Easter Day) | NO SLOW SESSION |
| 1st March 2015 | Keel Row |
| 1st February 2015 | Kerfunken Jig |
| 4th January 2015 | Dr Letcher’s Favourite (aka Mounthills) |
| 7th December 2014 | Hole in the Hedge and Hunt the Squirrel |
| 2nd November 2014 | Clare Connor’s Lament |
| 5th October 2014 | Booley House |
| 7th September 2014 | Planxty Irwin |
| 3rd August 2014 | May Mazurka |
| 6th July 2014 | Butterfly |
| 1st June 2014 | Poules Huppées (Crested Hens) |
| 4th May 2014 | The Night Poor Larry was Stretched |
| 6th April 2014 | The Lily |
| 2nd March 2014 | The Clare Reel |
| 2nd February 2014 | Rusty Gully |
| 5th January 2014 | Bear Dance |
For those who would like to have a list of our tunes by origin, I think they can roughly be grouped like this:
(NB really good tunes travel well and are sometimes naturalised by their new players. But if you feel you need to know which tunes to play in an “irish session” or “scottish session” and so on, perhaps this might be useful.)
Scottish (or mostly so)
Bert Mackenzie’s 70th Birthday Waltz
Brenda Stubbert’s reel (really Nova Scotia but often appropriated by Scotland too)
Calliope House
Calum’s Road
Cavers of Kirkcudbright
Farewell to Nigg
Hut on Staffin Island
Ille Bhig
Jenny Dang the Weaver
Spootiskerry
Tongadale
Trip to Pakistan
Willafjord
250 to Vigo
Irish (or mostly so)
Butterfly
Clare Reel
Do You Love an Apple?
Denis Murphy’s Polka
Drowsy Maggie
The Frost is All Over
Galtee Hunt
Hole in the Hedge
Inisheer
John Ryan’s Polka
Kerfunken
Lucy Farr’s
The Night Poor Larry was Stretched
Paddy Fahy’s reel
Rights of Man
Rose in the Heather
Tell her I am
Tell her I will
Tommy People’s reel
I’d like very much to come to the slow session on 4th January, is it possible to provide Dr Letcher’s Favourite (and any others) in alto clef for viola, as I’m not great at reading treble clef?? I don’t know how easy or difficult this is to do, but thought I’d ask! – Alison (viola)
Dear Alison,
I’ve transposed Dr Letcher’s favourite and posted it up on that page. There three other tunes I’ve already done for the alto clef, so I’ve created a file with these four tunes together and put it on the ‘All tunes for printing’ page.
I hope this helps!
I can transpose tunes but it just takes a little while. I do have one book of folk tunes in the alto clef, but mostly I’ve found tunes in the treble so I usually follow those (very slowly) until I can hear the tune and then learn it off by heart. It is lovely once you’ve got it in your head, but it does take some patience (well, for me). Anyway, have fun with these tunes (I think Paddy Fahey is a bit impossible on the viola) and let me know if there are others you’d like to learn.
Best wishes,
suke