Nothing like a new year to encourage everyone to start playing an instrument! So here’s to a musical 2019.

And Michael took a short film of us playing Ille Bhig, so enjoy!

Finally, it takes me longer to research, write up and post a tune on the website than it does to learn to play it by heart… and I thought I would make it easier by putting another three on together but there don’t seem to be any economies of scale to be gained.

Despite that moan, I’m delighted to share another three excellent tunes and I look forward to opportunities to play them together. I hope you enjoy them too! Looking forward to seeing you at the start of December in the Chequers (for December only) then back in the Jericho Tavern.

Farewell to Nigg

Da (Lerwick) Lounge Bar

The Sloe

Three new tunes:
Denis Murphy’s Polka,
Jimmy Allen and
Snug in a Blanket

After a lovely summer of learning new tunes, I’ve finally managed the hard graft of putting them on the website and adding some links where they can be heard. If you find other good playings, do please add in the comments on the relevant tune page. And now we have 60 tunes to practice each month! We are going to get even better….

Ray suggested the beautiful tune, Flatworld, and I think we might enjoy it. There are several links to places to hear it on the tune page… and if you find more good ones, please do add a comment of a link. We’ve made it the tune of the month for the 1st of July, so we’ll have to get busy this month!

Alex has done some stirling work comparing versions (of which there are many) and finding one that might suit us and even finding some places to hear it on youtube. So time to learn a new tune… Have a try of Soldier’s Joy!

Folk Weekend Oxford needs more stewards!

Please sign up (click on here for form to fill in).

If you agree to steward (no experience necessary and training will be given for more advanced roles if you would like them) for fours hours, you gain a free day ticket to the festival. If you help for eight hours, then you have a wristband for the whole weekend.

The timetable for the weekend is now available, so when you have signed up, you will receive an email asking for your preferred shifts so you can choose your time to fit around your preferred concerts.

And don’t forget Oxford Slow Session has a slot too… Come along to the Chequers Pub (High St) 5pm – 8pm on Sunday evening, 22nd April 2018. Do join in!

Just in case you have the time to learn a new tune (ha!), Tommy People’s Reel is well worth learning. Really lovely tune although tricky to make it solid and sound easy. Hope you like it.

Probably the best folk music you’ll hear in Oxford… coming to the Quaker Meeting House on St Giles at 7pm this Friday 23rd February. The Owl Light Trio take a folk tune and weave harmonies and variations to create wizardry. Hope to see you there!

Sorry about the link to the wrong pdf. I think it’s fixed now. And I’ve managed to update the pdf of A-Z of all tunes for printing… so that gets you all 54 tunes!

Many thanks to those who found my error.

Finally now that Finale songwriter is working again (phew), I can quit struggling with new programmes and spend the time looking for good links to listen to… I have been meaning to post up these two tunes since last summer as they are fun to play (at any speed). I have some more to post too as I try to catch up on the backlog… so hope to post  some more next week…. meanwhile, I hope you enjoy these two:

La Sansonette and

The Hills of Kaitoke