fiddlenbanjo - Posted - 12/28/2008:  06:46:53

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I've avoided open tuning for too long. Working on that Johnny Gimble song got me started on this tuning and I'm having a blast. The fiddle sounds totally different (VERY OTy and not actually very good, but interesting) and the fingered notes are really easy to hear for some reason.

My question is : what are good tunes for this tuning?

So far I've got:

Cripple Creek
Arkansas Traveller
Golden Slippers
Red-Haired Boy
Old Joe Clark
The Girl I Left Behind
What a Friend We Have In Jesus
Jingle Bells
Salt Creek
Flop-Eared Mule

Other good ones?

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Edited by - fiddlenbanjo on 12/30/2008 21:20:22

FiddleJammer - Posted - 12/28/2008:  07:57:16

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Here's a few...

Angus Cambell
Appleblossom
Benton's Dream
Big-Eyed Rabbit
Big John MacNeil
Bile 'em Cabbage Down
Bill Cheatham
Breaking Up Christmas
Boatsman
Booth Shot Lincoln
Boys, Them Buzzards Are Flying
Breaking Up Christmas
Brushy Forks of John's Creek
Bull at the Wagon
Callahan
Camp Chase
Campbell's Farewell to Red Gap
Candy Girl
Carroll County Blues
Cherokee Shuffle
Chinkapin Hunting
Cotton-Eyed Joe
Cripple Creek
Devil's Dream
Dinah
Double File
Dull Chisel
Falls of Richmond
Fire On the Mountain
Fishin' Time
Froggie on the Carport
Georgia Railroad
Get Up in the Cool
Going Down the River
Goodbye Girls, I'm Going to Boston
Gunboat (Going Down to Georgi-o)
Grandad's Favorite
Granny Does Your Dog Bite?
Greasy Coat
Grub Springs
Half Past Four
Hangman's Reel
Horny Ewe
Horse and Buggy-O
Ida Red
Jawbone
Jenny Git Around
Jenny Lynn
Jenny on the Railroad
Jimmy Johnson
Jimmy Shanks
Jim Shane
John Brown's Dream
John Brown's March
(G in Portland)
John Hardy
John Henry
John Sharp's Hornpipe
Johnny Cope
(D in Portland)
Joys of Quebec
June Apple
Kansas City Reel
Last of Callahan
Little Billy Wilson
Little Birdie
Little Girl With The Hair
All Down Behind
Little Rabbit
Liza Jane
Lost Indian
Miss McCloud's
Money Musk
My Own House Waltz
Oh, My Little Darling
Old Bunch of Keys
Old Joe Clark
Old Yeller Dog Come Trottin Through The Meeting House
Policeman
Pretty Little Gal
Pretty Little Widow
Red-Haired Boy
Remember What You Told Me
Reuben's Train
Ring, Ring the Banjo
Rosin the Beau
Sally Goodin
Salty River Reel
Sal Won't You Drink Some Cider
Sandy Boys
Shady Grove
Shelvin' Rock
Shenandoah Falls
Shortnin' Bread
Skillet Good 'n' Greasy
Sourwood Mountain
Speed the Plow
Squirrel Heads and Gravy
Sweet Marie
Sweet Nell
Sugar in My Coffee
Sugar in the Gourd
Texas
Three Thin Dimes
Three-way Hornpipe
Train on the Island
Up Jumped the Devil
Uncle Dink
Walk Chalk Chicken
Waterbound
Wild Rose of the Mountain
Wolves A-Howlin'

And for those who are still in the "I'm too a-skeert to cross tune" phase, try these in GDGD. That way you just have to drop your 2 higher toned strings down a whole step, and make some fine adjustments on the lower G and D. You're good to go and you don't have to worry about stressing the strings or the fiddle. It's the same ratio as AEAE, and some folks like it for the lower range... not so high and shrill.

Cheers,

Terri

tunelist, musings, and podcasts at
fiddlejammer.blogspot.com

Fidla - Posted - 12/28/2008:  08:03:42

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can you revise the subject with the genre please?

thanks

______________
Adam R. Sweet
adamrsweet.com

bj - Posted - 12/28/2008:  10:57:49

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quote:

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can you revise the subject with the genre please?

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Um, what difference does the genre make? He asked for tunes played in AEAE tuning. If there are none in the genre you play, then it doesn't apply to you. That's pretty simple. Meanwhile, there are a lot of different genres that do crosstune. OT, Cajun, and Quebecois come immediately to mind, though Cajun rarely goes into AEAE tuning, because of the accordions, if I remember correctly.

^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^
Motto for the Week- Mottos are overrated.

Me on the Web --
doneinstyle.com
My inspiration:
pandora.com/?sc=sh14633812588807237

bsed - Posted - 12/28/2008:  13:45:24

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Anyhow, I think you can start to see (from the long list of OT tunes given above) that just about any tune you can play in A you can play in AEAE. Do some experimenting with other A tunes you know (or GDGD for G tunes or ADAE for D tunes).

Just call me Dwight.

oldtimer - Posted - 12/28/2008:  14:35:48

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Arkansas Traveler is usually played in the key of D. I don't think it would work well in AEAE.

Sally Goodin'....not many are aware that Eck Robertson played it in AEAE on his legendary recording. Some tunes that I used to play in "standard" tuning, I now play in AEAE.

Here are some others I play in AEAE:

Edward in the Treetop (Rayna plays it in AEAC#)
Cluck Ol' Hen
Pretty Little Dog
Lost John (Clinch Mountain)
Sandy Boys
Pretty little Widow
Grey Eagle
Tom and Jerry
Dry and Dusty (most fiddlers play this in D...mine is different)
Cheny Armstrong's tune
John Brown's Dream
Old Joe Clark
June Apple
Old Yeller Dog
Crow Black Chicken
Rasslin' the Wildcat
Georgia Railroad
Old Bunch of Keys
Brushy Fork of John's Creek
Sugar in the Gourd
Dusty Miller
Old Bunch of Keys
etc.

stay tooned....
Glenn Godsey

"Time passes unhindered"

janepaints - Posted - 12/28/2008:  15:52:24

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When busking I always crosstune. (I use GDGD but, as already mentioned, the fingering's the same as AEAE). Almost every mp3 on my homepage uses crosstuning.

Most fiddle tunes are diatonic. Many fiddle tunes which aren't diatonic are modal. (those which are neither chromatic or modal are known as The Dread Nuisance Tunes). Crosstuning is very-sympatico with diatonic & modal harmonic structures.
(as are 1 or 2-row buttonboxes, diatonic harmonicas, diatonic autoharps, most guitar open-tunings etc.)

It's kinda like butter & jelly on toast vs. dry toast.

Sometimes I think of AEAE/GDGD crosstuning as '2-string fiddle':
Patterns and doublestops fingered on the low pair of strings are fingered exactly the same on the high pair. On the MIDDLE pair of strings, everything becomes a mirror-image of the other fingerings.

All kinds of sympathetic vibrations on crosstuned fiddles. Non-fingered strings merrily buzzing along. Ghost Notes & Ghost Harmonies appear of their own accord. Which makes solo fiddle, like for busking, sound better, bigger, more complete within itself.

And ya got them handy open-string bass notes to knock with the bow every so often for call-and-reponse riddum-making.

Still, standard tuning is lovely. I fiddled in it a bunch yesterday.

"Standard's okay but crosstuning's YAY!"--Noteless Pundit.

bosco - Posted - 12/28/2008:  17:13:20

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fiddlenbanjo, You play bluegrass,right?
As Oldtimer said, Sally Goodin' is a good one.
Gold Rush makes good old time tune when it's played in cross key.
If you like Nashville Bluegrass Band, their Pretty Red Lips which is written by Mike Compton, is a great tune for the cross key. Here is the tune me and Mike played last year.
fiddlehangout.com/myhangout/me...icID=1148
Oh, don't forget Jenny Lynn! Mr. Monroe sings "The reatest of all was ""Jenny Lynn"" To me that's where the fiddle begins"
Bosco

Konnichiwa, arigato, sayonara

fiddlenbanjo - Posted - 12/28/2008:  19:08:25

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Fiddlejammer, that's just what I was looking for. Thanks. It's clear from looking at some of this lists that I am definately fiddle tune challenged.

oldtimer, give Arkansas Traveller a try. It works fine in G or A in this tuning.

janepaints, I feel like I'm hearing my fiddle's tone for the first time. I can't believe I've avoided all this fun. I'm late getting to the party.

bosco, how could I have forgotten Jenny Lynn?

thanks all!

carlb - Posted - 12/28/2008:  19:45:44

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I play these in standard tuning. There are tunes that some play in AEAE while other play the same tunes in standard tuning.

quote:

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Originally posted by FiddleJammer


Jenny on the Railroad
Johnny Cope
Red-Haired Boy
Salty River Reel
Shady Grove [depends on the version]
Texas

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Carl

"Just around the corner is someone who plays better than you....." "There will always be someone who likes your music and someone who dislikes your music. Get over it......." [Dan Haerle, former music prof at University of North Texas]

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Edited by - carlb on 11/08/2009 09:43:24

bj - Posted - 12/28/2008:  20:11:36

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I know it's harder to play that way, but I LOVE playing (Cold) Frosty Morning in AEAE. It really gets a moaning wind mojo going that is wonderful. Also:

Learn you how to rock Andy (just learned this one, what fun!)
Elzik's Farewell
Yew Piney Mountain
Sally Ann

quote:

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janepaints, I feel like I'm hearing my fiddle's tone for the first time. I can't believe I've avoided all this fun. I'm late getting to the party.

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Yeah, I remember hearing crosstuning for the first time. Or feeling it, rather, since it seems to vibrate right through your chest, down your arms and back out your fingers! There is nothing else like it.
Sourwood Mountain (the Hiram Stamper Version)



^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^
Motto for the Week- Mottos are overrated.

Me on the Web --
doneinstyle.com
My inspiration:
pandora.com/?sc=sh14633812588807237

forestabri - Posted - 12/30/2008:  14:26:27

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Well I'm brand new at this, but I think "Johnson Boys" as played by The Freighthoppers is AEAE.

Brian

Sue B. - Posted - 12/31/2008:  05:30:54

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And then there are fiddlers who rarely cross-tune for some other reason. I've watched Tracy Schwarz play Cajun tunes, loaded with doublestops, on a standard-tuned fiddle in a jam that is tuned down. Wife Ginny Hawker says he does that for fun. I've seen Jay Ungar do this, too, and have wondered in his case if he has perfect pitch, but I've never thought to ask him. Sue PS Fiddlers w/perfect pitch tend to associate a pitch with a finger/spot on the fingerboard very strongly, so "cross-tune & just play" doesn't work so well for them.

FiddleJammer - Posted - 12/31/2008:  06:06:22

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The key of G works like an automatic cross tuned fiddle. The drones and double stops are right where you need them. eg, almost any note on the D string will work with an open drone on the G string. And, how handy that a lot of Cajun tunes are in G.

Not having perfect pitch, actually waaaay far from it, I can't speak for folk who do. But, I'll maintain that the cross tuned fiddle rings sympathetically even when the altered strings are not noted. I'd think that would be even more pleasing to the perfect pitch ear. "cross-tune & just play" certainly is a learned skill. Perhaps like driving a car with the steering wheel on the left on the 'other' side of the road in the UK or speaking a different language. Seems if folks are associating finger position with pitch, they could learn a different finger position if and when they're motivated to do so.

Another handy trick.... <stops to pause and consider that this thread was about A tunes, then continues...>

Another handy trick to consider, if you're new to cross tuning, is to take down a cross tuned G fiddle -GDGD- to a C cross tuning by lowering the low D to C. That gives you GCGD. The ratio is one whole step down from ADAE (used with D tunes). Sooooo, you can play C tunes using the cross tuned D finger patterns. A nice addition to any key of C jam. And, again, it lowering strings instead of raising the pitch, somewhat more acceptable for folks who are leary about stressing their fiddles.

Happy new year!!!!

Cheers,

Terri

tunelist, musings, and podcasts at
fiddlejammer.blogspot.com

Sue B. - Posted - 12/31/2008:  13:42:09

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As to Cajun tunes, they are mostly in C or F, since the default tuning is everything down a step. For those attached to standard tuning, and absent that pesky perfect pitch, a Cajun tune that sounds in C feels like playing in D, and one in F feels like playing in G. Tunes that sound in G, and thus are fingered like A in standard, are a fairly distant 3rd. There are significant examples to the contrary, including the Balfa Brothers, who commonly played standard-tuning, but had no accordion-playing brother. One, but not the only, reason for the Cajun low tuning is to play easily & with open-string resonance and octaves when there is a C box player in the band or jam. Sue

fiddlecraver - Posted - 12/31/2008:  14:00:17

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Any that you want to play in AEAE.

-Shawn

fiddlecraver@yahoo.com
shawncraver.com

oldtimer - Posted - 12/31/2008:  14:27:25

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quote:

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Originally posted by forestabri

Well I'm brand new at this, but I think "Johnson Boys" as played by The Freighthoppers is AEAE.

Brian

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Hi Brian. You are right. The Freight Hoppers play many tunes in AEAE.

The first time I saw them play for a huge crowd, they did a whole set in AEAE...every tune in the key of A. This surprised me because most groups I had performed with believed that you need to vary the keys to avoid "sameness" of sound.

The Freight Hoppers, with their standing ovation, blew that theory out of the water.
I'm probably the only person who noticed and I noticed because David told me backstage that he was playing the set in AEAE.

stay tooned....
Glenn Godsey



"Time passes unhindered"

fiddlenbanjo - Posted - 12/31/2008:  15:40:26

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quote:

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Originally posted by FiddleJammer
Another handy trick to consider, if you're new to cross tuning, is to take down a cross tuned G fiddle -GDGD- to a C cross tuning by lowering the low D to C. That gives you GCGD.

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Wow. Sounds like DADGAD for fiddle. I'll give it a try.

DADGAD is a very popular guitar open tuning for finger-pickers. It's really just a Sus 4 tuning in the key of D, that G note being the 4th blah blah, making GCGD a Sus 4 tuning in the key of G.

I believe a lot of Celtic guitar songs are in DADGAD. I wonder if the same is true for the GCGD fiddle tuning.