Bb is a wonderful key to play in offering all kinds of cool tunes. Although I don't know nearly as many tunes in this key as I do A, D and G, I like playing the following: Highland Reel, President Garfield's, Daley's Reel, April's Reel, Sweet Bunch of Daisies, New Camptown Races, Windy City Rag, Missouri Road, Pass Me Not Gentle Savior, The Backwoods Reel (original), Farewell Blues, Cheyenne, etc...
Tunes in F are: Lonesome Moonlight Waltz (Dm), Foolin' Around, Hamilton Special, Foghorn Leghorn, Mississippi Waltz, Smokey Mountain Breakdown, Don't Let Your Deal Go Down, Lonesome Fiddle Blues (Dm), Rustler's Creek (original), Tam Lin (Dm/Am),...etc
B Flat is fun to play in and so is F, which is beautiful with some tunes like Mississippi Waltz and Lonesome Moonlight Waltz.
Edited by - wilford on 09/24/2023 06:21:30
I agree that Bb and F are great keys... I play a few Texas rags in both keys as well as Howdy Forrester's Last Waltz in Bb... then there is Black Hawk Waltz as played by JP Frayley in F... many Canadian tunes are written in those keys..
Play Happy
Swing
--F--
Acorn Stomp
Beaumont Rag
Dallas Rag
Don't Let Your Deal Go Down
Home Brew Rag F/Bb
Kennedy Rag
Ozark Rag
Safe Harbor Reel (or Rag)
Taylor’s Quickstep
I don't play in either of those keys very often, but "Fisher's Hornpipe" is oten played in F, and "Done Gone" in Bb.
The Bank melody...I learned it off a Jean Carignan album in my teens as a showpiece and recorded it on my own album https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uI1aHPtM6yY. Two tunes in Bb and just for good luck, one in Eb. Definitely the hardest set I've ever learned.
I like em.
Key of E major is my nemesis. Especially being as guitarists seem to like it. I don't tend to play sharper than A Major, or flatter than Eb Major. But i'll have a go at anything in between. Loads of old English stuff (Playfords etc), is notated in the flat keys.
....Come to think of it i used to try to to play " Road To Errogie" in E major (the key it was written in), but gave up because everyone else played it in A Major.
Flat keys are good on fiddle, and especially their relative minors. Nice and Dark...And you can control those pesky open strings.
Indian War Whoop, good Bb'er!
Paddy on yer Turnpike
Sometimes I just put a tune in Bb to try it. Or B.
I know Beamont Rag can be in F, but I stay away from F mostly.
But if some jammer calls out an F tune, I'll be there. If for no better reason than to frost the apples.
quote:
Originally posted by farmerjonesIndian War Whoop, good Bb'er!
Paddy on yer Turnpike
Sometimes I just put a tune in Bb to try it. Or B.
I know Beamont Rag can be in F, but I stay away from F mostly.
But if some jammer calls out an F tune, I'll be there. If for no better reason than to frost the apples.
Lots of Irish/Scottish in Bb/F--Star of County Down, Colonel McBean, etc. Which really amount to hand pattern of one flat= Dminor, or G Dorian mode; or--2 flats = Gminor, or C Dorian mode.
Full step between all fingers, with occasional "reach back" from 1st position of the index to hit an F or Bb--very good left hand stretching exercise
I confess I don't know why Celtic music is thus. I'm not a historian. Maybe it's rooted in something to do with the pipes.
One more comment on this before I retire--I tend to play F and Bb tunes in second pos and pretend like I'm in E or C. I'm a big pattern guy and I'm not smart enough to think of notes on the fly. But my ears and fingers do, and they don't realize where they are on the fingerboard.
Sorry, I don't mean to hijack the thread--please carry on...
Bb
Done Gone
New Camptown Races
Monkey in a Dogcart
- and too many bluegrass songs
F
Fischer's Hornpipe
- and a few bluegrass songs
Lot's of tunes in F are pretty fun. Wild Hog in Woods, Warfield, are pretty common.
Bb is a little more rare, but one of my favorites is Wild Geese, or Geese Honking. A couple favorite waltzes, Seamus O'Brian Waltz and Flatbush Waltz in Gm
I tend to play F and Bb tunes in second pos and pretend like I'm in E or C.
I differentiate when I think of "F" or "Bb" tunes, not simply to play notes in key of F/Bb (like a song) and simple shift up with closed fingering pattern; but as those that have unique quality to them specifically as utilizing how it plays in first position, inc. incorporating open A and D strings; as open major third/sixth.
Mention of Fisher's, reminds me how at one time I was working on a whole series of "What the F" tunes, that are typically these days played in another key (D, A, or G). Some like Fishers, Hull's Victory, Julia Delaney (Dm); have bit of tradition; but I also delved into others like Sally Goodin, Blackberry Blossom, Piney Woods Gal, Sally Ann, Lost Indian, Cumberland Gap, Wild Bill Jones, Red Rocking Chair, and others that specifically exploit the unique layout and qualities of F. (some I optionally might tune the E string down to D).
Monroe's "Cheyenne" in Bb & Gminor. I used to play it in G & Eminor - that's what comes from learning to pick it on the banjer before the fiddle got hold of me!
Edited by - Saltcured on 09/26/2023 12:21:12
I might have mentioned this in a previous post, but I find Bb a great place to improvise jazz riffs & solos on my fiddle. Just by alternating between the open A (Bb's major seventh) and the half-step up Bb tonic, you've got the makings of a fine jazz solo in two easy notes. Just do it with an "I'm cool" mindset and you're three-quarters of the way there. If you want a more bassy, bluesy tone, do the same thing on the D or G string. And of course, after doing the Major Seven/Tonic riff a couple times, you can soulfully continue to wander up and down the scale.
I think of Bb,F, & C, as sort of "horn keys."
But B, according to Kenny Baker, was Bill Monroe's key. There's either 15 or 16 flats or sharps in B. (wait for it. . . .)
One of my favorite tunes in Bb is Howdy Forrester's Last Waltz.... the double stops are just plain fun....
Play Happy
Swing
Hahaha. I will never belong in this thread but does anyone have a capo I could borrow??
jk
quote:
Originally posted by ErockinHahaha. I will never belong in this thread but does anyone have a capo I could borrow??
jk
You're born with a fiddle capo. It's your index finger!
Baker's "Johnny June Reel" in Bb & F is a good workout for the 4th finger
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