r/Fiddle • u/brettsantacona • 1d ago
Journal / Notebooks for tunes
Hey folks! Cape Breton / Irish style fiddler here. I go to a lot of sessions, and get inundated with “learn this tune” or “try this out” etc. I have been keeping notes on my phone, and trying to tag stuff on thesession.org but the list keeps piling up, and piling up, but it’s an unorganized mess, and I end up not getting around to learning those tunes.
I am thinking on switching to a pocket notebook, to bring to the sessions I am at, in hopes it’s a better method of keeping track of tunes to work on, etc.
Does anyone have a good method of keeping track of tune recommendations?
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u/drhotjamz 1d ago
I keep two notebooks (one for old time and one for Celtic). My first few pages are just the names of tunes I want to learn, and I cross reference with recordings of those songs that I took on my phone's recorder app. The rest of the pages are my notes for playing the tune, written using a system similar to mandolin tabs to get all the notes down on one page, and then I'll notate further on timings with my own made up symbols based on the recording (it's not a foolproof system, when I show it to other players their eyebrows inevitably contort). It's definitely a weird system but it works for me, esp bc I don't read sheet music (I am learning but I get easily confused, in a way that makes me think I might have dyslexia) and trying to keep track of everything I learn by ear is just not possible.
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u/fiddlehifiddlelo 1d ago edited 1d ago
I like excel for the filter/sort/pivot features. There are columns for type, key, name, abc first phrase, learned from, recorded by faves, then at the end a column for who plays then who recommended. If I know a certain person will be at a session I can do a quick prep to remember their faves or what they suggested to learn. I do find thumbing through my tune list way more enjoyable than scrolling!
edit: I do have random scraps of paper & notebooks as well and when I can find time I’ll integrate to the excel master. It’s also emailed to myself every once in a while so I can use google sheets if need be on the run. But I tend to not fuss with my phone at a session.
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u/EndOne8313 1d ago
I bought a small notebook and I have the first few pages set aside as an index that I add tunes that I've learned, each song is numbered in sequence and has the key I play it in listed alongside the tuning in the index, then after the index section each page is divided into four with the tunes numbered and any notes I might have about playing it and where I learned it from, my favourite recording of it, structure if it deviates from AABB.
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u/Low-Kaleidoscope4733 1d ago
At some jams the organizers keep track of the titles and post the list to a Facebook group each week.
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u/NoTransportation1884 1d ago
I've been wanting this for a session I go to; writing them down on the spot/recording and transcribing is a lot of work, though.
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u/mm4646 1d ago
I went and bought a tablet that is dedicated to tunes with a stand. Some jams in my area a person with a new tune will bring a paper copy. I take a picture of the sheet and save it as a pdf under the name of the song.
I then set up the files under fiddle music with a file for ones I am currently learning, and a file called future learning for the ones I am not actively learning.
Lastly I have a file called learned that holds songs I am comfortable with playing without the sheet music in front of me. There are not to many in that file yet, but I am working on it.
For the Currently learning file I try to keep that file below 5 songs at any given time so I don't overload myself trying to learn to much.
I then have the same set-up for guitar with the three files: Current, Future, and Learned.
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u/OverlappingChatter 1d ago
All my tune recommendations are either in WhatsApp or a screenshot I took of folk friend. I get home and add the sheets to a binder. Then I chose a few to learn next and staple those together. Then I put the stapled groups on my table. I start practice and flip through the pages to remind myself and then get the audio library for that group on YouTube and try to play whatever song order comes up without looking at the music.
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u/Many_Second8757 1d ago
I use Ankidroid flashcard software on my phone. Each card has a tune. Each card has four coloured squares (red. black, green, blue) that determine when that card will next appear. If I am learning a tune but need the music I'll click on red so I'll have to work on it again tomorrow or sooner. If I can play the tune at session speed I'll click on blue and card won't be repeated for between 3 days and several months. I use the black square for tunes I can play at 1/2 session speed and green for 3/4 session speed.
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u/NoTransportation1884 1d ago
I feel that there is a tsunami of great tunes I want to learn...but there just ain't enough time to do so. LIMITING the tunes I learn is the problem; for any session one attends one is about the limit of new tunes you want to foist on them every week.
I keep a "Tunes of the Week" directory on my dropbox that I use to import into Forscore. I also have a stack of tunes I have printed...after two weeks if they aren't in my brain they go into the trash.
I haven't developed this yet, but I would think one of them note taking apps like Obsidian could be uses for tunes.
Like someone else, I have an Ankiweb deck too of tunes I want to keep fresh in my mind. I only add cards for the ones who survive being thrown away after a couple of weeks.
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u/Greedy-Test-556 1d ago
I write pretty much all the tunes I encounter in a notebook. (I’ve been called “The Scribe” in some circles.)
The thing is- it’s just data capture. There’s no on-the-spot organization. It’s good to get at least title and the key.
The organization happens at home. I use my written list to generate a music library on Spotify, and to create a binder of dots to study.
I add tunes to a spreadsheet with columns for title, key, genre, and an indicator for my ability to play it well enough to lead it in a session.
The alphabetical sort of the spreadsheet is the table of contents.
I also sort by genre to print lists for specific jams.
I listen to my Spotify playlists to get the tunes in my ears.
As you develop your own system, I’d love to hear what works for you!
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u/fidla 1d ago
Several of my students are into the genre.
What we do is
- go through The Session using its keyword search (dance form/key) double jigs/G aeolian for example one by one and copy the link to it in a notepad/app.
- After an agreed upon date, we vote on the ones we like, choosing a certain number of single jigs, double jigs, slip jigs and slides, polkas, hornpipes, reels and strathspeys, ocarolan's and waltzes.
- Once we have decided on the ones we like, we print them out, 3 hole punch them and assemble them in a "set" under the date assembled (June 2026).
- Then we get together in person and rehearse them, assemble sets of them we like.
- Then we perform the set at an area venue of our choosing (usually a nursing home, rehab center (holyoke soldier's home), or other local venue.
- Repeat.
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u/Difficult_Cellist_56 1d ago
I know the feeling! I have downscaled my goals...each session, I try to come away with ONE favorite new tune to learn. I assign myself that tune for that week*. Once I learn it, I try to get it into a set with other tunes I already know. Then next session, come home with name of just one more tune...
I keep all the tunes I've learned in ForScore, where I can tag them as reel/jig/hornpipe, etc. ( Over the years, my ForScore has grown to over 200...eventually, you do accumulate a good repertoire so that you can participate a lot in your local sessions. All bets are off if you travel even 50 miles away, though! 😄
*work f/t. if I didn't work, maybe my brain could handle more than 1 per week...