English Music Books

Band Time is the long awaited sequel to ‘Band Swing’ and is a tune book arranged for folk dance musicians who like playable tunes which work well together. Edited by piano accordion player Pete Mac, this book is an indispensable source for folk dance band

Edited by piano accordion player Pete Mac, Band Swing is an indispensible source book for musicians playing in folk dance bands, who need suitable, playable tunes which work well together.

25 great tunes from the English Folk Dance repertoire. All selections in clear, easy to read Tab and played note for note on the accompanying 25 track CD. Tunes include Jigs, Hornpipes, Morris, Polka and Schottische. Many of the tunes have never been arranged for the Banjo before. These arrangements make a refreshing change from the usual 'Bluegrass' material and are great to play on the old 5 string. All tunes are played in standard 'G' Tuning, in the usual Fiddle keys and without a Capo.

This book of 101 easy tunes for any melody instrument has been compiled to give beginners and novices an accessible source of easy tunes. These easy but interesting tunes will give enormous pleasure to both player and listener. Only 14 notes are required to play all 101 tunes, which include folk melodies and Irish tunes.

101 Tunes : Core repertoire for English pub sessions, coutry dances, ceilidhs, barn dances and hoe-downs. Only 14 notes required to play all 101 tunes. With guitar chords.

This book contains 130 traditional English dance tunes. They are part of the common repertoire of musicians playing English music for barn dances, ceilidhs and country dances. The versions given are intended to represent the form in which the tunes are commonly played, based on the experience of the author, Dave Townsend, at dances festivals and pub sessions in many areas.

Playford's The Dancing Master is the classic compendium of English country dance tunes. First published in 1651. This book brings together for the first time under one cover 535 tunes and their variants from the eighteen original editions.

Musick’s Delight on the Modern Cittern is intended for the beginner seeking a collection of simple yet attractive tunes that are enjoyable to play; the more intermediate player desirous of widening their repertoire; and any player in want of a collection of tunes upon which they can build further. 

All tunes are presented in both notation and tablature, together with chords for an accompaniment, in GDGDG for cittern and GDAE for mandolin and octave mandola, plus two hundred and fifty chords each for GDGDG and GDAE. Bouzouki and tenor mandola players can also play these tunes via the tablature. 

From the age of knights, castles and courtly love; from the palaces and gardens of Renaissance Europe; and from the assemblies, playhouses and noisy streets of seventeenth and eighteenth-century London: Musick’s Delight on the Modern Cittern presents a repertoire spanning 600 years – as delightfully playable and addictive now as it was then.

101 excellent traditional dance tunes that, over the years, have been popular in the North-West of England. However, The tunes, were chosen and the settings were derived mainly from manuscripts to be found on The Village Music Project website, along with numerous traditional music books. All are listed inside. The tunes are relatively easy for the average player, are suitable for every instrument associated with traditional music and fall within the range of the D tin whistle, concert flute and D/G melodeon.

Although the cittern has a history spanning 500 years and several countries, like its cousin the Irish bouzouki, it is a relative newcomer to contemporary traditional music. Doc Rossi, a well-known citternist in both traditional and early music, has created this book for intermediate to advanced players who want to improve their technique, develop ideas and learn new repertoire. Guitarists can play all of the tunes in this book on the guitar by tuning C F C G C F, low to high, and putting a capo at the second fret. The lowest line in the tablature then corresponds to the fifth string. The CD features all the tunes played at a medium tempo.

This book contains twenty-one of the most popular traditional melodies, both dance tunes and song airs, from around Britain and Ireland. Each tune is arranges with a harmony part for a second melody instrument as well as a chord accompaniment. Soundtrack available.

101 Tunes: Core repertoire for English pub sessions, country dances, ceilidhs, barn dances and hoe downs. Only 14 notes required to play all 101 tunes. With guitar chords.

Here we have 89 tunes, with chords from the Northumbrian tradition presented by Pauline Cato, virtuoso exponent of the Northumbrian small pipes. This collection is an excellent introduction to anyone interested in this type of music and can be seen as a survival guide to Northumbrian sessions.Recordings of all the tunes are available on 2 C.D' s ' Minstrel's Fancy' and ' Bonny at Morn'.

Nick Barber has been part of traditional English music sessions for many years. This, his second book contains 95 of his favourite tunes, accurately transcribed, referring to original sources wherever possible. Also included is information about each tune

101 traditional dance tunes that sit happily on the melodeon scale selected by John Kirkpatrick. Suitable for all melody instruments. There are two excellent soundtracks available to complement the book, Orlando's Return and Garick's Delight. They feature John Kirkpatrick playing all the tunes in the book.

In this book you’ll find the holy grail of pub session tunes, the very backbone and life blood of the English traditional music scene.

A fascinating book of traditional and original dances and dance tunes, with chords, by fiddle and mandolin player Robin Dunn. Robin brings together a selection of his own compositions along with traditional favorites. A couple of fabulous tunes composed by Willie Taylor, The Pearl Wedding and Nancy Taylor's Reel, are here as well. They are extremely widely played and are unavailable elsewhere. Also included are Robin's notes on the influences and inspirations behind the music.

Edited by Carolyn Wade, this book, containing 57 traditional tunes, presents a core repertoire, with chords, for North West morris musicians. It is also particularly suitable for novice musicians and also as a source of easy country dance tunes. Soundtrack available.

This collection of morris music, although far from comprehensive, contains most of the dance tunes currently in vogue in what might be called the popular Cotswold traditions. All of the tunes can be found elsewhere, but unlike previous publications, they are all presented in keys which most of today's morris musicians are most likely to favour.

Edited by Dave Mallinson, this book contains a further 67 tunes, with chords, from the popula Cotswold morris traditions. The complex sequence of parts which contribute to the unique character to Cotswold morris are again clearly indicated. Soundtrack available.

Yet another 200 tunes, with chords from Peter Kennedy. How does he do it? This time the theme is the much neglected triple-time jig and waltz rhythms, once widely used for all kinds of traditional dancingin Britain and Ireland. The book contains 90 slip jigs and 110 waltzes.

Hugh Rippon, caller and composer of country dances, has collaborated with Dave Mallinson to create a dual purpose book of dances and tunes. The 26 dances are fully explained by Hugh and can be used straight from the page. Mally has selected a wide range of 52 tunes, with chords, from Britain, Ireland and America that fit the dances and make a versatile and intriguing repertoire.

Music and song from the increasing number of young people getting involved in folk music today. These are youngsters are playing and singing to an extremely high standard. People such as Kate Rusby, Michael McGoldrick, Eliza Carthy and Tim van Eyken are included. The book includes biographies, contacts, discographies and photographs.

A mammoth collection featuring 148 of your all-time folk favorites! Includes: Alouette • Camptown Races • Danny Boy • Greensleeves • Guantanamera • Hava Nagila • Home on the Range • The Red River Valley • Shenandoah • Skip to My Lou • This Little Light of Mine • Yankee Doodle • and many more.