Much of my website is geared towards learning traditional “fiddle tunes” from various regions and cultures of the world. There are more tunes out there than I could possibly ever learn, much less teach, and there are several great resources dedicated to making those tunes available to listen to and learn.
Free Online Tune Libraries
The Session (Mainly Irish)
O’Neill’s Music Of Ireland Online (Irish)
Wellington, NZ session tunes (Mainly Irish, with slowdown capability)
IdentitAIRS Québécois (Quebec)
The Milliner-Koken Collection of American Fiddle Tunes (Old Time) (Audio Only)
Mandozine Tab Archive (Mixed Genre) (Requires free TEFview software)
Mandolin Cafe Tab Archive (Mixed Genre)
IMSLP Petrucci Music Library (Classical)
The Digital Realbook (Jazz, Chords Only)
Recommended Tune Books
O’Neill’s Music Of Ireland (Irish)
Fiddler’s Fakebook (Mixed Genre)
New England Fiddler’s Repertoire (Mixed Genre)
The Real Book (Jazz)
The Portland Collection (Mixed Genre)
Volume One
Volume Two
Volume Three
The Waltz Books (All Waltzes, Mixed Genre)
Volume One
Volume Two
Volume Three
Volume Four
Slow Downer Software
I spend a lot of time learning tunes from recordings, and one invaluable piece of software I have come to love is one that will slow down music without affecting the pitch. There are several ways to do this:
Tune Transcriber (Free, Online)
Audacity (Free)
Transcribe! (Paid)
Amazing Slowdowner (Paid)
ABC to Tablature Converter
Love the vast database of The Session but don’t read standard notation or ABC? Fear not! This website will convert the ABC code to Mandolin Tablature. It may take a few tries to get the settings right, but you can get it with a little practice!