BASS Core Tunes
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Any traditional Irish session music is welcome at the sessions. As BASS was formed to help persons new to traditional Irish music to learn how to play and join sessions we have selected a list of "core" tunes. These are the tunes that you will want to learn first as they are the most commonly played at BASS. See the BASS 2004 Core Tunes page for all the music (dots).
BASS 2004 Core Tunes
| Tune | Type | Key | BASS Version | Learning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashokan Farewell | Waltz | D | dots, ABC, midi | history , sheet music, midi, ABC/dots |
| Butterfly | Slip Jig | E minor | dots, ABC, midi | ABC/dots, midi, dots, mp3, mp3 |
| Castle Kelly | Reel | A minor | dots, ABC, midi | ABC/dots |
| Cook in the Kitchen | Jig | G | dots, ABC, midi | ABC/dots, midi |
| Cup of Tea | Reel | E minor / D | dots, ABC, midi | SCTLS, ABC/dots, midi, dots, mp3 |
| Humours of Ennistymon | Jig | G | dots, ABC, midi Set04: Jig 
| ABC/dots, midi |
| Kesh Jig | Jig | G | dots, ABC, midi Set06: Jig 
| ABC/dots, midi, dots, dots, mp3, mp3 |
| King of the Fairies | Set Dance | E dorian | dots, ABC, midi | ABC/dots, midi, dots, mp3, mp3, mp3, mp3 |
| Lark in the Morning | Jig | D | dots, ABC, midi Set02: Jig 
| ABC/dots, midi, dots |
| Maid Behind the Bar | Reel | D | dots, ABC, midi Set03: Reals 
| SCTLS, midi, dots, ABC/dots, dots, mp3 |
| Merry Blacksmith | Reel | D | dots, ABC, midi | SCTLS, midi, dots, ABC/dots, mp3 |
| Morning Dew | Reel | E dorian | dots, ABC, midi | ABC/dots, mp3 |
| Mountain Road | Reel | D | dots, ABC, midi | ABC/dots |
| My Darling Asleep | Jig | D | dots, ABC, midi | ABC/dots, midi, dots |
| Off to California | Hornpipe | G | dots, ABC, midi Set05: Hornpipes 
| ABC/dots, midi, dots, mp3, mp3, mp3 |
| Road to Lisdoonvarna | Slide | E dorian | dots, ABC, midi Set02: Jig 
| ABC/dots, midi, dots, mp3 |
| The Sligo Maid | Reel | A minor | dots, ABC, midi | SCTLS, ABC/dots, midi |
| Star of Munster | Reel | A dorian | dots, ABC, midi | ABC/dots, midi |
| Swaggering Jig | Jig | G | dots, ABC, midi Set06: Jig 
| SCTLS, ABC/dots |
| Willie Coleman's | Jig | G | dots, ABC, midi | ABC/dots, mp3 |
In some cases, the BASS version of a tune will vary from some of the references.
Music References
The following web sites were used to populate the Learning section of the core tunes list.- Slow Players Music List, BASS parent organization, most of the midi tunes
- Small Circle Tune Learning Session (SCTLS), excellent resource for learning a new tune
- Jay Ungar & Molly Mason, Jay Ungar is the composer of Ashokan Farewell
- The Session (ABC/dots), site to exchange traditional Irish music tunes
- Tin Whistle Tunes, Tony Higgins and friends played many of the mp3 tunes
- BASS 2004 Core Tunes (Acrobat pdf format)
- BASS 2004 Core Tunes
- BASS 2002 Tunes
- BASS 2001 Tunes