Early Beginner Circle

These are tunes led during the first two years of the Beginners’ Circle, from late 2005 to late 2007. Initially the Beginners’ Circle was a combination mentored slow jam and tune-learning session. Because it evolved to be mainly a tune-teaching session aimed at intermediate players it was renamed the “Tune Builder” in 2015, and in 2019 was again renamed the “Tune Exchange”.

Each tune is available as sheet music in PDF form. Many also have MIDI and/or MP3 audio files you can listen to, usually at a slow speed such as 60 bpm (beats per minute) as well as at a typical playing speed such as 90 or 100 bpm. In some cases, mainly waltzes, the speed listed may be in mpm (measures per minute), e.g. 40 mpm would be 120 bpm in 3/4.

You can get most of the sheet music for the older tunes in one PDF file (~1.2 MB), or get the pages individually below.

Tune names (click for PDFs)
MIDI Files (small) MP3 Files (large)

Arkansas Traveler
(OT*)
60 bpm 90 bpm 60 bpm 90 bpm

Battle of Manassas/Abe’s Retreat (1 & 2)
(OT*)
v1, 45 bpm 75 bpm 45 bpm 75 bpm
Battle of Manassas (ver 2)
v2, 45 bpm
75 bpm
45 bpm
75 bpm

Boy’s Lament For His Dragon
(Scot.)
(No audio files)

Cold Frosty Morning
(OT)
55 bpm 90 bpm 55 bpm 90 bpm
The Eighth of
January

(OT/BG*)
(No audio files)

Fisher’s Hornpipe
(Irish/OT)
80 bpm (No mp3)
The Girl I Left Behind Me (OT) (No audio files)

Hollow Poplar
(OT)
60 bpm 95 bpm 60 bpm 95 bpm
Josephine’s Waltz /
Josefin’s dopvals
(OT)
(No audio files)

Joys of Quebec
(Fr. Can.)
55 bpm 90 bpm 55
bpm
90 bpm

Juliann Johnson
(OT)
60 bpm 90 bpm 60 bpm 90 bpm
Kesh Jig (Irish) (No audio files)

Kitchen Girl
(New England), and info. on modes
55 bpm
90 bpm
55 bpm 90 bpm
Liberty 1 &
2
(OT)
v1, 50 bpm 90 bpm v1,
50 bpm 90 bpm
v2, 50 bpm 90 bpm v2,
50 bpm 90 bpm
Miller’s Reel
(OT)
90
bpm
(No mp3)

New Five Cents (Buffalo Nickel)
(OT)
65 bpm 100 bpm 65 bpm 100 bpm

Possum Up A Gum Stump
(OT)
(No audio files)

Rickett’s Hornpipe
(OT)
(No audio files)

Road to Lisdoonvarna
(Irish)
60 bpm
100 bpm
60 bpm 100 bpm

Salt Creek / Salt River
(2 variations) (BG)
65 bpm
100 bpm
65 bpm 100 bpm
MIDI for Salt Creek variation
65 bpm 100 bpm

Sandy River Belle
(OT*)

And you can see a video of a banjo version here on YouTube.
60 bpm 90 bpm 60 bpm 90 bpm
Soldier’s Joy (3 variations; OT/BG) (No audio files)
Soldier’s Joy (3 var. with drones)

Spotted Pony
(OT)
60
bpm
90 bpm
60 bpm 90 bpm

Temperance Reel
(aka Teetotaler Reel) (OT/BG)
65 bpm
100 bpm
65 bpm
100 bpm

Tombigbee Waltz
(OT*)
(No audio files)
Waltz of the
Toys
(French traditional)
(No audio files)

Wild Rose of the Mountain
(OT, J.P. Fraley)
70 bpm Video with J.P. Fraley and Ali Bain
Special Combinations
Making a Medley by Transposing Tunes — Mark Llewellyn

Devil’s Dream
in A and D (OT/BG),
55 bpm 90 bpm 55 bpm 90 bpm

55 bpm
90 bpm
55 bpm 90 bpm
55 bpm 90 bpm 55 bpm 90 bpm
Audio of the whole medley: 55 bpm
90 bpm
55 bpm 90 bpm

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