Slower Than Dirt Tunebook

This tunebook contains a core repertoire of tunes to be played at the Slower Than Dirt
slow/beginner old-time jam in Seattle. Tunes from this book will be played at every Slower Than
Dirt jam; which ones will be announced in advance each month on the related mailing list and web
site.

Tools used in the preparation of this tunebook include abcm2ps, EasyABC and LATEX. The
idea came from Paul Hardy’s tunebooks at http://www.pghardy.net/concertina/tunebooks/,
and assistance with ABC formatting came from Pete Showman and his South Bay Old-Time Jam
transcriptions. There is a GitHub repository of files at https://github.com/rjl20/abc-tunebook
containing the source code for this book.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
A note about copyright and licensing
Unless otherwise noted, all transcriptions and text in this book are licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. This means that the transcriptions are, to the extent
possible by law, freely available for you to use however you want, as long as you give us attribution (a
link back to http://slowerthandirt.org/ would be ideal, if possible) for the bits you use and as long
as whatever work you incorporate ours into is also licensed under the same terms. For more details, visit
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
In practice, thanks to the murky state of copyright as it applies to music, this doesn’t mean an awful
lot. The license applies to the transcriptions only, not to the underlying compositions. If you
want to do something with sheet music you find here, you’re still on your own for making sure it’s legal for
you to do it. Some tunes we think are in the public domain might not be. If it turns out that we didn’t get
permission from a composer or publisher to include a transcription of their tune here, our transcription being
CC-licensed doesn’t mean that you can print our transcription in your book. It just means that we won’t
be the ones coming after you for royalties and/or penalties. Even if we do get permission from a composer
to publish one of their tunes here, that doesn’t necessarily mean you can record it on an album or perform
it in public without paying them a royalty.
If you’d like to use transcriptions or text from Slower Than Dirt but are unable to comply with the terms
of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, please use the contact form at
http://slowerthandirt.org/contact/ to let us know what you’d like to do.
If you are a composer or musician whose intellectual property is being used here without permission, please
let us know by emailing copyright@slowerthandirt.org — we’d really like to know when something that
we think of as “traditional” is actually a recent composition, so we can get permission and give appropriate
credit or remove the tune as necessary.
Neither of the founders of Slower Than Dirt is a lawyer. None of this is legal advice. For a canned rant
about how the Copyright Act of 1976 outlawed folk music, talk to Josh using either of the contact methods
above.
Why a tune book?
Some people will tell you that sheet music has no place in old-time. These people are wrong. I can think
of a few tunes popular in jam sessions and at square dances right now which are almost certainly out in the
world because someone found them in an old manuscript, tried them out, and liked them enough to keep
playing them. With no recordings and nobody passing the tune along through direct transmission, these
tunes would be lost if they hadn’t been written down and then read and reinterpreted later.
That’s not what this book is for. But it’s not axiomatic that old-time and sheet music are at odds.
Some people will tell you that you can’t learn a tune from sheet music, because the essence of a tune is in
the nuances of the performance—the subtle details and variations that sheet music can’t capture. They’re
not wrong, exactly, because it’s true that it’s very difficult to capture much of the nuance of a performance in
standard notation. But I think they misunderstand what sheet music is for, what a musician’s relationship
to sheet music is. A musician is not a machine for turning sheet music into sound. We have actual machines
for that. When I’m reading a new-to-me tune from sheet music, I’m bringing my understanding of what this
kind of music usually sounds like, or how I like it to sound, with me. I am interpreting the sheet music, not
executing it. I’m probably not going to play the tune the way you learned it from Uncle “Vern” Hotchkiss,
but this isn’t an imitation contest; that’s ok.
On the other hand, there is definitely a danger to thinking that any particular book’s version of a tune
is authoritatively “how the tune goes”, or in always trying to play it exactly how it appears, note for note.
Once you’ve learned a tune, sheet music can be a useful reminder of how the tune goes if you get lost, but
learning a tune involves making it your own. Play it how it sounds in your head, not how it looks on the
page. (If you’re at a jam, make sure to pay attention to whether how it sounds in your head works with
how the tune leader is playing it.) If you’re reading it off the page every time, think about whether you’re
actually learning and playing the tune, or if you’re making yourself into a machine for turning sheet music
into sound. There’s nothing wrong with sight-reading, but part of the point of this jam is for people to learn
and practice a new way of learning.
So what is this book for? Learning music by ear is a different skill than learning from sheet music. And
most jams, including Slower Than Dirt, aren’t really teaching sessions, where a tune gets broken into parts
and taught phrase by phrase. When you’re a beginning musician and haven’t yet picked up the skill of
learning a tune on the fly, going to a jam where you don’t know any of the tunes can be frustrating. So this
book contains a core repertoire from which some number of tunes will be picked each month and definitely
played at the Slower Than Dirt jam. If you want, you can practice some of them at home in advance and
know that you’ll be able to play along.
Some of the transcriptions in this book attempt to capture the essence of an individual performance,
while some of them are stripped down to what I consider the bones of the tune. We may not play a tune
exactly as it’s written here at the jam, so you can think of this book as more a cheat sheet than Holy Writ.
How I lead a tune at the jam will at least resemble the version here, though, so at least you won’t run into
the problem of “oh, this is the other tune with that name”.

On learning by ear
I don’t know how other people do it, but I can tell you what worked for me. I listened to a ton of old-time
music. Constantly. On the bus, walking around, at home while catching up on facebook: all the time. For
months. If I wasn’t doing something else that required attention, I was probably listening to old-time music
on headphones. I wasn’t necessarily paying a lot of attention to the music, but it was a constant presence.
The first few months got me used to some of the musical conventions of old-time. I started being able to
identify phrases or riffs I’d heard before in other tunes. I started being able to predict what general shape
a tune might have. What those first months of listening got me was a basic understanding that I didn’t get
by growing up with that music all around me in my community. It got me familiarity.
Eventually, instead of listening to the entire collection on shuffle, I picked a dozen tunes I liked and put
them in a playlist, and listened to nothing but them for a month. I must have listened to those dozen tunes
a hundred times. Each. But by the end of that month, I could hear those tunes in my head. I could hum
along. I hadn’t set out to learn the tunes, at least not in a way I understood as intentional learning. But
I knew those tunes. Not that I could play them on an instrument, but humming them was the important
part.
Once you can hum a tune, you can compare what’s happening with your instrument when you play it
against what’s happening in your head. It can be frustrating to know how a thing ought to work but not to
be able to make it happen, but that’s a mechanical issue with your instrument and gets better with practice.
Once I could hum the tunes from my playlist, and actually kind of play a couple of them on the fiddle, I
picked another dozen tunes and made a new playlist and repeated the process.
I did this four or five times, listening only to a dozen or so tunes at a time until they were in my head
enough that I could hum or whistle them. And patterns started to emerge. There were phrases that appeared
across tunes, little ornaments that could be stacked in different ways to produce different effects. I started
hearing the pieces the tunes were built from. It was like slowly discovering the shapes of a lego set. I could
start swapping different blocks in and seeing how they worked. Meanwhile, I was practicing playing tunes
from earlier in the cycle, building the actual fiddling skill.
I don’t think I’m a particularly good fiddler still, but I think I may now be fairly decent at picking up a
new tune, as long as it’s in an idiom I’ve been immersing myself in. I’m not going to pick up a Cajun tune
as quickly, or a Brazilian choro piece. For Appalachian and midwestern old-time, though, I can identify the
building blocks of a tune I haven’t heard before and assemble them in my head, rather than trying to take
in a whole tune all at once or note by note. What I’m getting at is that, for me at least, “playing the fiddle”
and “learning new tunes” are almost completely separate skills. I can’t say that what’s worked for me will
work for you, but I do think that the critical piece is being able to hear a tune in your head before trying to
play it on an instrument. Whatever gets you there, do that. And do it a lot, because just like learning the
physical skill of playing an instrument, it’s something that takes practice.

About “potatoes”1 and “boom-chuck”

Often a fiddler will start a tune with “potatoes”, or four beats of introductory shuffling. It usually sounds
like (has the rhythm of) “one and-a two and-a three and-a four”, leaving space at the end for a pick-up into
the tune. This should give you a sense of three things: what key the tune is in, what speed it’s going to be
played at, and its rhythm. Listen for what notes are being played: if it’s just one note, it’s probably the
root note of the key the tune is in. If it’s two notes, it’ll probably be the root and fifth (D and A for the key
of D) or root and third (D and F]) of the key.
The tempo is set by the longer notes—the “one”, not the “and-a”. Each of those corresponds to one
beat, and which note length corresponds to a beat is dependent on the time signature of the tune. Most of
the tunes in this book are in “cut time”, or 22 , which means that there are two half notes per measure, each
of which is one beat.2 If you’re playing guitar backup in a “boom-chuck” style, each beat gets a boom and
a chuck, with the boom (the bass note) on the beat and the chuck (the strum) in between.
Rhythm is a little trickier, but listen to how regular the notes are. Is the “and” the same length as the
“a”, or is it longer? If it’s longer, the tune is probably going to feel a little bouncier, and if it’s the same
length it’s probably going to feel a bit more driving. If there’s no “and-a”, then they might be starting off
a jig (of which there are none currently in this book) or something else which doesn’t sound right with the
usual shuffle intro.
If you’re starting off a tune, keep those in mind when playing the “potatoes”. If you aren’t sure what
key a tune is in, the chord it ends on is usually (but not always) a safe bet. Try to feel the speed of the
tune as you want to play it before you start playing; maybe tap your foot for a bit and hum the tune to
yourself to make sure it’s where you want it to be. Then you can start the “potatoes”. Keep tapping your
foot, though, and make sure you’re starting the tune where it wants to start. If there’s a pick-up, start it
before the “one” of the first measure, not right on the “one”, and if there’s no pick-up, start right on the
“one”, not where the final “and” would go.
That’s a lot of words which probably over-complicate things, so to summarize: listen for the beat.

1 For the story of why they’re called “potatoes”, see https://tinyurl.com/why-potatoes

2 You might reasonably think that 22 is the same as 44 , because there are the same number of quarter notes in a measure of
both, but in 22 there are two beats—where you would tap your foot—per measure, and in 44 there are four.
 Tunes By Key

Key of A

Boil Them Cabbage Down . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Little Billie Wilson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Buffalo Girls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Soldier’s Return, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Clayhole Waltz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Sweet Marie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Cripple Creek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Key of A Dorian

Abe’s Retreat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Cold Frosty Morning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Cluck Old Hen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Mace Bell’s Civil War March . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Key of A Mixolydian

Old Joe Clark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Red-Haired Boy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Pretty Little Shoes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Sandy Boys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Key of D

Angeline The Baker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Needle Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Arkansas Traveler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Rose Waltz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Eye of the Beholder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Soldier’s Joy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Freda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Spotted Pony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Johnny Don’t Get Drunk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 St. Anne’s Reel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Lily of the Valley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Swannanoa Waltz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Mississippi Sawyer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Wind That Shakes The Barley, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Key of G

Barlow Knife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Rat’s Gone To Rest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Bound to Have a Little Fun . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Red Wing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Girl I Left Behind Me, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Seneca Square Dance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Hollow Poplar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Shove That Pig’s Foot... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Jeff City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Susi’s Waltz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Nail That Catfish to a Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Tombigbee Waltz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Possum up a Gum Stump. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
 Tunes By Title
Abe’s Retreat (A Dorian) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Nail That Catfish to a Tree (G) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Angeline The Baker (D) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Needle Case (D) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Arkansas Traveler (D) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Old Joe Clark (A Mixolydian) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Barlow Knife (G) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Possum up a Gum Stump (G) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Boil Them Cabbage Down (A) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Pretty Little Shoes (A Mixolydian) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Bound to Have a Little Fun (G) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Rat’s Gone To Rest (G) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Buffalo Girls (A). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Red-Haired Boy (A Mixolydian) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Clayhole Waltz (A) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Red Wing (G) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Cluck Old Hen (A Dorian) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Rose Waltz (D) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Cold Frosty Morning (A Dorian) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Sandy Boys (A Mixolydian). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Cripple Creek (A) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Seneca Square Dance (G) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Eye of the Beholder (D) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Shove That Pig’s Foot... (G). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Freda (D) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Soldier’s Joy (D). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Girl I Left Behind Me, The (G) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Soldier’s Return, The (A) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Hollow Poplar (G) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Spotted Pony (D). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
Jeff City (G) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 St. Anne’s Reel (D) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Johnny Don’t Get Drunk (D) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Susi’s Waltz (G) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Lily of the Valley (D) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Swannanoa Waltz (D) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Little Billie Wilson (A) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Sweet Marie (A) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Mace Bell’s Civil War March (A Dorian) . . . . . . . . 11 Tombigbee Waltz (G) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Mississippi Sawyer (D). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Wind That Shakes The Barley, The (D) . . . . . . . . 22
Key: A Dorian Abe’s Retreat
Battle of Bull Run
A Am E

5 Am E 1 Am 2 Am

9 B Am E

13 Am E Am

Aural Source: Dwight Diller, mostly, but bits from all over
Note: Good in cross-A tuning

Key: D Angeline The Baker

A D G

5 D D G D

8 B D G

13 D D G D

Slower Than Dirt Old-Time Jam Tunebook [Tue Feb 25, 2020] 1
Key: D Arkansas Traveler
A
D G D A D A

5
D G D G A D

8 B D G D A D A D A

13 D G D A D G A D

Key: G Barlow Knife

A G D G G D C G

5 B G D G

9 C D G D G D G D G

Written Source: Appalachian Fiddle (Krassen), p.25

Note: Chords from Complete Tractor (Silberberg)

2 Slower Than Dirt Old-Time Jam Tunebook [Tue Feb 25, 2020]
Key: A Boil Them Cabbage Down
A
A D A E7

5 A D A E7 A

8 B A D A E7

13 A D A E7 A

Aural Source: Sarah Comer

Key: G Bound to Have a Little Fun from Gusty Wallace, KY

A G C

5 G D G

8 B G C D

13 G Am C D

17 G D G

Aural Source: Canote String Band Class, http://stringband.mossyroof.com/BoundToHaveALittleFun.mp3

Slower Than Dirt Old-Time Jam Tunebook [Tue Feb 25, 2020] 3
Key: A Buffalo Girls from John Hatcher, MS
Old Time/Mississippi Buffalo Gals
A A D A E7

3 3
5 A D E7 A

8
B A D A E7

13 A D E7 A

Note: Good in cross-A tuning

4 Slower Than Dirt Old-Time Jam Tunebook [Tue Feb 25, 2020]
Waltz Clayhole Waltz
Key: A
A A D

3
4

5
E A (E)

9 A D

13 E A

16
B
D A

21
E A

25
D A

29 E A

Aural Source: Tony Mates, Wedgwood Ale House Jam

Slower Than Dirt Old-Time Jam Tunebook [Tue Feb 25, 2020] 5
Key: A Dorian Cluck Old Hen
A
A G A G A G E A

5 A G A G A E A

9 B Am G Am E Am

Aural Source: Sarah Comer

Note: The Cs with upwards slides indicate a kind of half-sharp, or slid up C.

Key: A Dorian Cold Frosty Morning

A Am G

5 Am G Am

9 B Am G

13 Am G Am

Key: A Cripple Creek

A A D A E7 A

5
B A E7 A

Note: There are a ton of melody variations for this tune. This is just one of them.

6 Slower Than Dirt Old-Time Jam Tunebook [Tue Feb 25, 2020]
Waltz Eye of the Beholder Jim Childress
Key: D
D G D A
3
4

5
Bm G A D

( )

8
G A Bm A

13
G D A D

Aural Source: Palmer and Greg Loux, Cameron DeWhitt

https://getupinthecool.fireside.fm/49
Original: Free Union, © 2014 Jim Childress
https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/jimchildress
http://jimchildress.weebly.com/free-union.html

Key: D Freda Kenny Baker

from Carthy Sisco
A1 D G D A

5 D G D (G) A D

9 A2 D G D A

13 D G D (G) A D

16 B
D G D A

21
D G A D

Slower Than Dirt Old-Time Jam Tunebook [Tue Feb 25, 2020] 7
Key: G The Girl I Left Behind Me
A G C G D

5 G C D G

8 B G D

13 G C D G

Key: G Hollow Poplar

A
G C

5 G D G

9 B
G D

13 G C G D G

Aural Source: Wedgwood Ale House Tuesday jams

8 Slower Than Dirt Old-Time Jam Tunebook [Tue Feb 25, 2020]
Key: G Jeff City from Bill Katon
A G C G C D

5
G C G D G

9 B G D G C G D

13
G D G C D G

Aural Source: Caleb Klauder Country Band, Subdued Stringband Jamboree 2015
Note: I think most people play this with the parts in the other order. I like it this way.

Key: D Johnny Don’t Get Drunk

Johnny Don’t Come Home Drunk
A D (A) D G A

5 D (A) D G A D

9 B D G A

13 D G D G A D

Slower Than Dirt Old-Time Jam Tunebook [Tue Feb 25, 2020] 9
Key: D Lily of the Valley from Luther Davis, VA
A
D G

5
D G A D

8 B
D G

13
D G A D

Aural Source: Get Up In The Cool Podcast, with Cameron DeWhitt and Adam Hurt
http://www.camerondewhitt.com/getupinthecool/adamhurt
Note: Adam says this comes by way of Dan Gellert.

Key: A Little Billie Wilson

Billy Wilson
A A D A E A

3 3
5 A D A E A

8 B A E A E A

12
C A D A

17 E D A E A

10 Slower Than Dirt Old-Time Jam Tunebook [Tue Feb 25, 2020]
Key: A Dorian Mace Bell’s Civil War March from P.T. Bell
A Am G

5
Am

8 B Am C D

13
Am (F) (G) Am

Aural Source: Howard Rains & Tricia Spencer

Note: Very similar to "Bonaparte’s March" or "Napoleon Crossing the Alps"

Key: D Mississippi Sawyer

A D G

5
D G A D

8 B D A

13
D G A D

Slower Than Dirt Old-Time Jam Tunebook [Tue Feb 25, 2020] 11
Key: G Nail That Catfish to a Tree Steve Rosen
A G D
3 3

5 G D G

8 B C D C
3

14 1 D G 2 D G

© Steve Rosen
Aural Source: Steve Rosen, http://nailthatcatfish.tripod.com/catfishmed.mp3
Note: See http://nailthatcatfish.tripod.com/nailthatcat.html for T-shirts and more.

Key: D Needle Case

A D G D A

5 D G A D

8 B D G D A

13
D G A D

An alternate ending phrase

for either part:

12 Slower Than Dirt Old-Time Jam Tunebook [Tue Feb 25, 2020]
Key: A Mixolydian Old Joe Clark
A
A G

5 A E A

9 B A G

13 A E A

Aural Source: Sarah Comer

Key: G Possum up a Gum Stump

A
G C G D

5 G C D7 G

8 B G C G D7
3

13 G C D7 G

Slower Than Dirt Old-Time Jam Tunebook [Tue Feb 25, 2020] 13
Key: A Mixolydian Pretty Little Shoes from Ward Jarvis, WV
via Jeff Goehring
A A

5 E A

3
8 B A E

13 A E A

Aural Source: Judy Hyman et al., The Floyd Radio Show Podcast, October 5, 2019
3

Note: Good in cross-A tuning, watch out for second part mostly in A major

Key: G Rat’s Gone To Rest from George Hawkins, KY

A G C D G

5 B G C G D G

Aural Source: https://www.slippery-hill.com/recording/rats-gone-rest

14 Slower Than Dirt Old-Time Jam Tunebook [Tue Feb 25, 2020]
Key: G Red Wing Kerry Mills (1907)
Union Maid
A G G7 C G

5 D7 G 1 A7 D7 2 A7 D7 G

8 B
C G

13 D7 1 G 2 G

Key: A Mixolydian Red-Haired Boy

A A D A G

5 A D A E A

8 B G D A G

13 A D A E A

Slower Than Dirt Old-Time Jam Tunebook [Tue Feb 25, 2020] 15
Key: D Rose Waltz
A D (Bm) (F m) (D) G D Bm A

3
4

9 D G A D

16 B D G D Bm D Bm A

25
D G D G Em A D

Aural Source: Sarah Comer

Note: From Stuart Williams, not the one Benny Thomasson or Bob Walters played.

Key: A Mixolydian Sandy Boys

A A G

5 A E7 A

8 B
A A D A D

13 A E7 A

16 Slower Than Dirt Old-Time Jam Tunebook [Tue Feb 25, 2020]
Key: G Seneca Square Dance
Waiting for the Federals
A G C

5 G D G

8 B G Em

13 C G D G

Swing the eighths Shove That Pig’s Foot...

Key: G ...a Little Further in the Fire
A G C G D

5 G C G D G

8 B G D

12 G D G

Aural Source: Bruce Molsky, https://youtu.be/vBIjR39WYfM

Slower Than Dirt Old-Time Jam Tunebook [Tue Feb 25, 2020] 17
Key: D Soldier’s Joy
A D A

5 D (G) D A D

8 B
D G D A

13
D G D A D

Key: A The Soldier’s Return

A A D E A D E A

4 B
A D E A E

9 A D E A D E A

Aural Source: Tim Eriksen, https://youtu.be/8tVlXaF7fG0

Note: Good in cross-A tuning

18 Slower Than Dirt Old-Time Jam Tunebook [Tue Feb 25, 2020]
Key: D Spotted Pony
A
D G D D A

5
D G D A D

9 B D A D G D A

13 D A D G D A D

Note: Most people play this in the opposite order, with the A and B parts swapped.
That is how it appears on older recordings where the tune is called "Snowshoes".

Key: D St. Anne’s Reel

A D G D

5 D G A D

8 B D Em A D

13 D Em A D

Slower Than Dirt Old-Time Jam Tunebook [Tue Feb 25, 2020] 19
Waltz Susi’s Waltz © 1988 David Cahn
Key: G
A G D G C
3
4

5 G C G D

9 G D G C

13 G Am D7 G

16 B Em C A7 D7

21 G7 C D7 G
3

20 Slower Than Dirt Old-Time Jam Tunebook [Tue Feb 25, 2020]
Waltz Swannanoa Waltz Rayna Gellert
Key: D
A
D G D A
3
4

5 1 D 2 D
D G A 3

9 B D G D A

13 D G A 1 D 2 D

© Rayna Gellert

Dotted pairs should be played in triplet time:

Written as: Played as:

Aural Source: Rayna Gellert, Ways of the World

3 3

https://youtu.be/BrNdEIFrIp4
Note: In the original, the fiddle is tuned ADAE with drones and double stops throughout.

Key: A Sweet Marie

Crooked
A
A D A

5 E 1 A 2 A

9 B A D A E

13 A E 1 A 2 A

Aural Source: https://youtu.be/SpsNW2OjFHU

Note: Good in cross-A tuning; watch out for the extra half measure at the beginning of the B section.

Slower Than Dirt Old-Time Jam Tunebook [Tue Feb 25, 2020] 21
Waltz Tombigbee Waltz
Key: G
A G Am
3
4

6 1 C D7 2 C D G

9 B G G/B C G Am

15 1 C D 2 C D G

Key: D The Wind That Shakes The Barley

A
D G D G A

5 D G D G A

B
9 D G D A D G A G

13 D G D A D G A

Aural Source: Franklin George

22 Slower Than Dirt Old-Time Jam Tunebook [Tue Feb 25, 2020]