Picking Tunes (out of a Fishbowl!)

A co-worker gave me this idea.  Write the name of every tune or song you can play on a separate slip of paper and put all the pieces of paper in a fish bowl.  Then periodically select from the bowl to come up with a random tune to play.  This will keep your repertoire fresh and varied.  If you draw a tune that you've temporarily forgotten how to play then you know it is one you need to work on. Add more tune titles to the fish bowl as you learn them.

I can think of about 35 tunes I currently (supposedly) know.  Lately I've been trying to improve the effectiveness of my practice methods, so I hope to at least double that number in the next year and expand it exponentially beyond that.

My Fish Bowl Tunes:

Angeline the Baker

Arkansas Traveler

Banish Misfortune

Clouds Thicken (by Paul Rosen - Floorplay)

Cluck Old Hen

Cooley's Reel

Fair Jenny’s Jig

Flop-Eared Mule

Geese in the Bog

Girl I Left Behind Me

Horace Hanesworth (from Portland Collection)

Jerry’s Beaver Hat

John Ryan’s Polka

Kesh Jig

Kitchen Girl

Lilting Banshee

Little Dutch Girl

Maid Behind the Bar

Minnesota 6/8 Two Step (from Mandolin Uff Da!)

Miss Monaghan’s Reel

Off to California

Old Bunch of Keys

Old Mother Flanagan

Out on the Ocean

Over the Waterfall

Rakes of Mallow

Red Haired Boy

Road to Lisdoonvarna

Soldiers Joy

Star Above the Garter

Staten Island Hornpipe

Sugar Candy Schottische (from Mandolin Uff Da!)

Swallowtail Jig

The Butterfly

Tralee Jail (Irish polka)

Twin Sisters

Whalen’s Breakdown (Canadian tune)

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