Big Sciota (Big Scioty)

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A great old traditional tune about a river in Ohio, sometimes called Big Scioty - but the proper name seems to be Scioto (the name means 'deer' - as does, interestingly, the Shenendoah).

Crazy Creek

It doesn't get much crazier...
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This is a modern tune with a tricky melody and a fairly complex chord pattern. The original version was apparantly written by the fiddler Tommy Jackson in the key of A minor but most of the recorded versions are in the key of A major (actually using G major shapes with the capo at the second fret).

Cripple Creek

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Most new banjo players start off with Cripple Creek.

A meandering or a crooked stream is referred to as a "cripple" creek. The most famous Cripple Creek is a town in Colorado. Gold was discovered there in 1891 and the mining town that sprang up was considered by some to be the source of the song.

Other musicologists think it must be a much older tune.

Sally Goodin (Goodwin)



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A lovely traditional tune - all about the lovely Sally Goodin...

Sally Ann

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An old and simple tune - but great fun to play.

Soldier's Joy

 

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One of the most popular fiddle tune in history,  “Soldier’s Joy” can be traced to collections published in London and Scandinavia in the middle 1700s. Early versions can be traced to Scotland, and variants found in the French Alps and Newfoundland. The tune was also well known in Ireland.
As is the case with many fiddle tunes, lyrics were added later. In America, “Soldier’s Joy” eventually came to be known as the morphine used by Civil War soldiers when they were injured in battle. A popular lyric for the tune was: “Twenty-five cents for the old morphine, now carry me away from here.”

Country singer Jimmy Driftwood wrote lyrics to "Soldier's Joy" and recorded his version of it in 1957.

Jerusalem Ridge

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The Bill Monroe tune about a place near his home. A little strange in its structure but hauntingly beautiful.