By-Ear Open Band

Welcome to the By-Ear Open Band (BEOB)! We play for Second Tuesday Contra Dances, 7:30-9:30 at the Park Avenue Community Center in Swarthmore PA. Musicians get in for half price ($5), and it's fine to switch off playing and dancing.

We ask only that you play from memory / by ear rather than using written music.

So many of us are used to the world of written music and aren’t confident playing from memory or by ear. But it’s the norm with traditional music and playing for dances, and many unconfident people have done great getting off the page with a little practice. The benefits are a much better connection with the dancers and the other musicians! And it opens up the world of playing tunes socially with other people.

You don't have to know all the tunes—if you’re strong on just a few we’ll make sure to play them. And picking up tunes on the fly is a time-honored tradition!

Feel free to contact Rick Mohr ([email protected]) for more info.

Set List  —  updated November 12, 2025

Here's the current set list. Learn them:

• by ear — click a tune below to hear it, slow it down, and loop it, or
• by eye — see the written music (ABC) or just the new tunes (ABC)

Print the set list  •  See the tune archive