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 September 23, 2024

Here's the current set list. Learn them:

Print the set list  •  See the tune archive

Jigs

Long Hot Shower (D) / Myra's (A)

Cliffs of Moher (Am) / Handsome Young Maidens (A)

Hotel Verret (Em/G) / Hommage à Jos Bouchard (C/Am)

Jefferson and Liberty (Am) / Miller's Maggot (G)

Jig to Reel

Idlewild (D/Bm) / Road to California (D)

Seanamhac Tube Station (Gm) / Devil in the Strawstack (Gm)

Reels

Liza Jane (A) / Ragtime Annie (D)

Puncheon Floor (G/D) / Old Gray Cat (Em)

Lamplighter's (A) / Rainy Night in Montague (Dmix)

Shenandoah Falls (A) / Pow Wow (Am/C)

Hommage à Edmond Parizeau (A) / Dedicado à Jos (Bm/D)

Marchy

On the Danforth (A) / Pete's March (D)

Trip to Dingle (D) / Reign of Love (Em)

Quarry Cross (Em) / Prince William (A)

Swing Your Partner (G/C) / Obama's March to the White House (G)

Waltzes

Far Away (Bm)

Haapavesi Waltz (D)

Upper Valley Waltz (Dm)

Hewlett (D)





Speed:

Hear play it