The All Comers Band rocks the Community Dance on First Fridays! ~ Details on the calendar, including the BFS Community Care Policy.
Friday, February 3 ~
Come one, come all! ACB Leaders, Benjamin Foss and Willy Clemetson direct you to the “Tune of the Month”:
- Louis Cyr (trad) – See North Atlantic Tune List, incl. video from Baron Collins-Hill (of MandoLessons) and notation.
Other tunes will be chosen on the fly, mostly from the “Frequent Flyers” list, below. Come early to warm up!
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The All Comers Band (ACB) is a merry assemblage of musicians who play for the Belfast Flying Shoes (BFS) Community Dances.
As the name implies, musicians of all ages, levels, and instruments are encouraged to participate — we are a diverse and joyful group!! The ACB is a great way to hone your skills playing for dancing. Since ear-playing is emphasized, written music is not provided at the dances. (Some players do bring sheet music and others peer over their shoulders!) Come early to tune, warm up, and go over some of the repertoire.
Tunes are chosen on the spot based on the needs of the dance from a common Northeast contra repertoire, especially the classic Maine dance tunes. If you don’t know one of the tunes, just try to pick up whatever notes you can on the fly! Our goal is to play great music at dance speed–and have FUN!
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Frequent Flyers
Reels:
- Angeline the Baker / Old Joe Clark
- Eddie’s Reel (by Eddie LaPlante*) – North Atlantic Tune List has notation & audio
- The Girl I Left Behind Me / Kitchen Girl
- Liberty / The Joys of Quebec (Feb 2019)
- Maple Sugar / Galope des montagnards laurentiens (March 2019)
- Old French / Lamplighter’s Hornpipe ( Jan 2019)
- Over the Waterfall / Kitchen Girl
- Shenandoah Falls (notation, slow version, Pete Sutherland version, Jane Rothfield version)
- Shove that Pig’s Foot (Molsky, Ungar, Mason version) / Nail that Catfish to the Tree
- Seneca Square Dance / Liza Jane
- Seneca Square Dance / Sandy Boys
- Spootiskerry / Gaspé Reel (Oct 2018)
- Cotillion de la patte du mouton / Repertoire Gérard Lajoie (April 2019)
- Sam and Elzie / Step Along Johnny (June 2019)
- Reel de Montreal / Dancing Bear
- Spotted Pony / Flop Eared Mule
- Old French / Reel Saint Antoine (Sept 2019)
- Spotted Pony / Shady Grove (Nov 2019)
- Galopede (Dec 2019)
- Mouth of the Tobique (MFC version) (3 part reel)
- Julianne Johnson
- Pays de Haut
- La Bastringue
- Golden Slippers
Jigs:
- Off She Goes / Steamboat Quickstep
- The Old Favorite / Le Tourment (Nov 2018)
- Out on the Ocean / The Lilting Banshee (Dec 2018)
- Merrily Kiss the Quaker/Blarney Pilgrim ~ 3 part jigs
- Cock of the North
- Fair Jenny’s
- Hundred Pipers
- La Maison de Glace (aka Ice House)
- Timmy Clifford’s (notation, Julia Plumb tutorial)
- Portland Fancy aka Sugar Jig (in G, notation, Rodney & Randy Miller version)
Marches:
- McQuillen’s Squeezebox (Ralph Page) / Mistwold (Dudley Laufman) (May 2019)
- March of St. Timothy / Bonaparte Crossing the Rhine (Oct 2019)
- Snowy Breasted Pearl / Meeting of the Waters (Feb 2020)
- Mistwold (by Dudley Laufman) / Bonaparte Crossing the Rhine
- Rollstone Mountain – (here)
- Coleman’s
- Jamie Allen
Polkas:
- Sean Ryan’s (aka John Ryan’s) ~ (notation, and video).
- Galway Belle & Peg O’Brien’s (2nd & 3rd tunes in Ellen Gawler’s Pineland Fiddlers)
- Riding on a Load of Hay (notation or in Barnes’ A Little Couple-Dancemusik)
- Mairi’s Wedding
- Road to Boston
- Green Mountain Petronella (notation, 2nd tune Rodney & Randy Miller version)
- Sarah Dell Polka (3rd tune Rodney & Randy Miller version)
Schottisches:
- Schottische fran Idre (notation or in Barnes’ A Little Couple-Dancemusik, Nightingale version)
- Silly Goose Schottische (by Larry Unger, notation, and Larry Unger version)
- Rochester Schottische
Waltzes:
- Margaret’s (by Pat Shuldham Shaw, in The Waltz Book, and Aly Bain version.
- Amelia (by Bob McQuillen, in The Waltz Book, and Bob McQuillen version at NEFFA 2011.)
- Far Away (by Pete Jung, here)
- Southwind (here)
- Country Waltz (here)
- Tombigbee (here) (or Aug 2019)
- Cherokee Waltz (a Cajun tune, here)
- Sebec Lake Waltz (by Pam Weeks, here)
- Haapavesi (by Keith Murphy, one notation here)
- Ash Grove
- Sheebeg Sheemore
- Westphalia
Foxtrots:
- Sentimental Journey by Les Brown, Ben Homer & Bud Green ~ (MFC version and MFC notation for many instruments)
- Side by Side
- 5 Foot Two, Eyes of Blue
- More foxtrots in the Maine Fiddle Camp Ukestra repertoire
Special Tunes:
- The Gay Gordons – Sheet music here, and in Barnes’ A Little Couple-Dancemusik, and video from a contra dance in Nelson NH in 1986.
- Redwing in C for a singing square (July 2019)
Links and resources
Other places to play & learn:
- Belfast Bay Fiddlers – Weekly jam for all levels and instruments at the parish hall of the First Baptist Church (entrance in back of building, adjacent to church parking lot), Sundays at 5:30 pm.
- SeaStrings – Weekly jam at Mermaid Plaza on Main Street in Searsport, Wednesdays at 3:00 pm.
- Fiddlers Jam – Tunes every other Tuesday in Belfast, 5-8pm at Marshall Wharf Brewing/Three Tides
- Irish Session – Weekly session in Searsport
- Maine Fiddle Camp – Weekend and week-long music camp sessions for all ages in June and August in Montville, ME
- Looking for private lessons? Greater Belfast is home to many excellent teachers of traditional dance music, including Maine Fiddle Camp staff.
Tune Books:
- Portland Collections – Songer
- New England Fiddler’s Repertoire – Miller
- The Waltz Books – Matthiesen
- Barnes’ A Little Couple-Dancemusik
In 2020, we assembled a virtual All Comers Band!
The v-ACB video premiered at our 15th birthday party on December 4, 2020! (more info…) It celebrates the phenomenon that is the All Comers Band. Imagine a first Friday community dance with 20-40 musicians–of all ages, skill levels, and instruments–playing their hearts out. We never know who will show up to play, and with that spontaneity the ACB is always a diverse and joyful group. We hope the v-ACB captures that essence!