This website contains hundreds of tunes with MP3 audio clips, sheet music and ABC notation. The tunes come from several regions around the North Atlantic: Scandinavia, the British Isles, Quebec, Cape Breton, Métis (Saskatchewan & Manitoba), New England, Appalachia, and more. The website also includes some of the Vermont Fiddle Orchestra tunes which often have harmonies included.
From North Atlantic Tune list
SPUDS are an open/all comers dance band. Their website contains a large number of tunes in abc format and standard notation, along with links to other tune repositories.
From SPUDS
Colin Hume gives his detailed thoughts and tips on composing dance music.
From Colin Hume
“Do We Have To?” Copyright Basics
This article by Pat MacPherson provides some considerations on whether one needs to get permission to use someone else’s work when publishing a dance or tune book or when recording a CD.
From the CDSS News
Tracking Copyrights and Composers
Susan Songer describes how she tracked down composers and copyrights for her one of her books of contra dance music.
From the CDSS News
Making Jam Sessions Great, a guide for participants and leaders
An article from Dave Firestine about how to create a great jam session, both as a participant and leader.
From the CDSS News
This blog post provides some thoughts on how to lead an open band.
From Jeff Kaufman
Madison’s Tuesday Night Dances—Fostering Talent for More Than Twenty Years
This article by Carol Ormand describes Madison, Wisconsin’s approach to developing talent through weekly dances that feature newer callers as well as an open band.
From the CDSS News
Improving the ECD Open Band Experience
Robert Reichert provides some suggestions on how to improve the experience of playing with, and the quality of music from an ECD open band.
From the CDSS News
Open Dance Bands: Best Practices Shared by 35 Groups
This manual shares common best practices used by 35 open dance bands from throughout North America, and illustrates the diversity of approaches across communities. We hope this resource provides a great starting point for launching new open bands and additional inspiration for groups that have been playing together for years.
From Emily Addison and CDSS
Thanks to the Massachusetts Cultural Council for their generous support.