Cards for practice and playing
Flashcards that help teach and learn tunes, making it easier to play together.
Card Anatomy
A quick visual summary that teaches you (and others!) the song structure in handheld cards ~(4 x 5")
Front
Back
The Decks
Essential Fiddle Tunes
40 cards
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- Angeline the Baker
- Arkansas Traveler
- Beaumont Rag
- Big Mon
- Big Sandy River
- Big Sciota
- Bill Cheatham
- Billy in the Lowground
- Black Mountain Rag
- Blackberry Blossom
- Cattle in the Cane
- Clinch Mountain Backstep
- East Tennessee Blues
- Foggy Mountain Breakdown
- Forked Deer
- Garfield's Blackberry Blossom
- Gold Rush
- June Apple
- Kitchen Girl
- Lonesome Fiddle Blues
- Lonesome Moonlight Waltz
- New Camptown Races
- Old Grimes
- Old Joe Clark
- Rebecca
- Red Haired Boy
- Red Prairie Dawn
- Redwing
- Roanoke
- Saint Anne's Reel
- Salt Creek
- Salt Spring
- Soldier’s Joy
- Southern Flavor
- Squirrel Hunters
- Temperance Reel
- Turkey in the Straw
- Wheel Hoss
- Whiskey Before Breakfast
- Wildwood Flower
Essential Vocal Tunes
35 cards
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- Ain't Nobody Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone
- All the Good Times Are Past and Gone
- Blue Moon of Kentucky
- Blue Ridge Cabin Home
- Bury Me Beneath the Willow
- Dark Hollow
- Darlin' Think of What You've Done
- Don't This Road Look Rough and Rocky
- East Virginia Blues
- Handsome Molly
- Hello City Limits
- How Mountain Girls Can Love
- I Am a Pilgrim
- I'll Fly Away
- I’m on My Way Back to the Old Home
- In the Pines
- Lay Down My Old Guitar
- Little Cabin Home on the Hill
- Little Maggie
- Long Gone
- Long Journey Home
- Molly and Tenbrooks
- Mountain Dew
- Nellie Kane
- New River Train
- Nine Pound Hammer
- Ocean of Diamonds
- Old Home Place
- Rabbit in the Log
- Roll in My Sweet Baby's Arms
- Way Downtown
- Where the Soul of a Man Never Dies
- Will the Circle Be Unbroken
- Will You Be Loving Another Man
- Your Love is Like a Flower
Free Download
Music should be shared and accessible — if you don't want to buy a pack, feel free to print and use these yourself. Just pop in your email and pick a deck.
About
Why did you make these?
I've been playing at bluegrass jams for years, and players are always working through the following challenges:
- Teaching: Song structures need to be taught to the players
- Playing: New(er) players may need to see the chords to follow along
- Choosing: There's an awkward silence deciding which song to play, though we often draw from the same list
But why these songs?
I'm admittedly drawing on personal experience here. There's heavy overlap with Marcel's Essential Fiddle Tunes. I heard many of these called repeatedly at Bryan Sutton's Blue Ridge Guitar Camp. Some tunes I've included because they're popular in the Toronto community, others I just personally love. If I've left out your favorite, you can let me know!
But are they the right chords?
Spicy question 🌶️! These reflect the versions I've encountered at jams across Canada and the US, and online recordings/tutorials. Where variations exist, I've cross-referenced Strum Machine, a widely used and super valuable community reference.
Wait, who are you?
Hi 👋, I'm Mike Freeman, a guitar player and music educator based in Toronto.
Want a custom pack? Have feedback?
Shoot me an email, I'd love to hear from you and work with you.