Song List: 5th Avenue Swing Ain't Gonna Work Tomorrow American Hornpipe An Comhra Donn Angels Rock Me To Sleep Bacon In The Skillet Balkan Sunset Barney's Goat Bennett's Favorite Reel Bill Cheathum Billy in the Lowground Black And White Rag Blackberry Blossom Blanchard's Hornpipe Bluesin' the Frets Bottom of Punch Bowl Hornpipe Brian Boru's March Brighton Beach Bring Back to Me My Wandering Boy Brunswick Dance Brush Creek Bumpin' Buster's Reel Buttermilk Jig Caleb's Gorge Cape Cod Reel Carolan's Draught Carrie's Dream Catawissa Reel Catskill Night Cold, Frosty Morning Coldwater Creek Collin's Quest Copthorne Blues Crazy Creek Cumberland Gap Cumberland Ridge D Lite Days Of 'Lang Syne Devil's Dream Dixie Breakdown Don't Go Out Tonight, My Darling/East Virginia Down In The Willow Garden Dublin Dance East Tennessee Blues Echo Canyon Echo Waltz Eighth Of January Eleven Mile Canyon Em Study Fair And Tender Ladies Far From Home Gladiator Reel Green Fields Of America Guster Halloween Harvest Moon Strathspey Haste to the Wedding Haul Away, Joe Heebie Jeebie Hens In The Kitchen High Barbaree High five Hills of Roane County Hooker's Hornpipe I Never Will Marry I'll Be All Smiles Tonight Indian Creek Isle Of Cumbrae Ivy Leaf Reel Jacks Fork Rendezvous Jackson's Jig Katy Trail Kitchen Girl Lady's Fancy Lark in the Morning League Reel Little House 'Round the Corner London Hornpipe Lonesome River Lost Indian Luckie Bawdin's Reel Maddie's Bonnet Martha's Cider Mere Point Midnight Flight Mississippi Basin Missouri Mud Molambe Morrison's Jig National Lancer's Hornpipe Neapolitan Threshers Night Voyage North Sea Obadiah Johnson Peeler Creek Waltz Powder Mill Raqad Red Fox Waltz Red Haired Boy Reel De Lapin Rickett's Hornpipe Roll On Buddy Sally In The Garden Shannon's Well Ships Are Sailing Reel Short Life Of Trouble Shuckin' The Corn Sidney Street Silver Bell Silverheel's Shuffle Song Soppin' The Gravy Soulard St Anne's Reel St Clair's Hornpipe Star Of Bethlehem Step Around Johnny Stepping Out Stone's Rag Storms Are On The Ocean Suffolk Stroll Sugar In The Gourd Sundance Swallowtail Jig Sweet Lillie Sweet Sunny South Swing LTD Swing Steppin' The Burning Of The Piper's Hut The Clergy's Lamentation The Cuckoo The Downfall Of Paris The Girl I Loved in Sunny Tennessee The Promenade The Rights Of Man The Teetotaller's Reel The Unfortunate Rake The Wild Mare Whiskey Before Breakfast Wilson's Hornpipe Witch Of The Wave Reel Young McGoldrick

Chording to the Dance Masters is a selection of dance tunes that were collected originally between about 1500 and 1620. Printing made many of these tunes popular throughout Europe during these times, some of them composed by the printer/publishers themselves, but many more of them existed previously as rustic dance tunes or popular chansons. The works were originally published to be played by three to five instrumentalists, with no particular instruments specified. They suited consorts or ?choirs? of instruments that were depicted in the illustrations of Agricola, Mersenne and most notably Praetorius and are now preserved in museums around the world.

Many editions exist in the 3, 4 or 5 parts as originally published, and these are an absolute joy to perform from, where the interweaving parts create interesting harmonies that demonstrate the skills of these renaissance composer/arranger/publishers. Playing with modern reproductions of the early instruments will recreate textures and sounds unique to this period. However, not everyone is lucky enough to either own these instruments or else have contact with others with whom they could form ensembles. This book aims to widen the experience out to those who would like to play these tunes on their own or with the accompaniment of a guitar, keyboard or other available chordal instrument. Fake books abound for those who wish to play Jazz, Folk, Classical and Popular music where the melody is annotated with chords so that players can access these tunes in their own way. As far as I am aware, this has not often been done for the player who wishes to busk their way through music of the Renaissance period.

I have attempted to include all the chords implied by the polyphonic parts of the original publications, simply because it is in the transitions of the harmonies under the melodies where the genius of the original arranger/publisher resides. Those who go on to explore the original versions may look forward to the way in which each line presents the player with intrinsically beautiful counter melodies.

At first, the rapidity of chord changing can be a bit daunting, so I have marked out what I consider to be the essential chords for accompaniment in boxes. Playing just these will provide adequate accompaniment, whilst leaving the more adventurous scope to enhance their performance by referencing some of the other chords. You can hear the chording arrangements together with the original 3, 4 or 5 part versions of all 44 pieces on a YouTube playlist which has been made as a companion to this volume at

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYRWH2nycMkMoIoEYEMVPa_EXY6NVDpNS

As well as the solo or player in a duo, this book would also be of value for someone who is used to reading chords rather than melody lines wishing to join in with a renaissance consort. The selection I have chosen represents quite a few of the ?standards? that have become regularly played since the revival of renaissance music in the late 1960s. It is hoped that should this volume prove popular, companion volumes with all the parts provided for the same pieces could make essential repertoire for the budding renaissance dance consorts of the future.