Old-Time Tune List

If you plan to play in some American old-time tune jams, you’ll want to get familiar with some of the most common tunes that you are likely to run into. And once you are playing in a jam, it’s handy to have a tune list that is grouped by key and mode. You’ll find those on this page, as well as where to go for more information.

On this page:

Top 50 American Old-Time Tunes

While the list of the top 50 American old-time tunes varies a bit from region to region, here is the “national consensus” list for jams in the United States. The tunes are ranked by popularity, starting with those most likely to come up in a jam. If you are just getting oriented and building a core repertoire, then start with the 15 “absolutely core” tunes listed as “Tier 1”. Then build from there. (For each tune in the list, the tune’s title is followed by its key and modality.)

Tier 1 — Absolutely Core (Top 1–15)
If you know these solidly, you will never be left out anywhere in the U.S.

  1. Soldier’s Joy (D)
  2. Angeline the Baker (D)
  3. Cripple Creek (A)
  4. Liberty (D)
  5. Old Joe Clark (A modal)
  6. Mississippi Sawyer (D)
  7. Arkansas Traveler (D)
  8. Forked Deer (D)
  9. June Apple (A)
  10. Cluck Old Hen (A modal)
  11. Over the Waterfall (D)
  12. Spotted Pony (D)
  13. Kitchen Girl (A modal)
  14. Sally Ann (A)
  15. Red Wing (G)

Tier 2 — National Standards (16–38)
Extremely common; ranking order varies by region, but they are played throughout the US.

  1. Big Scioty (D)
  2. Sail Away Ladies (G)
  3. Breaking Up Christmas (D)
  4. Sugar Hill (A modal)
  5. Seneca Square Dance (D)
  6. Cold Frosty Morning (A modal)
  7. Lonesome John (D modal)
  8. Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss (D)
  9. Half Past Four (D)
  10. Hog-Eye Man (D)
  11. John Brown’s Dream (A)
  12. Western Country (G)
  13. Old Molly Hare (A modal)
  14. Walk Along John to Kansas (G)
  15. Lost Indian (D)
  16. Grey Eagle (D)
  17. Indian Ate a Woodchuck (D)
  18. Pretty Little Dog (A modal)
  19. Shove the Pig’s Foot a Little Further in the Fire (D)
  20. Squirrel Hunters (A modal)
  21. Brushy Fork of John’s Creek (D)
  22. Booth Shot Lincoln (A modal)
  23. Coleman’s March (D)

Tier 3 — Widely Known, Regionally Weighted (39–50)
Common nationally, but more dependent on local taste, jam size, or dance context.

  1. Jeff Sturgeon (D)
  2. Needle Case (D modal)
  3. Ways of the World (G)
  4. Leather Britches (A)
  5. Calico (A)
  6. Katy Hill (A)
  7. Old Mother Flanagan (A)
  8. Rabbit in the Pea Patch (A)
  9. Tater Patch (D)
  10. Ebenezer (D modal)
  11. Greasy Coat (A modal)
  12. Shortnin’ Bread (D)

The Top-50 Tunes – grouped by key and mode

In a jam, once the banjos are tuned up to a particular key and mode, you are likely to play in that tuning for quite a while. This list breaks up the “Top-50” by key and mode so you can choose tunes that fit your jam’s current tuning.

A MAJOR
(Common banjo setup: gDGBD capo 2, or open A)

  • Calico
  • Cripple Creek
  • John Brown’s Dream
  • June Apple
  • Katy Hill
  • Leather Britches
  • Old Mother Flanagan
  • Rabbit in the Pea Patch
  • Sally Ann

A MODAL (A “mountain minor” / sawmill family)
(Common banjo setup: gDGCD capo 2, or equivalent)

  • Booth Shot Lincoln
  • Cluck Old Hen
  • Cold Frosty Morning
  • Greasy Coat
  • Kitchen Girl
  • Old Joe Clark
  • Old Molly Hare
  • Pretty Little Dog
  • Squirrel Hunters
  • Sugar Hill

D MAJOR
(Common banjo setup: double-D, aDADE)

  • Angeline the Baker
  • Arkansas Traveler
  • Big Scioty
  • Breaking Up Christmas
  • Brushy Fork of John’s Creek
  • Coleman’s March
  • Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss
  • Forked Deer
  • Grey Eagle
  • Half Past Four
  • Hog‑Eye Man
  • Indian Ate a Woodchuck
  • Jeff Sturgeon
  • Liberty
  • Lost Indian
  • Mississippi Sawyer
  • Over the Waterfall
  • Seneca Square Dance
  • Shortnin’ Bread
  • Shove the Pig’s Foot a Little Further in the Fire
  • Soldier’s Joy
  • Spotted Pony
  • Tater Patch

D MODAL
(Common banjo setup: aDADE with modal emphasis)

  • Ebenezer
  • Lonesome John
  • Needle Case

G MAJOR
(Common banjo setup: open G)

  • Red Wing
  • Sail Away Ladies
  • Walk Along John to Kansas
  • Ways of the World
  • Western Country

Where to find and learn the tunes

If you would like a much longer list of tunes to jog your memory of tunes you know or to inspire you with tunes to learn, here are some good places to look.