"I'm a classically-trained amateur, non-suzuki guy, and never thought I could learn by ear. I really thought the concept was just way out in left field for me. But...you proved me wrong! I was able to play the first tune (Here She Goes?) pretty well in about 20 minutes and then got comfortable enough to add my own little finger embellishments.
Maybe you ought to subtitle your training CDs for guys like me. "Ear training for stubborn dummies who don't think they can."

...teaching CDs from Laura Risk



Tunes 2001
Price: $25 US
 Tunes 2001: 65 tunes from Laura Risk
Two CDs containing 65 well-known tunes from Scotland, Cape Breton, Ireland, Quebec, and New England: Reels, jigs, strathspeys, marches and airs, plus an A for tuning. I play every tune fast and then slow (except the airs, since they're already slow!). I recorded it in my living room but the sound quality is pretty good, and it's right at pitch. For a list of the tunes, see the extended liner notes. Click here to listen to a sound clip. (Smith's a Gallant Fireman: the A part, played fast and then slow. MP3 - 592K)


Buy secure on-line using PayPal, or download the order form (pdf) (Note: You must have Acrobat Reader installed to download the order form. You can get the latest version for free from the Adobe website.)




Tunes 2003
Price: $25 US		 Tunes 2003: 82 more tunes from Laura Risk
Two CDs: 82 tunes. The repertoire is mostly Scottish, plus a few Cape Breton and Quebecois tunes. There are reels, jigs, strathspeys, marches, airs, and waltzes, plus an A for tuning. As on Tunes 2001, I play every tune fast and then slow.
For a list of the tunes, click here. (In case you're wondering, the repertoire on Tunes 2003 is completely different from the repertoire on Tunes 2001.) Click here to listen to a sound clip. (Dunse Dings A' : the A part, played fast and then slow. MP3 - 400K)


Buy secure on-line using PayPal, or download the order form (pdf) (Note: You must have Acrobat Reader installed to download the order form. You can get the latest version for free from the Adobe website.)




Which one should I get first?
Unless you're already an experienced player, I recommend beginning with Tunes 2001. The first 25 tunes or so are fairly easy to learn by ear, and then the repertoire gets progressively more challenging. The idea is that you'll develop your learning-by-ear skills and enlarge your repertoire at the same time.
Tunes 2003, on the other hand, is intended as a repertoire source for fiddlers who are already comfortable learning by ear. To that end, the tunes are arranged in alphabetical order (more or less), rather than by level of difficulty.
If you're still not sure, check out the extended liner notes for Tunes 2001. If you already know most of those tunes, then go for Tunes 2003. Otherwise, I'd suggest you start with Tunes 2001 and go from there.