Slow & Steady Session class at the Lake School of Celtic Music, Song and Dance held in Koroit, Victoria AUSTRALIA
We have made available MP3 recordings of our slow & steady session tunes that correspond with our Lake School Sheet Music with Chords Booklet 2026. To download the booklet click on Lake School 2026 Tune Booklet. To hear the tunes and play along with Mark and Lisa click: Slow & Steady Session Tunes Played by Mark & Lisa.
McDonnell’s House Party at Dukes Commercial Hotel at the Lake School, Koroit Victoria (Photos by Greg Leibel)
Scrolling down the page you will find that we have included: 1) A free, no strings attached, download of our Lake School Slow Session Booklet that we put together that contains the music and chords to 63 common session tunes along with recordings of us playing the tunes at slow and intermediate tempos and 2 ) Online Slow & Steady Sessions that allow you to play along with us at some of our previously recorded Melbourne Slow & Steady Pub sessions. They include examples of both our beginner and intermediate sessions and 3) Photographs of our Melbourne Pub Sessions over the past 20+ years. We hope that Irish/Celtic traditional players in Australia and around the world find the information, music and recordings on our website useful.
Lake School 2026 Slow & Steady Session Tune Booklet
(Click on title above to download)
For our Slow & Steady Session classes and House Parties at the Lake School, we have compiled 63 common session tunes for beginners that include chords. Many of these tunes can be heard by downloading mp3 files available elsewhere on this site. For the sheet music click on the title to download the booklet click on Lake School 2026 Slow & Steady Session Tune Booklet
We made this booklet available free in order to keep the tradition of playing Irish/Celtic music in sessions alive for you need to know some tunes before you can join a session. Please feel free to share it with your family, students and musical friends. We hope you find it a useful resource. Enjoy the music!
Lake School Slow & Steady Session Tune List 2026
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- 100 Pipers
- Blackthorn Stick (The)
- Blarney Pilgrim
- Boys of Blue Hill
- Britches Full of Stitches
- Butterfly* (The)
- Come by the Hills
- Concertina Reel (The)
- Draught of Ale (Saddle the Pony)
- Elsey’s Waltz
- Fanny Power
- Father Kelly’s No.1
- Fields of Athenry
- Finnigan’s Wake
- Forty Pound Float
- Fox Hunter (The)
- Geese on the Bog
- Hannah’s Polka
- Hills of Tara (The)
- Humours of Tulla
- Inisheer
- Humoursnis Tulla
- Kesh Jig
- King of Laois
- King of the Fairies
- King of the Fairies
- Little Brown Jug (New)
- Lucy Farr’s Barn Dance
- Maggie in the Wood
- Margaret’s Waltz
- Marie’s Wedding
- Merrily Kiss the Quakers Wife
- Merry Blacksmith
- Mingulay Boat Song
- Molly Malone
- Murphy’s Polka
- Off To California
- Old Man Dillon
- Out on the Ocean (Portroe Jig)
- Piper’s Weird
- Planxty Irwin (New)
- Primrose Lass
- Rakes of Kildare
- Rakes of Mallow
- Rights of Man
- Roddy McCorley
- Shannon Breeze
- Sheebeg Sheemore
- Shoe the Donkey (Versavanna)
- Silver Spear
- Slocket Light (Da)
- Sonny Brogan’s Mazurka
- South Wind
- Star of the County Down
- Spootishkerry
- Sweeney’s Polka
- Tell My Ma
- Tripping Up the Stairs
- Waltzing Matilda
- Ward’s Jig
- West Clare Jig
- Whistling Gypsy Rover
- Wild Mountain Thyme
- Wild Rover
Photos of another Lake School McDonnell’s House Party at Dukes Commercial Hotel, Koroit, Victoria
To learn more about The Lake School of Celtic, Music, Song and Dance click here or go to their official website: https://lakeschool.com.au/. Once you logon to the website you will find it has a lot of information about the classes and performances and it provides you with an easy and convient way to book your place in the 2025 Lake School.
McDonnell’s Slow & steady Sessions Online
McDonnell’s Slow & Steady Session at Clifton Hill Hotel 2012
Many beginner Irish traditional players would like to participate in slow & steady sessions but there are none available close to where they live. In an effort to fill this gap we have made available recordings of some of our previous slow and steady sessions so musicians can play along. We have provided heaps of resources on our website to help you learn the tunes. If you have always wanted to join an Irish session please check out our sessions by clicking on On-Line Slow & Steady Sessions.
Memories of 15 Years of McDonnell’s Slow & Steady Sessions in Melbourne
(click on photo to see more pictures)
