Merlin Music Tunebooks 

Merlin Music Session Books

Four Session Books are now available, each containing one hundred great session tunes. The tunes in the first two books are mainly drawn from the musical traditions of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Eire, while the third and fourth feature a more eclectic mix.

Designed especially to make learning and playing easy, the books are spiral-bound and hard-backed in A5 landscape format with one tune per page. There's no need for a music stand. No need to crane your neck over a table. No need to find heavy objects to put on each corner to keep it lying flat and open. Just select your tune, flip over the front cover, and Merlin's Session Books will stand upright, leaving your hands free for playing music and drinking the beverage of your choice.

We've had an enthusiastic response to the Session Books, including Stephen Hunt's review for the on-line magazine 'Green Man Review':

"... the format of this particular collection really sets it apart from the competition ... this is a unique publication of its type. The tunes themselves are, of course, priceless. These melodies constitute the essential vocabulary of the language that is traditional Celtic music ... These are tunes for life - for playing, listening, dancing, enjoying and learning. If you want to learn them from a book, then this is, undoubtedly, the user-friendliest example available. Highly recommended!"

Our sole criterion for including any tune is that we like it! Each collection contains some old favourites - the stuff of good, rousing sessions almost everywhere you go - as well as plenty that are less well-known, including new compositions in the traditional style. The third and fourth books also range a bit more widely, with a few tunes from America, Canada, France, Portugal, Finland and Sweden. Click the 'List of Tunes & Cover Photo' links in the pricelist table below to see the full index and cover for each book.

Pocket Session Books

The Session Books are also available in 'pocket-sized' versions (see picture above for both fullsize and pocket editions). Identical to the larger books in all respects, at A6 size they are half the dimensions and really do fit into your pocket, or sit handily in your instrument case.

Session Book Prices

Merlin Music CD

We also have a CD featuring tunes from Session Books One and Two played on our flutes and whistles. More info on our CD is available here.

Our next two publications will be a bit different. In preparation at the moment are:

'A Cape Breton Session' - One hundred tunes from the rich musical traditions of Cape Breton Island, including contemporary compositions in the distinctive Cape Breton style. (A5 landscape spiral-bound format.)

'Sets for Sessions' - Tunes that work well together, arranged for playing as sets. Two, three or four tunes to a set; one set per page; fifty (or maybe more!) sets in the book. (A4 portrait spiral-bound format.)"