The Portland Collection: Contra Dance Music in the Pacific Northwest [Spiral-bound]

Susan Songer (Author), Clyde Curley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 20, 1997

The Portland Collection: Contra Dance Music in the Pacific Northwest, is a collection of 318 traditional and recently composed jigs and reels played for dances in Portland, Oregon. National standards and local favorites are included. The music derives from New England, Irish, Scottish, Quebecois, Appalachian, and English sources, all of which are included in the book. Chord suggestions are provided. There is an extensive commentary on each tune. Discography, bibliography, indices, and more are included.

Since it's publication in 1997, The Portland Collection has become the standard for contra dance musicians all across the United States and has also become popular among fiddlers of many other genres. The book is praised for its clear, readable format; its sturdy covers and binding; its informative, entertaining commentary; and especially for the repertoire itself. This music is suitable for any acoustic instrument. Beginners and accomplished musicians alike will find tunes that match their skill levels in this book.

There are two companion recordings for this book. On A Portland Selection 2 editors Susan Songer and Clyde Curley, joined by fiddler George Penk, play a representative cross section of the music in the book using a variety of tempos, harmonies, and other variations on the music. A Portland Play Along Selection is a 2-disc album of 97 tunes from both of the Portland Collection books engineered for ease of playing along. Fiddler Betsy Branch joins Clyde and Susan on this recording. Both of these recordings are for sale elsewhere on Amazon.com.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Most folks interested in contra dance music or fiddling in general know The Portland Collection, a wonderful tune book." -- Bruce E Baker, Dirty Linen, Feb/Mar 02<br /><br />"This is an important piece of work...one of the best throughout collections to come across this desk..." -- Bob Buckingham, Fiddler Magazine, Spring, 1999<br /><br />"an impressive and welcome tome...clear and clean transcriptions, enjoyable commentaries on each piece." -- Kerry Blech, victory Review, September, 1997<br /><br />"Most folks interested in contra dance music or fiddling in general know The Portland Collection, a wonderful tune book." -- Bruce E Baker, Dirty Linen, Feb/Mar 02<br /><br />"This is an important piece of work...one of the best throughout collections to come across this desk..." -- Bob Buckingham, Fiddler Magazine, Spring, 1999<br /><br />"an impressive and welcome tome...clear and clean transcriptions, enjoyable commentaries on each piece." --Kerry Blech, victory Review, September, 1997

About the Author

Susan Songer, of Portland Oregon, has enjoyed music as long as she can remember. In grade school, she played piano and eagerly participated in square dancing during P.E. classes. She played folk songs on guitar with informal groups during and just after college. Susan has been an avid contra dancer since 1986, and a dance pianist and fiddler since 1992. She is a member of the Portland-based contra dance bands Joyride and Calico, and also plays piano (both contra and English) coast to coast for many other fiddlers and their bands. She has tutored both beginning fiddlers and piano players at The Festival of American Fiddle Tunes and also plays contra dance week end and week-long camps. Susan is founder and director of the 75-member Portland Megaband, which plays for a very large, special dance once a year. In her other life, Susan has been first a middle school teacher and then a psychologist with a private practice. Music eventually overtook these more traditional day jobs, and she retired from psychology in order to focus on contra dance music publication and playing.

Clyde Curley got his first guitar in 1959 when he was in 9th grade. He has been playing folk music ever since on an increasing arsenal of instruments. Seeing Doc Watson at a San Francisco State folk festival and hearing the records of the New Lost City Ramblers in the 60 s were serious formative moments. He moved to Oregon in 1970 to begin a 31-year career teaching high school English and raise a family and to play in a variety of bands specializing in several musical styles. Clyde has extensive experience as a musician and teacher at contra dance camps and music festivals up and down the West Coast. In Portland he played mandolin and banjo with the contra dance band Jigsaw and appeared on several recordings. Now in retirement from teaching, he lives in Bellingham, Washington, where he continues to play for dances and plumb the secrets of old-time fiddling. Clyde also writes occasional articles for Strings magazine and is currently teaching himself to write fiction by hacking away at a murder mystery set in Portland.

Product Details

• Spiral-bound: 308 pages
• Publisher: Susan M. Songer (May 20, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0965747603
• ISBN-13: 978-0965747608
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 7.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #841,179 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't leave home without it!, April 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Portland Collection: Contra Dance Music in the Pacific Northwest (Spiral-bound)

After the "Fiddler's Fakebook" this is the tune collection to own. Hundreds of reels and jigs in clear notation with, usually, good chord suggestions. Little, if any, overlap with the tunes in the FF. Very durable spiral binding, sits easy on a stand or table. Includes many recently composed tunes including my favorite, Erik Sessions' "It Ain't the Heat, It's the Humidity." Many hours of playing pleasure, fast becoming a standard collection.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Fiddle Book Out There!!!, June 13, 2005

By 

shimmercat3 - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Portland Collection: Contra Dance Music in the Pacific Northwest (Spiral-bound)

If you are looking to purchase a fiddle book, this is definitely the best one to buy. This book contains about 400 tunes and the quality of the tunes is fantastic. Every single tune in this book sounds great and can be ornamentated dozens of ways with plenty of room to make the tune your own. One of the best features of this book is the spiral binding. The binding is great because you don't have to constantly bend your book to get it to stay open on the stand. Another great feature is that the book is organized alphabetically so you can find your tune quickley during a jam. There is also an index which organizes the tunes by key and type which makes it really easy to come up with your own sets. There are even detailed notes on each song. Some of the notes even give suggestions on how to add some ornamentation to the tune.

Overall, this book is great, but there are two things which are worth noting.
-The pages are quite thin and could tear easily.
-The book is very thick but it's only about 8.5 inches tall. This could make it difficult for people with weak eyesight to see some of the tunes.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Staple, July 13, 2003

By 

"little967" (vermont, usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Portland Collection: Contra Dance Music in the Pacific Northwest (Spiral-bound)

While the fiddler's fakebook has a greater quantity of songs, this particular collection has consistent quality of songs chosen. There are so many great tunes in here, jamming out would not be quite the same without it. My personal favorite is "Lady of the Lake". Yes, I know there are two of them... but they're both good! Go figure.