The Granger Collection

Book excerpt: Adam Granger self-published the first edition of Granger’s Fiddle Tunes for Guitar in 1979. A second edition was published in 1994. Now, in 2022, Mel Bay Publications presents the third edition of the book now in standard notation. This 248-page book is the most extensive and best-documented collection of fiddle tunes in existence, and includes reels, hoedowns, hornpipes, rags, breakdowns, jigs and slip-jigs, presented in Southern, Northern, Irish, Canadian, Texas and Old-time styles. There are 508 fiddle tunes referenced under 2500 titles and alternate titles. The titles are fully indexed, making the book doubly valuable as a reference book and a source book. The book comes with a link which gives access to MP3 recordings by Adam of all 508 tunes, each played once at a moderate tempo, with rhythm on one channel and lead on the other. Also included in The Granger’s Collection are descriptions of tune types presented in the book, and primers on traditional flatpicking and rhythm guitar. Additionally, there are sections on timing, ornamentation, technique, and fingering, as well as information on tune sources and a history of the collection.