Playford dance tunes with chord symbols
This volume of the Playford dance tunes with chord symbols contains the 200 most popular tunes supplied with chord symbols, which are jazz musics equivalent to figured bass. The melodies can be played on or accompanied by any chordal instrument (keyboard, guitar.etc.)
This Collection
These dance tunes come from the various editions of John Playford’s The Dancing Master, which appeared in 18 editions between 1651 and 1725, with the majority coming from the earlier books. The letter B after each title refers to the numbering in Jeremy Barlow’s definitive complete edition, published by Faber Music, London.
How this collection came about
After publishing two books of such tunes harmonised in four parts (Playford Dances, Volume 1: 68 dances ↣ and Playford Dances, Volume 2: 82 dances ↣ ), it was suggested that a book of the tunes on their own, but with chord symbols, would also be useful and fun.
Chord symbols for the Playford dance tunes
The choice of chords was obviously subjective, except for the few cases where a tune had clearly evolved over one of the standard ground basses such as passamezzo antico. Users of this book should feel absolutely free to harmonise the tunes in their own way. If using plucked instruments such as lute or guitar, players may wish in some cases to change chords less frequently than indicated.
Titles (all 200 of the Playford dance tunes)
- All in a Garden Green
- Argiers or The Wedding Night
- Aye Me or The Symphony
- The Bath
- The Beggar Boy
- Boatman
- Bobbing Joe
- Cast a Bell
- Chestnut or Dove’s Vagary
- The Chirping of the Lark
- The Chirping of the Nightingale
- Confess His Tune
- The Country Coll
- Cuckolds All in a Row
- Daphne
- Dissembling Love
- Drive the Cold Winter Away
- The Friar and the Nun
- Goddesses
- Gathering Peascods
- The Glory of the West
- Mad Tom or Gray’s Inn Mask
- Greenwood
- Grimstock
- Half Hannikin
- Have at Thy Coat, Old Woman
- The Merry Wassail
- Heart’s Ease
- Hit and Miss
- Hyde Park
- Irish Trot
- Jenny Pluck Pears
- Kemp’s Jig
- Kettle Drum
- Lavena
- Lord of Carnarvon’s Jig
- Lull Me Beoyond Thee
- Madge on a Tree
- Maiden Lane
- The Maid Peeped Out of the Window
- The Merry, Merry Milkmaids
- The Milkmaid’s Bob
- Millfield
- Mundesse
- My Lady Cullen
- Newcastle
- The New Exchange
- New New Nothing
- The Night Piece
- Nonesuch
- An Old Man is a Bed Full of Bones
- The Old Mole
- Once I Loved a Maiden Fair
- Parson’s Farewell
- Paul’s Steeple
- Paul’s Wharf
- Pepper’s Black
- Petticoat Wag
- The Picking of Sticks
- Prince Rupert’s March
- The Punk’s Delight
- Rose is White and Rose is Red
- Row Well, Ye Mariners
- St Martins
- Rufty Tufty
- Scotch Cap or Edinburgh Castle
- The Sarabande
- Shepherd’s Holiday
- Dargesson
- Skellamelago or Don Pedro
- Sir Roger
- Stanes Morris
- Step Stately
- Stingo or The Oil of Barley
- Upon a Summer’s Day
- Uptails All
- The Whirligig
- Woodycock
- I Love Thee Once
- Parson Upon Dorothy
- Trenchmore
- Under and Over
- Abergenny
- Chelsea Reach or Buckingham House
- The Duke of Lorraine’s March
- Gelding of the Devil
- Ginnie Pug or Strawberries and Cream
- Hunsdon House
- The New Exchange
- Oranges and Lemons
- Sellinger’s Round
- Simple Simon or Huddle Duddle
- Smith’s Rant or The Cuckoo
- Spring Garden
- Watton Town’s End
- A Gavotte
- Dour’s Catastrophe
- Dunkirke
- Jack a Lent
- Glory of the North
- The Glory of the Sun
- Iantha
- An Italian Rant
- The Lady Frances Nevill’s Delight
- The Waits
- Porter’s Lament
- A Scotch Firk
- Throw The House out of the Window
- Amaryllis
- Antic Dance
- Black Jack
- Bourrée Piccadilly
- Coxes Dance
- The Duke of York’s March
- A Figure Dance
- The Glory of the Kitchen
- A Jig
- The King’s Delight
- New Marrinet
- New Metar
- The New Vagary
- Old Bourrée
- Old Marrinet
- On the Cold Ground
- The Queen’s Delight
- The Running Bourrée
- The Simeron’s Dance
- Singleton’s Slip
- Buff Coat
- Cavylilly Man
- Epping Forest
- The Lady Murphy’s Delight
- Sweet Kate
- Ten Pound Lass
- Bouzer Castle
- The Cobbler’s Jig
- The Mermaid
- Nobody’s Jigg
- Mr. Staggins Jig
- Excuse Me
- Greensleeves and Pudding Pieces
- Johnny, Cock Thy Beaver
- Pall-Mall or Pell-Mell
- Vienna
- Wolverton Hall
- Young Jemmy
- Jamaica
- Ham House or Cherry Garden
- Lady Day
- The Mug House
- Prince George’s March
- The Garter or King James’s March
- The Jockey or Four Pence Half-Penny Farthing
- The Mask or Hey to the Camp
- Bellamira
- The Siege of Buda
- Lillibulero
- The New Rigadoon
- Mr. Isaac’s Maggot
- Pope Joan
- Red House
- Roger of Coverley
- The Siege of Limerick
- Valient Jockey
- Bury Fair
- Irish Bourrée
- Man was for a Woman Made
- St. Martin’s Lane
- The Barley-Mow
- Greenwich Park
- Waltham Abbey
- Damey
- Blackheath
- Black Nell
- Czar of Muscovy
- The Fiddler’s Morris
- The Hare’s Maggot
- Hill’s Maggot
- The Irish Ground
- The Last New French Rigaudon
- The Lord Phoppington
- Mother Brown’s Cat
- Nottingham Castle
- Portsmouth
- St. Catherine
- The Temple
- Touch and Go
- Fy, Nay, Prithee John
- Wooden Shoes
- Hunt the Squirrel
- Dull St. John
- Catching of Fleas
- The French Ambassador
- Round Robin
- The English Passepied
- The Catch Club
- Bartholomew Fair
- Ely Court
- Lincoln or Bolton
- The Red Bull
Read more about John Playford in wikipedia.
