The Pretty Waltz

by Jane Harding

I had the first half of the tune, and I played it for my friend Kath and she said ‘ah, that’s pretty’ and that’s how it got its name. I was listening to a lot of tunes from Asturias at the time that I wrote it and that’s why it’s got that little rhythmic change with lots of minor chords in the second half.

Composed in 2014.



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About Melbourne Tune collection

Melbourne Tune Collection records and publishes original folk tunes and songs from around Australia.

I started this project after realising that I barely knew any Australian folk tunes, even though I’ve been playing the fiddle for almost two decades. It wasn’t that Australians weren’t writing tunes, it’s just that there was limited publishing opportunities for them.

I thought maybe if I collect these tunes and put them together, they would have a better chance of getting played. So in early 2019 I set off with my camera and recorder, first around Melbourne, then across Australia.

This site is the result of these travels. Its purpose is to make Australian folk music as accessible as possible and promote the incredible music that’s being written today. I genuinely believe that there’s something special happening in the Melbourne and Australian folk music scenes right now.

I hope you enjoy playing through these tunes as much as I have!

Katherine Oleinikov

Katherine Oleinikov. Photo © 2022 Adam Purcell – Melbourne Ceili Camera