waltz
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The Brown Trout Waltz
by Steve Laws, VIC I played this to my friend Tom Saunders who commented that it reminded him of casting flies for trout. Composed in 2021. About the Composer Steve Laws is a multi-instrumentalist singer songwriter from Sale, Victoria. He performs in The Mafeking Hillbilles alongside his sister, Liz Wakely. Continue reading
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O’Leary’s Waltz
by Peter Somerville, VIC I named it after my friend Greg O’Leary who’s been very generous to me and others in the music world sharing his knowledge. Composed in 2016. About the Composer I’m primarily a banjo player ( also play guitar, dobro, fiddle, vocals)My main claim to fame is banjo player on Paul Kelly’s Continue reading
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A Pentatonic Waltz in Summer
by Marg Sherringham I’m fairly new to fiddle playing and I’ve been working with an American teacher. While working on pentatonic scales, I thought I’d set myself a challenge of writing something just using the 5 notes of the scale. I like old-timey music, so I thought, okay it’s going to be a waltz and Continue reading
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The Wombat Forest Waltz
by Claire Johnstone I wrote this tune amongst the tall trees and fresh air of the Wombat State Forest in Victoria. I was lonely, far from friends, and feeling a lot of eco-anxiety for the planet. I wrote this tune to cheer myself up and to celebrate the lovely land I was walking through. I’m Continue reading
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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 Continue reading
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Narelle’s Waltz
by Ian Kenneth Stewart I wrote this tune to encourage a former pupil of mine. Composed in 2002. Continue reading
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
Melbourne Tune Collection 