Riley's Flute Melodies, reprint 1973, was a book of common songs that was printed in 1814 and reprinted in 1820. Some familiar tunes found in it include:
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\nMoney Musk
\nCome Haste to the Wedding
\nIrish Washerwoman
\nSt. Patrick's Day
\nFisher's Hornpipe
\nRickett's Hornpipe
\nDurang's Hornpipe
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\nThey all pretty much sound like the versions we know today as transcribed from Riley's. I used to play St. Patrick's day on the site's gourd banjo while on of the musician's played whistle when I worked at Historic Fort Snelling. You had to play the melodies pretty straight and only grab the 5th string if it was used as a melody note. None of this constantly on the 5th string that you hear today. It's only speculation on my part, but that may be why minstrel style is so sparing in it's use of the 5th string as a drone. You couldn't, if you wanted to play the popular music of the day.
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\nIf you can share PDF files on this site, I'll scan some of the transcriptions I made from Riley's. If I recall correctly, most of the tunes were in D, which sets well on a banjo tuned GCGBD. St. Patrick's Day is very close to the version found in George Weilich's book. I'll also share a link to a list of the tune's in Rileys on the next post.<\/div><\/div>\n <\/dd>\n