It's very hard to dance without music, and Morris is no exception. Music is a very important part of Morris dancing, and every side has at least one, or in some cases a large number of, musicians.  Playing the tunes is only a part of the musicians task, making them danceable is another skill that requires practice with the dancers and a knowledge of what gives tunes that Cotswold lift.

The latest version of our Musicians’ Handbook (version 17, April 2026)  can be downloaded below.  It covers a collection of the tunes for all of the dances we have learned over the past 55 years with a few pearls of wisdom for budding musicians.  Also there is the source file for the tune scores in ABC format and some notes on how to use the ABC file.

The handbook boasts a set of comprehensive indexes and sets of notes for musicians where tunes have peculiarities that are needed to fit the dance.  We hope you will find this new version helpful.

We realise that the best way to learn dance tunes is to listen to the experienced musicians and to practice with the dance team, so reading scores is probably not everyone’s tankard of ale, but having this reference book will prove helpful in reminding yourself of old tunes and remembering the quirks that go with each dance.

Some recordings of the tunes can also be found below....

Mike Butler, April 2026