We plan to have a tune of the week (or maybe the month…or some other interval yet to be determined) and share some of our favorite tunes. Maybe even encourage people to play them at the local sessions?  Well, yesterday, at the second Sunday session at the Redwood Cafe in Cotati, we played a tune called “Pretty Maid Milking the Cow”. Except for the title, it was completely different in every way from the tune I know by that name. I found the version I know in a book called Das Grosse Fiddle Buch that I bought in Germany many years ago.

[Edit: The tune only sounded completely different to me. According to Roxanne, the A part is the same as the waltz, The Pretty Girl Milking the Cow, that she played, but with minor accompaniment, but the B part had few similarities.]

Here’s a pdf of the sheet music: The Pretty Girl Milking the Cow
(I may have changed things a bit from the book).

Here’s a sample of just the melody:

You can listen to a full version here. (It’s the last song in the first sample playlist).

Anyone have alternate versions of this tune by the same name? Leave us a comment.

I use Lilypond for my music transcription. Click Here for the Lilypond code