updated 8/31/26
John Hartford’s Mammoth Collection of Fiddle Tunes is a sizable anthology containing 176 of his original compositions (out of thousands of unpublished fiddle tunes). Most of these tunes are previously unpublished and unrecorded, taken from Hartford’s personal music journals. Compiled and narrated by fiddler Matt Combs, John’s daughter Katie Harford Hogue, and musicologist Greg Reish, the book sheds light on Hartford’s creative process through original tune compositions, his own reflections on the fiddle, and interviews with family and fellow musicians, including Marty Stuart, Sam Bush, Norman & Nancy Blake, and Mike Compton.
The book and the first CD The John Hartford Fiddle Tune Project, Vol. 1, featuring a stellar lineup of bluegrass/acoustic musicians, were released in 2020.
Track listing & musician lineup
The second CD Julia Belle: The John Hartford Fiddle Tune Project, Vol. 2, featuring a great lineup of women musicians, was released in 2025.
Track listing & musician lineup
The book containing 176 of his original tunes (most previously unpublished) can be purchased at
https://www.johnhartford.com/product/john-hartfords-mammoth-collection-of-fiddle-tunes/
They are written in his own hand, some of which is hard to decipher without hearing the tune, but it's fun book with his drawings, photos, and snippets of remembrances.
https://www.johnhartford.com/product/the-john-hartford-fiddle-tune-project-volume-1-cd/
The first CD (with an A-list cast of (mostly?) Nashville-based bluegrass & old time musicians) came out in 2020 and I listened to it a lot at the beginning of the pandemic - it's a great listening CD, almost every tune is wonderful, and I wanted to learn to play them all. I made a stab at about a half dozen (see below), but didn't find very many folks to play them with.
You can buy the book and the 1st Cd as bundle.
You can listen to the CD at either
or
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYseb3hPe_M&list=PLK8cyWE6fKl1UzTX-E9mUqURGVzAsjRDi
The second CD Julia Belle: The John Hartford Fiddle Tune Project, Vol. 2 came out in 2025:
https://www.johnhartford.com/product/julia-belle-the-john-hartford-fiddle-tune-project-vol-2/
or
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuWox8GmhnE&list=PLK8cyWE6fKl0xClxHjlPxAo7dD7a9xeni
To listen to every tune in the book, there are 2 places:
When the book was first released, this page was posted (with Matt Combs on solo fiddle playing each one time through, no backup)
https://www.johnhartford.com/mammoth-fiddle-tunes-volume-2/
Live Performances:
In 2024, Brittany & Natalie Haas and friends sight-read all 176 original fiddle tunes from the book in a live marathon performance in Nashville (video is in 10 parts)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cA0yGyrYYW4&list=PLK8cyWE6fKl1PPJEShaEHXLB1GiFnLWdK
In 2022, there was a touring version of the Project, with Megan Lynch Chowning & Tristan Scroggins (who were on the 1st CD) and Adam Hurt, who was not.
Website (2022); Website (2023)
YouTube of 7/3/22 performance at Dee's Lounge (Madison TN)
YouTube of 7/2/22 performance at LX Loft (Cuba MO)
Snippet of performances at Parkfield CA Bluegrass Festival 2023 (with Tyler Andall on banjo)
Podcast interviews with Megan Lynch Chowning and Katy Hartford-Hogue ("What's the Reason for this" podcast; episodes 37 & 38 05/12/25)
You can find some other videos on YT by searching for their names, including Fletcher's Rag (extracted from above concert), which is a tune that Dave Berry took a liking to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fO6hHSNC8Kc
https://daveberrymusic.net/tune-charts-and-such
In 2025-2026, some of the musicians on the 2nd CD (Sharon Gilchrist, Rachel Baiman, and Ella Korth) toured as The John Hartford Fiddle Tune Project: The Tour. Check their website for links to videos and tour schedules.
YouTube video of July 27 2026 performance at Dee's Lounge (another posting of the same concert). 23:05 start, 2nd set 1:35:21
The Making of "Julia Belle: The John Hartford Fiddle Tune Project, Vol. 2"
Mandolinist Dave Berry and other San Francisco Bay Area-based musicians perform the songs and tunes of John Hartford as The Far Out Johnnies.
Tunes to play:
FYI, these are the tunes from the first CD (and other Hartford originals that are not on the CD) that I made a stab at:
Just Enough Room to Turn Around
Tennessee Politics
Half Priced Hornpipe
How Can We Love
(and probably a few more)
not on the CD:
Fletcher's Rag (from the video above & Dave Berry's transcription)
The following are all on the "Memories of John" tribute CD that the Hartford Band put out 10 years after John's death. They performed at Grass Valley that year. it's a wonderful CD:
M.I.S.I.P.
Homer the Roamer
Royal Box Waltz
Delta Queen Waltz
Songs:
The following songs have entered the bluegrass/acoustic music repertore and can often be heard in sessions and performances:
Gentle on My Mind
Tall Buildings
Wish we had our time again
You Don't Notice Me Ignoring You
Julia Belle Swain
Natural to be Gone
I would not be here
Boogie
Granny Wontcha Smoke Some Marijuana
Untangle Your Mind
Don't Leave Your Records in the Sun
Love Grown Cold
Turn your radio on (not a Hartford original, but often associated with him)