Caitlin Vitale-Sullivan, then a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and member of the Norwegian-American Old-time Dance Music Ensemble, interviewed CSUMC Musician in Residence Beth Hoven Rotto about her work as a “tune-hunter” and her residency activities in the Spring of 2022.
On a rainy May morning, Beth Hoven Rotto and I sat down to chat about music. Behind her desk is a corkboard with photos of her musical mentors, and her computer screen shows an excel sheet with a seemingly endless tune list.
Beth has been in residency at the University of Wisconsin-Madison since February where she has been listening to mountains of tunes in the Mills Music Library and teaching these tunes to a group of local community and university musicians who form the Scandinavian American Old-Time Music Ensemble. In our conversation, Beth talks about her work with the Arnold Munkel Collection in the Mills Music Library, her experience with the ensemble, and about her work as a tune-hunter.
What is the word you would use to describe the work that you do?
I am a tune-collector or tune-hunter. I’m always hunting for tunes that will be the best for dancing. Sometimes that means they change key. Sometimes they have a pleasing turn. Sometimes they have a catchy rhythm or repetition. They don’t have to be fancy or complicated, in fact the more time that passes, the more I appreciate some of the “simple” tunes.
Some old tunes can sound a little boring. Those aren’t the tunes I collect. Sometimes there are cool tunes but they don’t get people dancing, they are better for listening. Those don’t get played too much. So I guess tune-collector/tune-hunter is my word.
You worked with the Arnold Munkel Collection here at UW-Madison- how did you find out about that collection?
By accident really…for many years, I was around when Mr. Munkel was recording, and I stopped at his house onced and saw the lineup of all of his tapes. He invited me to come back and listen some time, but that never happened. And then, when he died, both Bill, my band mate, and I thought, “what happened to those things?” Finally, he found out that they were taken by some relatives and we thought, “well, at least someone has them,” and then we discovered that they were here!
How did it feel to first see all of these recordings and realize that you were going to work with them?
I didn’t really realize how much was out there. I was excited- excited that they were saved and that they were accessible to listen to. I had recorded a bit myself, on a handheld tape recorder, but talk about bad quality!
I was at some of those Highlandville dances where he was recording, and even though I don’t remember him recording at all of them, it is exciting to listen to them and remember being there, dancing.
How many tunes are there in the Munkel Collection?
I’ve been listening since January, and I counted once, because it felt endless. I probably have 75 hours left to listen to. There are hundreds of hours of recordings.
Can you describe how you work with the Mills Music Library?
I’m listening to the files in order and checking the existing transcripts to try to identify different tunes. If I like the tune, I will try to transcribe it in my personal shorthand, and then I will learn the tune. I have close to 75 tunes transcribed.
Another big part of your residency here has been the creation of the Scandinavian American Old Time Ensemble. Tell us a bit about that!
Well, the ensemble is a way to get the community involved with the music and to share the Munkel collection as part of a living tradition. When I come across a tune that I like, I bring it to the ensemble and teach it there. The ensemble is really useful and encouraging because this is dance music and it is meant to be played. The support of the group has also been really good- there are members that compose harmony parts and who help with notating tunes for the group.
The Scandinavian American Old Time Ensemble learned about 17 tunes this semester and played for two dances, one held at the University and one held in a barn in true barn dance style. Both dances drew in dancers from the Madison area Scandinavian dance community as well as community members and students who were excited to learn some dances themselves.
Finally, why do you do what you do?
I enjoy seeing people in community having fun, seeing the generations mix, the politics set aside, the hard workers finding time for themselves, the return of familiar faces, the reunions, the kids growing up, the kids bringing their kids, the younger ones watching the older ones, the older ones watching the younger ones and also it’s great to play in a band. Sometimes a band mate does something funny to entertain the others, or we catch eyes when something funny happens that only we can see from our vantage point, or maybe everybody is just right on. That’s worth quite a bit too.
How can others listen to the Munkel Collection?
They can visit the digitized recording on the Mills Music Library website where the digital collection is housed!
To access the Arnold Munkel Collection, visit the Mills Music Library website, click on Collections, then on Digital Collections and search for the Arnold Munkel Collection, or click HERE.
