Episodes
Saturday Jun 30, 2007
It Goes as Follies
Saturday Jun 30, 2007
Saturday Jun 30, 2007
I've just found my poor, neglected George Rudall flute in the cupboard under the stairs. The thing is around three million years old (early 1820s - is that just 2 million then?) and Sam Murray rescued it a bit more recently than the 1820s. It's not firing on all cylinders due to my neglect but I thought this reel would be a fairly gentle device for coaxing it back into some sort of life. I heard this tune on Michael Tubridy's excellent "Eagle's Whistle" LP.
Saturday Jun 30, 2007
Miss Lyon's Fancy
Saturday Jun 30, 2007
Saturday Jun 30, 2007
This title sounds more like some sort of cherry-topped cup cake but the tune itself sounds like a reel. It's another tune from a many years ago maestro. In this case, the fiddle player James Morrison.
Saturday Jun 30, 2007
Ballinasloe Fair
Saturday Jun 30, 2007
Saturday Jun 30, 2007
A lot of horses (and a very good Londis supermarket as far as I recall). This reel was made famous by Michael Coleman who recorded it many years ago. That could really have gone without saying as he died many years ago. I heard people saying they knew a tune so well that they could play in in their sleep but never ...
Saturday Jun 30, 2007
Martin Ansboro's Reel
Saturday Jun 30, 2007
Saturday Jun 30, 2007
Here's a tune which I'm glad to be able to put on here. I glad to and an on here at all. The site www.went away for a while but the hosting people kindly got it back for me. This tune was previously recorded by a flute player called Matt Molloy. I'm sure some people may have heard of him.
Friday Jun 29, 2007
The Dances at Kinvara
Friday Jun 29, 2007
Friday Jun 29, 2007
Here's another Reavy tune - a barndance this time. I'm a bit rusty at it but you should get the idea.
Friday Jun 29, 2007
The Swans Among the Rushes
Friday Jun 29, 2007
Friday Jun 29, 2007
Here's a jig from Mr. Reavy. I'm told it can break a person's arm with one of its wings,
Friday Jun 29, 2007
The Whistler of Roslea
Friday Jun 29, 2007
Friday Jun 29, 2007
Here's a reel composed by Edward V. Reavy. I fear it may be somewhat decomposed here by Michael J. C. Reavy's tunes are usually robust enough to survive even my minor brutalities. Hopefully this version is learnable.
Thursday Jun 28, 2007
The Union Reel
Thursday Jun 28, 2007
Thursday Jun 28, 2007
Here's a good tune (197 in Ceol Rince na hÉireann 3 is almost the same as this version). I played the bits twice in the slower version. I think once is more normal - the unity of one and all that. There's a bit of the bass of a Richard Thompson CD coming through the ceiling too - hopefully not enough to get me into bother for copyright infringement. I was feeling guilty for neglectful cruelty to a website. Hence the three tunes in the one day. I'm away out now to play some in a pub.
Thursday Jun 28, 2007
Johnny Cronin's Reel
Thursday Jun 28, 2007
Thursday Jun 28, 2007
Here's a reel named after the Kerry fiddle player Denis Murphy - sorry Johnny Cronin.
I'm not sure whether to play the parts single or double. I never thought counting up to 1 would be such a challenge.
Thursday Jun 28, 2007
Ríl Gan Ainm (Miss Langford's)
Thursday Jun 28, 2007
Thursday Jun 28, 2007
Here's a reel in A minor. It often appears in G minor but my fingers aren't feeling too Geed up just yet. It's a nice one for the flute in this key too.
Wednesday Jun 27, 2007
The Queen of the Fairies
Wednesday Jun 27, 2007
Wednesday Jun 27, 2007
Here's an ornate sort of hornpipe from Paddy Taylor's playing.
Tuesday Jun 26, 2007
The Peacock's Feather
Tuesday Jun 26, 2007
Tuesday Jun 26, 2007
Here's a hornpipe which I think De Dannan did.
Tuesday Jun 26, 2007
The Irish Washerwoman
Tuesday Jun 26, 2007
Tuesday Jun 26, 2007
This poor jig is much maligned. To add insult to injury I've put it in the 1100 rpm spin cycle towards the end. I think it recovered eventually.
Monday Jun 25, 2007
Sunday Jun 24, 2007
Jenny's Wedding
Sunday Jun 24, 2007
Sunday Jun 24, 2007
I great piping reel. Sure, the flute's only a wooden pipe anyway.
Saturday Jun 23, 2007
When Sick is it Tea You Want?
Saturday Jun 23, 2007
Saturday Jun 23, 2007
It probably is ... G & T (I'm sorry if I've played this already, although I don't think I have)
Saturday Jun 23, 2007
The Chattering Magpie
Saturday Jun 23, 2007
Saturday Jun 23, 2007
Here's a fairly melodic reel. I can never make out what they're chattering about.
Friday Jun 22, 2007
Thursday Jun 21, 2007
Walsh's Hornpipe
Thursday Jun 21, 2007
Thursday Jun 21, 2007
Here's a nice hornpipe from the South West.
Wednesday Jun 20, 2007
Nine Pint Coggie
Wednesday Jun 20, 2007
Wednesday Jun 20, 2007
I heard this reel from the fiddle playing of John Doherty. He played it in "G". I've tried it in "G" and then "A". I'm told a nine pint coggie is a vessel which holds nine pints of beer. I know a few two-legged coggies (although the number of legs diminishes as the pint count increases).
Wednesday Jun 20, 2007
Fasten The Leg in Her
Wednesday Jun 20, 2007
Wednesday Jun 20, 2007
I've never investigated what this name is about. It's probably just "Fasten the Legging" but even that's quite far from the first think I'd look up in a phrasebook prior to going on holiday.
Tuesday Jun 19, 2007
Monday Jun 18, 2007
Sunday Jun 17, 2007
Sunday Jun 17, 2007
Saturday Jun 16, 2007
Saturday Jun 16, 2007
Friday Jun 15, 2007
Donal a' Clumper's Reel
Friday Jun 15, 2007
Friday Jun 15, 2007
Here's a Denis Murphy tune with a great name.
Thursday Jun 14, 2007
Saddle The Pony
Thursday Jun 14, 2007
Thursday Jun 14, 2007
Here's a good standard jig. It seems to get a bit neglected these days.
Thursday Jun 14, 2007
The Salamanca Reel
Thursday Jun 14, 2007
Thursday Jun 14, 2007
I've always wanted this to be the salamander reel. The picture is of a salamander from the Spanish Armada. Maybe it came from Salamanca. It was very kind of the Ulster Museum to lend it to me.
Wednesday Jun 13, 2007
The New Century Hornpipe
Wednesday Jun 13, 2007
Wednesday Jun 13, 2007
I have fairly vague memories of the lats time there was a new century. I suspect the title of this tune refers to the one before that. The absence of my having been born adds to my amnesia regarding that event. I hope I've at least remembered the tune. I think it is in O'Neill's and on the "Contentment is Wealth" record of Sean Keane and Matt Molloy. You could check those sources for a bit of reassurance.
Wednesday Jun 13, 2007
Connolly's Reel (The Whistling Postman)
Wednesday Jun 13, 2007
Wednesday Jun 13, 2007
A version of his tune is in Ceol Rince na hÉireann 3 under this name. I've never heard a name for it in "real life" or "reel life".
Tuesday Jun 12, 2007
The Limerick Lasses
Tuesday Jun 12, 2007
Tuesday Jun 12, 2007
This is what this reel is called on Noel Hill and Tony McMahon's LP. I have the end a bit iffy ish - especially the first time round. I think it recovers after that but I then smelt my dinner when I was nearly finished and my mouth began to water. I'm a fairly bad cook (potatoes, tinned tuna and the rest of yesterday's packet of salad) but I was hungry. That'll learn me. I hope the tune's nicer than my meal.
Tuesday Jun 12, 2007
Tuesday Jun 12, 2007
The Old Concertina Reel
Tuesday Jun 12, 2007
Tuesday Jun 12, 2007
There aren't all that many notes in this tune. I sometimes think that makes it a bit tricky but most of the time I'm not thinking about anything at all. It can be found on Noel Hill and Tony McMahon's i gCnoc na Graí record. They seem to have been able to work it out OK.
Tuesday Jun 12, 2007
Patsy Hanley's Reel
Tuesday Jun 12, 2007
Tuesday Jun 12, 2007
Here's a reel associated with the Roscommon flute player of this name.
Monday Jun 11, 2007
Monday Jun 11, 2007
Sunday Jun 10, 2007
Johnny When You Die (The Old Maids of Galway)
Sunday Jun 10, 2007
Sunday Jun 10, 2007
I was asked by David T to play this tune. He heard it from a Cd of Harry B who called it "The Old maids of G". I learned it years ago from a book by Brian V under the name "Johnny When You D".
Sunday Jun 10, 2007
The Galtee Rangers
Sunday Jun 10, 2007
Sunday Jun 10, 2007
Here's a Sliabh Luachra reel. It's name makes me hungry and I'm away to fry some breakfast.
Sunday Jun 10, 2007
Mike Flanagan's Reel
Sunday Jun 10, 2007
Sunday Jun 10, 2007
Here's one I heard on a record of Frankie Gavin and Paul Brock. I think it's also on Frankie Gavin's flute LP which is one of the best commercial flute recordings I've encountered. I don't spend all my time encountering commercial flute recordings. If I did I don't know what my opinion would be.
Friday Jun 08, 2007
Sheehan's Reel
Friday Jun 08, 2007
Friday Jun 08, 2007
This tune sometimes gets "Wellington's" reel and probably other names to boot. It's also in "A" on occasions. I've played it in "G" here. An easy life is often best. (Fiddle players don't necessarily like "A" either as it makes them drop the fiddle trying to reach the higher notes.
Friday Jun 08, 2007
Thursday Jun 07, 2007
The Monaghan Twig
Thursday Jun 07, 2007
Thursday Jun 07, 2007
I'm not sure whether the title refers to a penny dropping in Castleblaney or to something sticky. Which ever if the above (or adjacent) is true, the tune seems to have stuck the years OK.
Thursday Jun 07, 2007
Éamann a' Chnoic (Ned of the Hill)
Thursday Jun 07, 2007
Thursday Jun 07, 2007
Here's a slow tune for a change. It's probably easier than a lot of slow tunes to pick up and, unlike a good book, I'm sure it will be even easier to put down. If I get enough requests to so do, I'll remove it.
Thursday Jun 07, 2007
Ríl Gan Ainm
Thursday Jun 07, 2007
Thursday Jun 07, 2007
Here's another reel which I've no name for. If anyone can ainmate it then please let me know. It can be found in Ceol Rince na hÉireann 2, number 221 with most of the notes matching the ones in this version.
Wednesday Jun 06, 2007
The Glen Cottage Polka
Wednesday Jun 06, 2007
Wednesday Jun 06, 2007
Here's a polka. My apologies to polka land people for my interpretation of it. A lot of them are good tunes for learning and are well suited to the flute.
Wednesday Jun 06, 2007
The Glendowan Fancy
Wednesday Jun 06, 2007
Wednesday Jun 06, 2007
Here's a Sligo Maidish type of reel. There are different version's of this one around. This one's more or less the same as the one in the book Alan's Irish Fiddler. I'm only after finding a link with all the tunes in that book: http://www.oldmusicproject.com/allans.html They also seem to have O'Neill's Music of Ireland on the site. Aren't people kind?
Tuesday Jun 05, 2007
Thady Casey's
Tuesday Jun 05, 2007
Tuesday Jun 05, 2007
I saw this name for this tune in a book. I can't remember which book at this stage. My memory is like the result of a vagueness generator being put in a cheap food blender (both food and blender). This reel sounded familiar to me when I recorded it but that was a couple of long days ago. A lot of water has passed under the bridge since then. Most of the water was mixed with other, more potentially confusion inducing liquids, and the bridge was the sort which lives in a mouth. I hope the tune is OK notwithstanding all this.
Tuesday Jun 05, 2007
The Gatehouse Maid
Tuesday Jun 05, 2007
Tuesday Jun 05, 2007
Here's a standard tune, albeit with a lot of non standard versions. It is often played after "Down The Broom". I hope it really does go like this.
Tuesday Jun 05, 2007
Gorman's Reel (2)
Tuesday Jun 05, 2007
Tuesday Jun 05, 2007
Here's a tune that's listed in Ceol Rince na hÉireann 3, No. 188, as "Gorman's Reel". It sounds a bit like an A minor "Sporting Nell". I don't know when a minor sporting Nell is like a sort of under 18 camogie player. Whatever about that, it's a nice reel and easy enough in this key.
Monday Jun 04, 2007
The Mullingar Races
Monday Jun 04, 2007
Monday Jun 04, 2007
Here's a fiddle tune which I hope is flutable.
Monday Jun 04, 2007
The Australian Waters
Monday Jun 04, 2007
Monday Jun 04, 2007
I think this jig is associated with Jimmy Lyons, a fiddle player who came from Teelin in Co. Donegal.
Sunday Jun 03, 2007
The Knotted Cord
Sunday Jun 03, 2007
Sunday Jun 03, 2007
Here's a requested reel. I'm told that when asked was it a piece of string it replied that it was afraid not. I learned this as "Bridie Morley's" (or was it "The Bride Morley"?) from Packie Duignan's playing. The version in Ceol Rince na hÉireann vol 2, number 229, is almost the same as this. It's a great tune and thanks Mary for suggesting it.
Sunday Jun 03, 2007
Killoran's Polka
Sunday Jun 03, 2007
Sunday Jun 03, 2007
Here's another polka. This one's from a wee bit further north. It's a good tune for the flute.
Sunday Jun 03, 2007
The Groves of Gneeveguilla
Sunday Jun 03, 2007
Sunday Jun 03, 2007
Here's a popular polka. I think I'm from a bit too far north to understand them but I can but try.
Saturday Jun 02, 2007
Cornelius Curtin's Big Balloon
Saturday Jun 02, 2007
Saturday Jun 02, 2007
This is a tune with a great name. I'll tidy up this post tomorrow. I'm feeling too vague just now. Today is now tomorrow and I'm fit to add that I heard this one on Paddy Carty's LP. It's named after "The Balloon" which was a pub in Fulham, London owned by Con Curtin from Kerry.
Saturday Jun 02, 2007
The Cloone
Saturday Jun 02, 2007
Saturday Jun 02, 2007
Here's a reel which can be found on a record of Tommy Peoples and Matt Molloy - all quite quick and E flattish as far as I remember.
Saturday Jun 02, 2007
John Doherty's Reel
Saturday Jun 02, 2007
Saturday Jun 02, 2007
I can't write much about this tune due to my having an industrial strength hangover to wrestle with. I recorded this tune yesterday, before I went out. I recall feeling quite well then.
Friday Jun 01, 2007
Gallagher's Frolics
Friday Jun 01, 2007
Friday Jun 01, 2007
Here's a jig I was asked to put on. I looked it up on the internet and got these particular "Google's Frolics". I hope they are the correct frolics. I've known this tune for years but I never knew its name. I've learned more tune names in the last 2 months than in the preceding 2 decades.
Friday Jun 01, 2007
Friday Jun 01, 2007
For The Sake Of Old Decency
Friday Jun 01, 2007
Friday Jun 01, 2007
Here's a nice plain reel. It's on, among other places, "The Eagle's Whistle" LP of Michael Tubridy which is well worth a listen.