Episodes

Thursday Mar 21, 2013
Lad O'Beirne's Reel (2)
Thursday Mar 21, 2013
Thursday Mar 21, 2013
Here's another Lad O'Beirne's reel. I don't know much about it. The notes in dotty form can be found here: http://tunepal.org/tunepal/show_tune.php?tunepalid=1209-misc-tunes2_A-M.abc-30-Lad~O~Beirne~s~Reel~%28a%29~%28key~D%29~%25~misc%3CBB

Thursday Mar 07, 2013
The Morning Lark (jig)
Thursday Mar 07, 2013
Thursday Mar 07, 2013
Here's a close relative of the 'Lark in the Morning'. This one has fewer parts - from my playing it sounds as though it may be missing a wing and part of its voice. http://tunepal.org/tunepal/show_tune.php?tunepalid=87-cces-tunes2.abc-20-Morning%7ELark

Friday Jan 18, 2013
Paddy Fahey's reel
Friday Jan 18, 2013
Friday Jan 18, 2013
Here's a reel I was reminded of today by listening to a recording of Brendan McGlinchey, the great fiddle player from Armagh. He plays it in C on the recording but I'm all at sea without a paddle in that key for this tune so I'll wear my hat with a 'D' on it for now.

Thursday Jan 10, 2013
Ownie Davey's Reel
Thursday Jan 10, 2013
Thursday Jan 10, 2013
Here's another effort on my Rudall and Lazarus flute. The version of the tune here is decidedly dodgy. I half learned it lots of moons ago before I ever heard a recording of it. A more reliable version can be got here: http://tinyurl.com/auc5x3n . I was reminded of the tune today about 10 minutes after the postman kindly delivered a copy of this lovely recording: http://claddaghrecords.com/WWW/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=3521 (the packaging was quite hard to open otherwise I'd have heard it a bit sooner).

Wednesday Jan 09, 2013
John Dwyer's Reel
Wednesday Jan 09, 2013
Wednesday Jan 09, 2013
Here's my latest attempt to play my old Rudall flute. I've been using a combination of insulating tape, knives, scissors, super glue, our child's skin moisturiser and kettle steam as tools of resuscitation; maybe I should be trying them on the flute. http://tunepal.org/tunepal/show_tune.php?tunepalid=2708-25.abc-1-John~Dwyer~s

Tuesday Jan 08, 2013
Up Sligo
Tuesday Jan 08, 2013
Tuesday Jan 08, 2013
Here's a jig which comes from up Sligo. Dots can be found up here: http://tunepal.org/tunepal/show_tune.php?tunepalid=2272-21.abc-1-Up~Sligo

Tuesday Dec 11, 2012
My Former Wife (jig)
Tuesday Dec 11, 2012
Tuesday Dec 11, 2012
Here's an old jig played on an old flute.
This poor flute is falling apart, maybe due to modern nasties like central heating which weren't about when it was young. It seems not to like being 'My Warmer Fife'.

Wednesday Aug 29, 2012
The Stolen Purse (jig)
Wednesday Aug 29, 2012
Wednesday Aug 29, 2012
Here's a tune I've played for years. I never knew a name for it so I played it into the magic tunepal.org machine and that is where this title came out of. My first part for the tune is a bit different from the versions on the computer but I suppose there's no harm in that. It's worth taking note of the advice on the photo even if the tune is of no interest.

Friday May 25, 2012
Lavin's Favourite (reel)
Friday May 25, 2012
Friday May 25, 2012
This also goes under the name of 'Lavan's Favorite' in 'Ryan's Mammoth Collection'. I've tried to play it fairly close to the dotty version here: http://www.oldmusicproject.com/AA3Sheet/1201-1800/Sheet-1501-1600/1551-LarryChoice.gif (Larry Lavin's Choice). A combination of warm weather and a bit of recent, regular playing has allowed me to get through this tune on my boxwood flute without it falling apart (that's the flute I'm talking about - not so sure about poor Larry's reel).

Sunday May 20, 2012
Dillon Brown (aka Laington's reel)
Sunday May 20, 2012
Sunday May 20, 2012
Here's a fairly straightforward version of a popular reel in A. I avoided any G sharps in the slow version lest I may sustain a cut finger. There may be one or two (sharps and / or damaged digits) lurking around the quicker version.

Wednesday May 16, 2012
The Girls of Banbridge (jig)
Wednesday May 16, 2012
Wednesday May 16, 2012
Here's an approximation of O'Neill's version of a popular jig. The dots can be found at: http://www.oldmusicproject.com/AA3Sheet/0701-1200/Sheet-0801-0900/0812-GirlsBanbridge.gif If you want to hear it played properly you could do worse than click on this link: http://archive.org/details/MichaelColemanGirlsofBainbridgeCherishtheLadies . The name in Coleman's version is 'Bainbridge' - maybe a reference to characters in Beryl's very early work (she'd have been 8 at the time).

Thursday Apr 26, 2012
Carolan's Concerto
Thursday Apr 26, 2012
Thursday Apr 26, 2012
Here's a different sort of tune by way of a change. I've just played each part singly the first time round. If I appear to be rushing a bit during the quicker version that's probably because I was being distracted by the smell of the 'Young's Chip Shop Fish Fillet in Crisp Bubbly Batter' which is in the process of being turned into my dinner in my oven. I bet Carolan never had that problem. If he did occasionally salivate over the notion of some 17th / 18th century convenience food it was probably not too much of an encumbrance on his harp playing anyway.

Saturday Mar 10, 2012
The Thrush in the Storm
Saturday Mar 10, 2012
Saturday Mar 10, 2012
I hope the title of this reel refers to matters ornithological and meteorological and not medical. I was reminded of this tune today when I heard a recording of Sheila O'Dowd playing it (http://www.colemanirishmusic.com/shop/product.php?id=13 track 16). It is in Breathnach's Ceol Rince na hÉireann vol. 1 and someone has kindly made the notes available at http://tunepal.org/tunepal/showdots.php?id=11667. That's about all I have to say on the matter just now.

Tuesday Jan 24, 2012
The Ballina Lasses
Tuesday Jan 24, 2012
Tuesday Jan 24, 2012
I've been trying to learn to play a C#D accordion and was reminded of this tune while playing through a few books as a way of telling my fingers that there's more than one melody in the world. The box playing may be a sort of insurance against tooth loss which would make the flute sound a bit gummy; cleaning and flossing might be an easier approach. This tune is in the book 'Trip to Sligo' under the title 'Come up in the room I want you'. I played it (on the flute) into the tunepal.org machine and was given the title I've used here. The person in the 'up in the room' name may even have been addressing the Ballina Lasses at the time of utterance. I don't know what Tunepal will think it's called if I try playing it on the squeezebox.

Sunday Jan 08, 2012
Terry Hi Ho the Grinder (slip jig)
Sunday Jan 08, 2012
Sunday Jan 08, 2012
Here's a tune with a funny name. I learned it from a flute player with a less peculiar appellation, i.e. Harry Bradley. I recorded this on a mobile phone mp3 recording app (and a flute) and the end result seems to include some 78rpm type crackles. That may have been an option which I inadvertantly chose on the recording device.

Friday Nov 04, 2011
Peter Wyper's Hornpipe
Friday Nov 04, 2011
Friday Nov 04, 2011
Here's a tune called Peter Wyper's hornpipe. It is named after one of the Brothers Wyper who is pictured above. I had intended posting a smaller brace of Wypers but couldn't find the shrink button to resize the photo. You could look at the photo on a smartphone screen to make it small but I think the text would go all exiguous at the same time.

Saturday Aug 13, 2011
The Collier's Reel
Saturday Aug 13, 2011
Saturday Aug 13, 2011
Here's a tune which as was correctly pointed out to me, I had forgotten to post up to now. I've played it on a poor, old and sick Rudall flute. I had even taken a picture of the flute but it's been so long since I've posted a tune here that I've forgotten how to include a photo (or else this site has forgotten how to have photos posted on it). The flute can't remember how to play bottom Ds yet. I'll be leaving it into a flute hospital in Galway shortly - maybe a bit of hypnosis from beyond the Pale will remind it of this particular alphabetic bark.

Tuesday Apr 26, 2011
Knocknagow (jig)
Tuesday Apr 26, 2011
Tuesday Apr 26, 2011
Here's a tune I was asked a while ago to play. I've always been a bit allergic to this tune - I'm not sure why - I think something bad like the house falling down happened the last time I played it and that left a bit of an impression which didn't please me too much. It's a good tune all the same. I think it's really 2 jigs joined together. I'm away to stand outside for a while in case this house isn't up to the Knocknagow test.

Sunday Feb 06, 2011
Do you want any more? (jig)
Sunday Feb 06, 2011
Sunday Feb 06, 2011
I think this is also called The Collier's Jig. There's a collier's reel too which has the same general selection if notes in it. I'll post it on the site if it's not already here. I've been reminded a couple of times lately that some people are finding some use for some of the tunes on this site so I thought I'd try to add one or two more. It remains to be seen whether they'll fall into the useful category or otherwise. I have a couple of requested tunes still to post as well. I'm just being delayed by not knowing them and almost never having a flute closer that about 20 feet away. If I attended to the latter matter then my chance of sorting the former should increase accordingly.

Saturday Nov 20, 2010
Tonn Teine (reel)
Saturday Nov 20, 2010
Saturday Nov 20, 2010
Here's the one that goes with the other two (Paddy O'Brien tunes I posted a while ago). I've just been reminded that I missed this one. I hope late is better than never.

Tuesday Nov 16, 2010
The Trip to Nenagh (reel)
Tuesday Nov 16, 2010
Tuesday Nov 16, 2010
Here's a reel I've just been asked to play. It was composed by Sean Ryan. I found a couple of written versions on the web and this effort is sort of a cross between both and neither of them. Sorry if some (or most) of the notes are a bit on the fuzzy side. I found some ready salted crisps just before I found the notes for the tune.

Friday Nov 12, 2010
The Cow that ate the Blanket (reel)
Friday Nov 12, 2010
Friday Nov 12, 2010
I think there's also a jig with this name - or is that 'the milker that masticated the mattress' ?

Tuesday Oct 05, 2010
Shamrock Hill (reel)
Tuesday Oct 05, 2010
Tuesday Oct 05, 2010
Here's a tune I never knew the name of until the arrival of the magic tune finding machine http://tunepal.org/tunepal/index.php. I see that people now even have telephones with this facility on them. If someone sneezes at a session these days there's likely to be an iphonophile who will be try to identify the sneeze as some polka or other. Any extraneous noises in this recording have passed without being interpreted as anything other than normal noise - any other noises are supposed to be the tune.

Saturday Aug 21, 2010
The Glenside Cottage (reel)
Saturday Aug 21, 2010
Saturday Aug 21, 2010
Here's a tune I think I learned from a recording of Jackie Daly. It is also in Breathnach's Ceol Rince na hÉireann (vol 2) where the version is the same but for one note in the second part (answsers on a postcard to ...)

Sunday Aug 08, 2010
Iniscealtra (reel)
Sunday Aug 08, 2010
Sunday Aug 08, 2010
Here's another Paddy O'Brien reel which goes with the previous one though usually before it and another one rather than after it and before another one which isn't the same 'another one' I referred to on another part of this sentence just before now - I hope that all makes sense. All these tunes and information about them and Paddy O'Brien are to be found in an excellent compilation which is available from this site: http://www.paddyobrienbook.com/

Friday Jul 30, 2010
Ormond Sound (reel)
Friday Jul 30, 2010
Friday Jul 30, 2010
Here's a reel composed by Paddy O'Brien. It is often played after two others in a set. I don't know the other ones either.

Sunday Jul 11, 2010
Ambrose Moloney's
Sunday Jul 11, 2010
Sunday Jul 11, 2010
Here's a great reel for the flute. I'm sure I stole it from somewhere but the scene of that particular theft is now out of reach of my memory.

Wednesday Jul 07, 2010
The Sailor's Cravat (reel)
Wednesday Jul 07, 2010
Wednesday Jul 07, 2010
I've been at around 3 sessions in as many months and this tune was played at 2 of them (albeit by the same person). According to my statistical analysis this tune is therefore played at 66.66666% of all sessions. I'm afraid that the flute here sounds a bit like it has a cravat stuck up it somewhere; possibly with a maritime person attached.

Sunday Apr 18, 2010
Jenny Picking Cockles (2) - Reel
Sunday Apr 18, 2010
Sunday Apr 18, 2010
Sorry for the lack of tunes in the last while. I gave up playing for a while - as I sometimes do - and have only played the flute 4 times this year. The perenthesised '2' in the title here doesn't doesn't refer to the modesty of Jenny's shellflsh harvest target but just to the fact that there's already another tune with this name on the site.

Tuesday Jan 12, 2010
The Humours of Ballyconnell (hornpipe)
Tuesday Jan 12, 2010
Tuesday Jan 12, 2010
Here's a new post after a very long gap. I couldn't remember where I left the internet. I was sent an mp3 file of someone playing this tune far better that it is played here. I know that Séan Keane recorded it at some stage and hear it from time to time in sessions but I can't remember exactly how it goes. I found a transcription in the bit of the internet referred to below. I'm afraid I've lost / mis-ordered a few notes during the eye to mouth process but here's an approximation - hopefully enough to get a more accurate and diciplined person started learning the tune. http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/2748