Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Irish Session Tunes For Violin
Irish Session Tunes For Violin
Michael Eskin
eskin@home.com
Preface
I came to Irish session music only quite recently in my musical lifetime. It became clear to
me very quickly that it can be very difficult for beginning players to bootstrap themselves
into becoming participating members of a session. So often the tunes go by so quickly, and
it seems that nobody knows the names.
What I felt was needed was a book of the tunes played in our session, in the order that they
are commonly played. Many times I have watched beginners, (myself included)
desperately flipping through books trying to find a tune being played, only to have the
group move on to another tune just when its been found in the book, or worse, never
finding it at all so that there isn’t a chance that they will be able to play it the following
week.
Using this book and some practice, new players should be able to become participating
members of the session in just a few weeks.
Acknowledgement
Thank you to everyone at the Blarney Stone Pub and at the House of Ireland in Balboa Park
for welcoming me into the world of Irish session music.
A special thank you to Nishi for helping kick this effort off by suggesting the initial list of
tunes.
Thank you to Steve Glass for his wonderful transcriptions of interesting tunes.
Thank you to Marci Bunescu and Dennis Buskirk of Cobblestone for providing me with a
comprehensive list of tunes for dancers.
Production Notes
This book was produced entirely on a Macintosh using both hand transcriptions and .abc
tune sources from the Internet, mostly from Henrik Norbeck’s ABC archives. The .abc files
were brought in to BarFly 1.0d23, which generated the notation. The resulting graphics
were then pasted into Microsoft Word.
(c) Copyright 1999 Michael Eskin This file may be distributed freely and may not be used
for commercial purposes, such as printing a tune book to sell.
2
Table of Contents
Reels
3
Pinch of Snuff 42
Jigs
Banish Misfortune 70
Slip Jigs
4
Hornpipes
Home Ruler 76
Rights of Man 76
Madame Bonaparte 79
Polkas
Ashokan Farewell 82
Southwind 83
Sheebeg Sheemore 84
Trip to Skye 85
An Suisin Ban 88
Humours of Ballyloughlin 93
6
Martin Wynne's #1 Martin Wynne (1914-98)
1 2
1 2
C
~
~
~
~
3 ~
~
3
7
Lucy Campbell
C
~ ~
~ ~
~ ~
~
~ ~
~
~ ~ ~
~
1 2~
~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~
8
Jolly Tinker, The
1 2 3
C
~ ~ ~ ~
3 3
3 3
3 1 2
~ ~
9
Lads of Laois, The
C
~ ~ 1 2
~
~ ~ 3
~ ~ 1 2
C
~ ~
~
~ ~ ~
~ ~
~
~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~
~
~ ~
10
Hunter's House, The Ed Reavy
~ ~
C
~ ~
~
~ ~
11
Cameronian Reel, The
C
~
~ ~ ~
3 3 3
Rakish Paddy
C
~
1 2
12
13
Merry Blacksmith, The
C ~
1 2
~ ~ ~
1 2
~ ~
14
Mountain Road, The Michael Gorman (1895-1970)
1 2
C
~ ~
1 2
~ ~ ~
15
Salamanca Reel, The
3 3
C
~ ~
1 2
~ ~
3
~ ~ ~ 1 2
Peter Street
3 3 3 3
3 3
3 3 3 3
~ ~
16
17
Pigeon on the Gate, The
3
C
~
~ ~
~ ~
3
~
3
3
C ~
~ ~
1 2
~ ~
~
~ ~
18
Woman of the House, The
3
C ~ ~ ~
3
~ ~
~ ~ ~
~ ~
3 ~
~
19
Cup of Tea, The
1 2
~ ~
~
20
Dunmore Lasses, The
~ ~
C
~
~ 1 2
~ ~
~ ~
~
3
1 2
~
21
Ashplant, The
C ~
~
3
~
~
~ ~
3
Jackie Coleman's
C
~
1 2
~ ~
1 2
22
Bag of Spuds, The
C ~ ~
~ ~ ~
~ ~
~ ~
23
Musical Priest, The
1 2
C ~ ~
3
1 2
~ ~ ~ ~
Jenny's Chickens
~ ~ ~
C
~ ~
1 2
24
Wise Maid, The 3 (John Doherty ?)
C
~ ~
3 1 2
~ ~
~
3 1 2
C ~
~ ~ ~
1 2 3
25
Bucks of Oranmore, The
1 2
C
~ ~
~ ~
1 2
~ ~ ~ ~
1 2 ~
1 2 ~
26
Wind That Shakes the Barley, The
1 2
C ~
~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ~
27
Scholar, The
C
~
1 2
1 2
Teetotaller's Reel
3
4
4
28
Saint Anne's Reel
29
Mason's Apron, The
C ~
~
1 2
1 2
30
Farewell to Ireland
~
~ ~ ~
~
~
~
3 3 3
~ ~
~ ~
3 3
~
~
~
~
31
Sligo Maid, The
~ ~
~
C
~
~ ~
~ ~
3
~
3
3
32
Cooley's Joe Mills, Galway (1938)
3
C ~
1 2
~ ~ ~
1 2
~ ~
33
Ships Are Sailing
3 3
C
~
3 3 1 2
~
~
~ ~ ~ ~ 1 2
C ~ ~ ~
3 3
~
3 3
~
34
Jolly Tinker, The
1 2 3
C
~ ~ ~ ~
~
3 3
3 3
3 1 2
~ ~
Lady Montgomery
1 2
C
~ ~
1 2
35
Maid of Mount Cisco, The Paddy Killoran (?)
C
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
3 1 2
~ ~ ~
3 1 2 3
~ ~
~ ~
~ ~ 1 3 2
~ ~
~ 1 2
36
Star of Munster, The
~
~
~ 1 2~
37
Chicago Reel, The
C
~
3
~ ~
~
~ ~ ~ ~
~ 3
38
Man of the House, The
1 2
1 2
39
Tam Lin
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~
~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ ~
40
Hand Me Down the Tackle
C
~ ~
~
~
41
Pinch of Snuff
42
Maudabawn Chapel Ed Reavy (1898-1988)
C
~ ~
~
~
~
~ ~
1 2
~ ~
43
Cathleen Hehir's
6
8 ~
1 2
1 2
1 2
1 2
44
Lark in the Morning, The
6
8
1 2
~ 1 2
~ 1 2
45
Mooncoin Jig, The
6
8
46
Langstrom's Pony
6
8
~ ~
~ ~
~ ~
47
Caliope House Dave Richardson
~ ~ ~
6
8
~1 ~2
~ ~
~
~
~
6
8
1 2
~
~
~ 1 2
48
Orphan, The
6
8 ~
~
1 2
~
~
1 2
49
Tobin's Favourite
~ ~
~
6
8
6
8
50
51
Trip to Athlone, The
6
8
1 2
~ 1 2
6
8
1 2
1 2
52
Connaughtman's Rambles, The
6
8
1 2
1 2
53
Market Town
6
8
~ ~
1 2
~
B
~
C
~
~
D
~
54
Scatter the Mud
6
8
55
Arthur Darley's Jig Arthur Darley
6
8 ~
1 2
1 2
56
57
Old Favourite, The
6
8 ~
1 2
~ 1 2
6
8
2
~
58
Bill Hart's Jig
~ ~
6
8 ~ ~
~ 1 2
~
~
59
Swallowtail Jig, The
6
8
1 2
1 2
6
8
60
61
Kesh Jig, The
6
8 ~ ~
1 2
~ ~
~ ~
Morrison's Jig
6
8 ~
~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~
62
Trip to Sligo, The
6
8
1 2
1 2
63
When Sick is it Tea You Want?
6
8
1 2
1 2
6
8
1 2
~ ~ 1 2
64
Off She Goes
6
8 ~
~
1 2
~ 1 2
65
Jig of Slurs, The
6
8
1 2
66
Atholl Highlanders, The
~ ~
6
8
~ 1 2
~ 1 2
1 2
67
Blarney Pilgrim, The
6
8
~
6
8 ~
~
1 2
1 2
68
Black Rogue, The
6
8
~
~ ~
69
Banish Misfortune
6
8
70
71
Tell Her I Am
6
8
~ ~
~ ~
~ ~
~
1
~ ~
2 ~
72
Queen of the Rushes, The
6
8
1 2
1 2
~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~
73
Boys of Ballysadare, The
9
8
9
8
74
Rocky Road to Dublin, The
9
8
9
8 ~
Deirdre's Fancy
1 2
9
8
1 2
75
Home Ruler, The Frank
3 McCollum of Ballycastle
C
~
3
76
King of the Fairies, The
3
77
Boys of Bluehill, The
3
Harvest Home
3 3 3 3
3 3 3 3
~ ~ ~
78
Madame Bonaparte
4
4
Madame Bonaparte
4
4
79
Unknown Title
2
4
Dennis Murphy's
2
4
1 2
1 2
80
John Ryan's
2
4
1 2
1 2
81
Ashokan Farewell Jay Ungar, 1983.
3
4
82
South Wind, The Traditional
3
4
1 2
83
Sheebeg Sheemore Turlough O'Carolan
3
4
84
Trip to Skye John Whelan
Bm Bm/G A Bm
6
8
Bm Bm/G A Bm
D A Bm
D A Bm Bm/G
85
Dm Jug of Punch Am Boys of the Lough
4
4
Dm C Am F/(Bb) (Am) Dm
Dm Am (C)
Bb Am C G F/(Bb) (Am) Dm
4
4
Dm C Dm Am Dm Am 1 C Dm 2 C Dm
86
Cold, Haily, Windy Night Steeleye Span
Am C Dno3 Am
4
4
Am C Dno3 AmDno3
3
Am G C G
Am G C \D G Am C D
1 2
Am G Em G \C
Am\D G Em C G D G Am
1 2
87
An Suisin Ban (F) Chieftains
Bb F 3 Bb F G C
4
4
F C Bb F 3 Bb F
1 2
Bb F Bb F G C
F C Bb F Bb F 3
1 2
C G F C 3 F C
1 2
F C F C D G
C G F C F C 3
1 2
88
An Suisin Ban (G) Chieftains
C G 3 C G A D
4
4
G D C G 3 C G
1 2
C G C G A D
G D C G C G 3
1 2
D A G D 3 G D
1 2
G D G D E A
D A G D G D 3
1 2
89
An Suisin Ban (A) Chieftains
D A 3 D A B E
4
4
A E D A 3 D A
1 2
D A D A B E
A E D A D A 3
1 2
90
First Flight of Geese Gerald Trimble
D A G A 3 D
4
4
Em F#m G 3 A Em 3 F#m G A 3
D A G A 3 D
Em 3 A D G A3 D G
Em 3 A D A3 D G A 3
Em 3 A D G A3 D G
Em 3 A3 D A3 D G A 3
91
The Rolling Wave
Bm D Bm G
6
8
Bm D A G
D G D Em
D Bm A G
G D C D
D G C G D
D G C D
92
The Humours of Ballyloughlin
D G D C G C (D)
6
8
D G C G 1 D 2 D
C\Am D G D
C G C G 1 D 2 D
D G D G C (G)
D G D G C G 1 A D 2 A D
D C\Am
D G D A G D
93
Garrett Barry's Chieftains
G Am G D C
6
8
D Em 3 C (D) A
D G 3 Em\A D G\D
C(\F) Em C D C Am C Am
1 2
G C Dno3 C G
C D C D C Am Am
1 2
94
Snug in a Blanket Dave Swarbrick
D C G D G C
6
8
D C G D G G
1 2
D C (G)
D D G D G G
1 2
95
Caliope House Cobblestone
G D G Am C
6
8
G C D
1
2 G Em C D G
G D G C G Am
G C D
1
G Em C D G
2
96
O'Farrell's Welcome to Limerick Chieftains
9
8
97
Comb Your Hair and Curl It Chieftains
Em (Bm) A D Em C Am (D)
9
8
C Em C Am (D) G D G D G D
98
99
Elizabeth Kelly's Chieftains
9
8
Fraher's Chieftains
9
8
100
Dinny Delaney's Chieftains
9
8
101
Humours of Whiskey Chieftains
9
8
3 3
9
8
102
Sock in the Hole
Em D Em Bm D Bm DLiz Carroll
2
4
D A D Bm Em D Bm A
1 2
D/A D G (D) Em A A
1 2
2
4
G D G Em A
D G Em
Bm A Em/G A
D G Em
Bm A Em/G A
103
My Rovin' Eye
Dm\G C Dm\G C
4
4
Dm\G C G
Am C Dm C Dm Dm Am
C Dm
2 4
4 4
Blackwell Court
C F C F C Dm F G
4
4
Am G F C Dm Am Dm Dm
1 2
F C Dm F Em
DmF G Am Dm Am Dm Dm
1 2
104
Mrs. Carroll's Strathspey Liz Carroll
G Em
6
8
G C G D
C G 3 Em
C G 1 D 2 D
G Em
D G C D
G Em
C G Em D D
1 2
105
Rogues in a Nation
Dm F Bb C Dm 1 Dm 2 Dm
4 2 4
4 4 4
F C Dm C Dm
Dm F C F Bb F
C Bb Dm Dm
2
4
Am F Am (C) Am G
4
4
Em F
6
4
106
Morgan Magan
G C Am D
4
4
G D G Ano3 D
G D G C D C
G C C/Am/D D G D 1 G 2 G
Gno3 Am
C G Am G D
Cno3 Dno3
G C C/Am/D D G D G G
1 2
107
Lord Mayo's March
2
4
1 2
108
The Hunt Boys of the Lough
G D C D
6
8
G D Am D
G D C D
G Am C 1 G 2 G
G F
C G D
C Am D C
G C G Am C D
G D G C D
G Am C G G
1 2
109
Suil Ghorm Altan
Dm (Gno3) C Am Dm
9
8
F (Gno3) C
1 Am Bb C Dm Em Dm
3 6
8 8
Am Bb C
2
9
8
F C Dm Bb
F C Am G(no3)
Dm (Gno3) C Am Dm
F (Gno3) C Am Bb C Dm
3 6
8 8
Dm Em Dm Em\C Dm Em Dm
110
The Trees They Do Grow High Martin Carthy
Em Bm
6
8
D A
G D Em Bm
D A Em
G D
Em D\Bm Em
111
The Sound of Sleet Glayva
D G A D G D G A
4
4
A D A D A G Bm G A
D A G D G A
Bm Em D Em Bm G A
D G Bm A D G Bm G A
A Bm G Em A Em G A
112
The Trowie Burn (Am) Boys of the Lough
3
4
113
The Trowie Burn (Dm) Boys of the Lough
3
4
114
• Revision History •
3 July 1999
5 June 1999
Added Tam Lin, Hand Me Down the Tackle, Queen of the Rushes, Pinch of Snuff
Also added Preface page.
Fixed problem with The Battering Ram formatting.
3 June 1999
Fixed problems with Lucy Campbell and Teetotaller’s. Both had extra parts.
31 May 1999
115