6 Irish Tunes for You to Learn
Stuck for some great Irish Tunes to learn? Are you trying to get a few more Tunes under your belt just to expand your collection or to bring to a session? In the run up to St. Patricks day, I wanted to put together a good resource to help you learn 6 great Irish Tunes fast. I have the Tune, played slow and at a normal-ish speed. I have Tabs, Chords and Sheet Music (If you’re not the best at reading sheet music or tabs, I’ve even added in a helpful highlighter to the music so you can follow along a bit better).
I have also given a little bit of a back story to the tune. The History and where it might have come from. A wee disclaimer there. Some of these tunes are so old, that it’s just not possible to track exactly where it came from. Though some tunes are more modern and have been written by famous musicians fairly recently. So I have a good mix of tunes you can learn from too! There’s even a Scottish Reel in there that was played by Lúnasa in their “Morning Nightcap” set which is just great fun to play.
I put this video together with the use of an amazing website I just came across recently. TradChords. As someone who plays music for a bit of fun on the weekends, we’re always stuck for finding chords for the tunes. It is enjoyable to come up with your own chords, but sometimes we just don’t have enough time… It has basically every popular tune you need and with the chords added. Since it’s a community driven project, you can provide your own chords to the tunes as well and upvote others that you particularly liked. Want to try and compete on the leaderboard too? I’m competitive but I’m not the best musician out there so.. I might just have to settle for a middle leaderboard spot. But anyway, I highly recommend it - especially for those Piano Players and DADGAD enthusiasts. You can sign up for a free account, but they do have premium features you can use which makes your practice sessions so much more productive. If you try it out and do decide to upgrade to the premium version use my sign up link here: TradChords.org
Happy learning and hope you enjoy!
Tune #1 - Kitty’s Wedding (Hornpipe)
Kitty's Wedding is a great tune—one of my favorites. I first learned it on piano while accompanying a great fiddle player in college. The melody is catchy and simple, and that bouncy hornpipe rhythm is just great craic altogether. Francis O'Neill collected it around 1900 when he was chief of police in Chicago. But as you can imagine with tunes like this, tracing its exact origin is tricky. It's fairly old anyway!
The tune also works well with The Home Ruler—they have a similar melodic flow, so the two blend together really well. Another one that pairs nicely is Off to California.
The tune is very easy. If you're learning on a tin whistle, you may need to go up the octave instead of down because it goes below D. The structure is AABB, so you're essentially repeating two different melodies. Once you've learned the first line, you already know most of the next line! That's what makes it so approachable. Anyway, let's begin.
Tune #2 - Calliope House (Jig)
Next up is Calliope House, also known as Calico House or Richardson's. This is a wonderful tune, bright, cheerful, and utterly infectious. It's one of those jigs that makes you want to tap your feet and clap along.
Dave Richardson, mandolin player for the Scottish-Irish band The Boys of the Lough, composed this double jig in 1984. He named it after Calliope House, a folk music center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where the band frequently stayed during their US tours. Richardson originally wrote the piece in E Major, though it's now commonly played in D Major at sessions to suit fiddles and flutes. The tune follows a standard AABB structure and became a staple of the modern tradition after The Boys of the Lough recorded it on their 1985 album, To Welcome Paddy Home.
Alasdair Fraser recorded a beautiful version that's well worth listening to for ornamentation ideas. I've linked it in the description. He pairs it with The Cowboy Jig, and the two complement each other perfectly.
Tune #3 - The Butterfly (Slip-Jig)
Alright, next up we've got The Butterfly slip jig. This one's a bit different—if you've never heard it before, you'll get what I mean once you listen. That 9/8 slip jig rhythm gives it this really cool swinging vibe that makes it stand out.
Tommy Potts, the legendary Dublin fiddler, is the guy who really made this tune what it is today. He recorded his version on his 1972 album The Liffey Banks, taking an older, simpler tune and turning it into the more intricate piece we all know now. It's in E Minor and has three parts (AABBCC) instead of the usual two, which is pretty cool. Tommy brought it to life, but it was The Bothy Band who made it a session favorite when they played it on their 1976 album Old Hag You Have Killed Me.
Tune #4 - MacLeod’s Farewell (Reel)
Next up is "MacLeod's Farewell", another favorite of mine. While it's not technically an Irish reel, it was written by Donald Shaw, the accordion player for the Scottish band Capercaillie, back in the late 1980s (around 1988). He wrote it in D Major when the band's fiddler, Martin MacLeod, was leaving. The tune made its way into Irish music when Lúnasa recorded it as the opener in their "Morning Nightcap" set… their version is way faster and more punchy than the original Scottish style. Since it's a modern Scottish tune, you won't hear it at every Irish session, which makes it a nice change from the usual suspects. It's a great one to learn - catchy, fun to play, and sits nicely on most instruments.
Tune #5 - Denis Murphy’s (Slide)
This was one of the first tunes I ever learned, so I believe it's a brilliant one for beginners who don't fancy starting with Dawning of the Day or whatever, maybe you're after something with a bit more bite to it. This traditional tune hails from the Sliabh Luachra region, right on the Cork-Kerry border.
It's named after the legendary fiddler Denis Murphy, who made the melody famous, though he didn't actually write it himself. The tune is a single slide in D Major with a standard AABB structure. What makes it special is that driving 12/8 rhythm, it's got that distinct Sliabh Luachra dance vibe.
Denis Murphy & Julia Clifford's album - The Star Above the Garter is pretty much the go-to for Sliabh Luachra music, and this track really nails that authentic, rhythmic slide style that Denis himself played.
Tune #6 - Harp and Shamrock (Hornpipe)
This hornpipe was composed by Pat Loughman, an accordion player active in the mid-20th century. It became a standard in the repertoire of the great Céilí bands of the 1950s and 60s because its steady, swinging rhythm is perfect for set dancers. The tune is written in the key of G Major and follows a standard AABB structure. Because it stays within the key of G, it is very comfortable to play on a standard D tin whistle and does not require any difficult cross-fingering.
