The Eel In The Sink reel

Transcribed directly from the playing of Terry Bingham, not from Henrik Norbeck, who has also transcribed the same track. This is my favourite version of the tune in Amix, but it also comes in Ador, in which case it is (according to Norbeck) sometimes called "The Blackthorn Reel". In some settings, the phrases end |gedB BAA2| but I prefer Terry Bingham’s version |gedg eAA…

On the Terry Bingham track the guitarist plays Ador chords whilst Bingham is playing in Amix with C#s. I think this spoils it, and would have preferred a more complimentary harmonisation. Do you think it was deliberate?

Also recorded by Molloy, Peoples & Brady, Seamus Tansey & Joe Sheridan, and Vinnie Kilduff (on Brendan Regan’s solo recording).

On Anders Trabjerg’s CD Boxed, he plays it with Am chords, using C-nat, and using the C# twice in the B-part.

Lars🙂

When my mother liked a good reel she would always say: "a reel to raise the deads and make them dance". I have the same thing to say about this one. A very lively reel

The Old Man’s Blackthorn Stick: https://thesession.org/tunes/5774

As for the versions in Ador or Amix, I often hear the last two bars played like this: |afge fdef|gedB BA~A2||

X: 1
T: The Eel in the Sink
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: Amix
AG||:EAAB cedc|B~G3 BGAG|EAAB cdef|gedB BAA2:||
a2ea aged|(3Bcd ef g2(3efg|a2ea agab|gedB BAA2|
ea~a2 aged|(3Bcd ef g2fg|(3agf (3gfe (3fed ef|gedB BAA2||

First tune here by Martin McCormack, Collette Begin and Seán McElwain http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUO_d0f1UXM

play video

T:Eel in the Sink, The
M:4/4
S:A Clare Conscience by Aidan McMahon And Anthony Quigney
R:reel
Z:gian marco pietrasanta
K:ADor
e2AB cdec|d2BG DGBd|e2AB cdef|gedg eAAG|
E2AB cdec|d2BG DGBd|e2AB cdef|gedg eAAe|
a2ea aged|cdef g2fg|a2ea agab|gedB BAAe|
a2ea aged|cdef g2ga|ba~a2 agef|gedB BAAG|

Appears as "The Blackthorn" on Molloy, Brady, Peoples where it sounds in Bminor:

K:Bm
f2Bc defd|eAcA eA (3cde|f2Bc defb|1 afec cBBA:|2 afec cB ~B2||
b2fb bafe|^defg ~a2 ga|b2fb bafe|afec cBBA|
b2fb bafe|^defg ~a2 ga|bgaf gefg|afec cBBA||

but that’s cuz they are tuned nearly a full tone up so Molloy’s actual fingering will be like this:

K:Am
e2AB cdec|dGBG dG (3Bcd|e2AB cdea|1 gedB BAAG:|2 gedB BA ~A2||
a2ea aged|^cdef ~g2 fg|a2ea aged|gedB BAAG|
a2ea aged|^cdef ~g2 fg|afge fdef|gedB BAAG||

With very little change the Amix settings of this tune fits right on the Highland pipes, not all that common a thing.