The Reel With The Birl reel

This version comes off of Martin Hayes’s The Lonseome Touch. The abcs and dots won’t do it justice—you’ve got to hear it to pick up the heavy swing Martin gives it, and to make sense of all those long notes in Part B. Similarly, the fnatural to fsharp in measure 2 of Part B is just a chromatic slide into the g—listening to the recording will help with timing.

Apologies…the 2nd measure of Part B should read: |f~d3 d^def|. I had a brain hiccup when transcribing this one.
Will

Will, you can edit the ABC notation. Just log on and click on "edit the ABC notation" under "ABC".

Jeremy, thanks for the wake up call. I did go in and correct the abc notation. Can you then fix the sheet music and midi file? Thanks, Will

‘Tis done. Lovely tune, by the way - especially the way Martin Hayes plays it.

Here is my version, which is based on Mary MacNamara’s playing.

E2 BE dEBE|E2 BE AGFD|E2 BE dE B2|1 d2 dB AGFD:|2 d2 dB A4||
B3 d e3 g|fd d2 d2 ef|g4 g3 e|fa a2 afed|
f3 b bafe|fa a2 afed|B3 B BAFA|d2 dB AGFD||

This is currently one of the most trendy tunes in Ireland, but I don’t remember which setting was commonly played while I was in Ireland. Micho Russel’s one on John Williams’ album is also nice.

that this is the same tune as Drowsie Maggie?

I don’t.

No, in spite of the very similar first part, the B part is completely different from Drowsey Maggie. But these are merely superficial observations. There is something about this tune which makes me play it very differently — much less drive, more swing. There is much more to the tunes than the notes. Even changing the key of a tune may make for a totally different approach to it and making it, at least to my ears, a different tune entirely.

I find that those long notes in the 2nd part of Martin Hayes’ version don’t work for me so I play a different setting a little bit like Slainte’s:

K:Edor
~E2BE dEBE|~E2BE AGFD|~E2BE dEBc|1 ~d3B AGFD:|2 ~d3B A2FA||
B3d e3g|fddc d2ef|g2gf gfeg|fa~a2 afed|
fb~b2 bafe|fa~a2 afed|B2BA BAFA|~d3B AGFD||

By the way, I assume that the "birl" refers to the type of ornamentation. I know what a pipes birl is but I don’t see what it has to do with this tune, unless the writer was referring to bowed triplets on the low E or something. Anyone shed light?

This tune is actually a west coast version of the reel "Drowsy Maggie."

You can listen to Mary MacNamara and Martin Hayes playing this tune together: http://www.www.marymacnamara.com/audio/cd1-5.rm (2nd one in the set)

T:Reel With The Birl, The
M:4/4
L:1/8
S:Jonh Williams ( with Miko Russel ) : "John Williams"
R:reel
Z:gmp
K:EDor
E2BE DEBE|E2BE AFDF|E2BE dEBE|eBdB AFDF|
E2BE DEBE|E2BE AFDF|GBAF G3B|1dedB AFDF:|2d3B A4||
BA(3Bcd e4|fdd2 ed(3Bcd |g2gf g2eg|faab afef|
g2bg faaf|edfe edBA|GBAF GABc|1dedB A3B:|2d3B AFDF||

T: The Reel with the Beryle
S: The Chieftains 8
Z: transcribed by Hetty 28/02/08
M: 4/4
L:1/8
K: D
E2BE dEBE | E3B AFDF | E2BE dEBE |1 dcdB AFDF :|2 dcdB A4 ||
BABd e2de | fddc d2ef | g4 g4 | faab afed |
dbb2 bafe | faab afed | B3B BAFA | dcdB AFDF ||

Alternatives; bar 4 ‘A’ music (1st time repeat) ~ | d3B AFDF | ~
bar 4 ‘A’ music (2nd time repeat) ~ | d3B A4 | ~
bar 1 ‘B’ music ~ | B3d e2de | ~

Another west coast version of "Drowsy Maggie"

The Chieftains play this version as the second tune with "The Wind That Shakes the Barley"
https://thesession.org/tunes/116/comments

http://www.rogermillington.com/
http://www.rogermillington.com/tunetoc/birl.html

A tip on how to play this driving reel:
Simply go Up, down, up down, then turn:
Uuuuuuuuuuuup and doooooooooown!
Simply brilliant! ;- )

did Mrs. Crotty compose this?

No, she didn’t compose it.

Oh because it is on a plaque outside Crotty’s pub in Kilrush

X:6 from the piping of Willie Clancy. The asterisk marks where he slurred up into the C natural, for that piping nyah. Willie played actual birls, or crans, rather, on the low E notes at all times - in the Dance Music of Willie Clancy Pat Mitchell added an ‘R’ where Willie played a roll instead of a cran on the low E. Also Willie’s title for this was the Lady’s Bonnet.

Kevin wants to tell us that all the ~E2 should be played as triplets

E2 = (3 E{F}E{G}E

maybe with an additional {G} to start the triplet when there is another E in advance.

Here’s Mary MacNamara playing the tune: http://www.itma.ie/digitallibrary/sound/john-naughtons-macnamara

My take on Teada recording:
X: 3
T: Reel With The Birl
R: reel
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: Edor
~E2BE dEBE|~E2BE AGFD|~E2BE dEBd|efdB AFDF|
~E2BE dEBE|~E2BE AGFA|GBEF GABd |eddB A3d||
BABd e3g|fddc d2ef|g2gf gfeg|fa~a2 afde|

Whoops put it in the wrong way and missing the last line. Rectified above.

This tune may have never really had an original title but somehow, maybe it was the Chieftains, it was named a generation or two after it was exclusive to West Clare as "The Reel with the Birl". 12 years ago it was questioned and denied whether it was a version of Drowsy Maggie. But interestingly no one transcribed one of the first and oldest versions which was recorded of Patrick Kelly in his beautiful archaic style. I have a concert recording of Bobby Casey playing it as well. Bobby’s rendition was much closer to Patrick Kelly’s than any of the ones above though they have a different bow style. Their version I prefer and play. And I prefer Willie Clancy’s title The Lady’s Bonnet. But a tune title is only like a hat while the tune itself is the head….

I’ve just discoverd that in Scotland and Shetland, the " birlin’ " means spinning around with one’s partner [Peter Cooke, The Fiddle Tradition of the Shetland Isles; also "Scottish Country-Dance Dictionary", https://www.scottish-country-dancing-dictionary.com/birl.html ].
So that adds another possible explanations to those given, e.g., in The Fiddler’s Companion
(https://www.ibiblio.org/fiddlers/REE_RH.htm ).