The Honeymoon reel

I can’t believe there’s no comment on this fine little reel. It’s been widely recorded and I’ve only ever heard it played double. Some play it in D.

I sometimes think this reel might be the G major version of The Swallow’s Tail: https://thesession.org/tunes/105 The two tunes share similar structures and phrases.

There’s a nice version of this reel over on Comhaltaslive played by uilleann piper, Ryan Murphy at http://comhaltas.ie/music/detail/comhaltaslive_269_3_ryan_murphy_on_uilleann_pipes. I must admit I hadn’t heard it before and agree with Slainte that it has similarities to the Swallows Tail. It should work very well in a session situation.

See a slightly different setting of the tune over at http://media.comhaltas.ie/notation/cltunes/HoneymoonReel.pdf

This tune goes back a ways, showing up in Ryan’s Mammoth collection (1880’s) as ‘Honey-Moon — Reel’, and as ‘The Pure Drop’ in Levey’s Second Collection of the Dance Music of Ireland (1873).

Recorded on the 30th of march 2011 in John Murphys Colfers Pub in Carrig-on-Bannow

http://youtu.be/oqbjbbhM_Xk

play video

Lovely, I enjoyed that… 🙂 It so has the sound of a highland fling about it, but then there are some shared similarities with "The Orange and Blue" ~

https://thesession.org/tunes/1245
https://thesession.org/tunes/2091

X: 2
T: Honeymoon, The
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: highland fling
K: Gmaj
d>c |\
B>G (3GGG D>G (3GGG | B>d (3def g>ed<c | B>G G2 D>G G2 | B<ed>B (3ABA (3edc |
B>G (3GGG D>G (3GGG | (3Bcd e>f g2 g>a | b>ga>f g2 (3fed | e>gd<B A2 ||
(3Bcd |\
e2 e>f e>dB<A | (3Bcd e>f g>ed<c | B>G (3GGG D>G (3GGG | B<ed>B A2 B>d |
(3eee e>f e2 d>c | (3Bcd e>f g>fg>a | b2 (3agf g>fe>d | e<gd>B A2 |]

The midi will not play on the ipad

From 1:32
https://youtu.be/FJQiNJldYGU?t=1m32s

play video

This tune is also known as Crocketts Honeymoon in Oldtime circles. There is a nice version here:
Crockett’s Honeymoon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FGerT21T6Y

play video