The Dancing Bear reel

The tune is pretty basic. I can’t remember Apart chords, but the B harmonies are Em|Em|A|A|C|C|B7|Em:||

Rodney Miller has a pretty cool version of this tune on his Airplang album.

writtenby Bob McQuillen
Chords on the 1st part are identical to the 2nd part or sometimes played:
Em|Em|A|A|Em|Em|B7|Em

I played it this way with my band.. I find it much more interesting.

X: 1
T: Dancing Bear, The
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: Emin
|:EFGF EFGF|EFGA G2 E2|EFGF EFGF|EFGA G2 E2|
EFGF EFGF|EFGA B2 e2|B2BA BcBA|GFE2 E3z:|
|:e2 ef gfef|gf e2 e3z|d2 ef gfef|gf e2 e3z|
c#2 ef gfe2|c2 ef gfe2|B2Bc BAGF|G2E2 E3z:|

Then.. the b part chords..
Em|Em|D|D|A/C#(C# in bass.. or not)|C|B|Em

Fun fun fun..

A fun, kind of midless tune that sometimes just kind of plays itself. Often played for dances.
Makes me want to sing that song "wa wa wa wa wa- waltzing with bears"

I first heard this tune from a guy named Jeff Katz. His arrangement was so dynamic it completely changed the tune from a rather standard dance tune to a performance piece.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76QRtYHwSPE

play video

The boy is Jeff’s son, the girl his neice.

The way we play it at a session in Atlanta, GA

Katy Adelson, she plays a load of variations, improvisations, and a nice key change part way through:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpKzuwqnp-E

play video

A few variations onto the base melody.

Some variations on Erin Hennessy’s version from Atlanta. The C# in the B Part pops well when it’s shifted over to that C natural in the 6th bar. The two high b’s in the 4th bar of the B Part could be two high f’s instead.

Combination of previous B Parts.

Quarky notes, B Part, 4th bar:
| g2 b2 b4 |
| g2 B2 B4 |
| g2 f2 f4 |

This tune might have been the inspiration for "Catharsis", or perhaps the other way around, but there is a strong resemblance.

https://thesession.org/tunes/703