The Watchmaker (reel) on The Session

Also known as Neil Gow’s Highland, Neil Gow’s Second Wife, Neil Gowe’s Wife, Neils Gowan’s Second Wife, Niel Gow’s Wife, Watchmaker’s, The Watchmaker’s Fling, The Watchmaker’s Highland Fling, The Watchmaker’s Highland, The Watchmaker’s, Watchmakers, The Watchmakers, Watchmakers’, The Watchmakers’, The Wooden Shuttle.

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Eight settings

X: 1
T: The Watchmaker
R: reel

X: 2
T: The Watchmaker
R: reel

M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: Ador
|:cAAc BGGB|cAAB cded|cAAc BGGB|c/B/A BG EAAB:|
c2 ec gcec|G2 BG dGBG|c2 ec gcec|eaag eaab|
geeg fdd=f|ecce dBGB|ABcd e=fed|c/B/A BG EAAB||

X: 3
T: The Watchmaker
R: reel

M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: Ador
cAAc BGGB|cAAB cded|cAAc BGGB|cABG EAAB|
cAAc BGGB|cAAB cded|cAAc BGGB|cABG EAA2||
(3(B^cd) ed fded|BGdG eGdG|(3(B^cd) ed fded|ea~a2 ea~a2|
agfa gfeg|edgd BG~G2|(3(EFG) AB cdef|gedB cAA2||

X: 4
T: The Watchmaker
R: reel

X: 5
T: The Watchmaker
R: reel

X: 6
T: The Watchmaker
R: reel

M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: Amin
|cAAc BGGB|cAAB cded|cAAc BGGB|cABG EAAB|
cAAc BGGB|cAAB cded|cAAc BGGB|c/B/A BG EA A2||
c3e g3e|G3B dGBG|cBce g3d|eaag a3g|
geeg fdd=f|ecce dBGB|ABcd e=fed|cABG EAAB||

X: 7
T: The Watchmaker
R: reel

X: 8
T: The Watchmaker
R: reel

Sixteen comments

I got this tune out of Karen Tweed’s book…I usually like to play The Old Bush after it.

The watchmaker

this is the second tune of three highlands played on the Patrick Street, Irish Times album

The version I play is a bit different, most notably that the first f is sharp, followed by a few choice f nats. So I think of this as being in A dorian, with the f nats as accidentals. I think this is closer to the Altan version (Horse with a Heart) as well. As follows:

X: 1
T: Watchmaker, The
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: A dorian
|cAAc BGGB|cAAB cded|cAAc BGGB|c/B/A BG EAAB:||
|c2 ec gcec|G2 BG dGBG|c2 ec gcec|eaag eaab|
|geeg fdd=f|ecce dBGB|ABcd e=fed|c/B/A BG EAAB||

This tune is in the Gunn Book (Fermanagh 1865) as ‘Neils Gowan’s Second Wife’ (sic). It was also called by that name by Derrygonnelly flute-player Eddie Duffy

Different title

This tune appears under “Neil gow’s highland” title in Altan album

It is called the watchmaker on O’neill’s 1001

The watchmaker is easily converted (back?) into a Scottish pipe tune.

Tin-whistle: Try to do C natural triplets in the 2nd part if you dare!

A related tune

Josephine Keegan includes a very similar reel titled The Wooden Shuttle in her 2004 book A Drop in the Ocean.

The Wooden Shuttle appears as Reel # 43 in Keegan’s book, but she also includes a version of The Watchmaker as reel #233. This tune is related to a strathspey appearing in Ryan’s 1050 as Neal Gow’s Wife (key of B flat).

The Watchmaker, X:3 - ‘Neil Gow’s Second Wife’

This is how Mick O’Brien, Emer Mayock and Aoife Ní Bhriain play this reel on ‘Tunes From The Goodman Manuscripts.’ The first part is identical to other versions of The Watchmaker, but the second part is really quite different.

Neil Gow’s Wife / The Watchmaker

If you’ve come to this page looking for the tune that Calum Stewart plays on his Hunter’s Moon CD, then you probably need to go to this instead: https://thesession.org/tunes/749

The Skibbereen

A reel I heard at a Fleadh Cheoil a couple of years ago - named here for the origin of the flautist who played it that day. Couldn’t find it notated anywhere, so here you are. Here’s one I made earlier: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTj5DC4ExMY