The Derry reel

Well, I’ve tried, and I can’t find it in here, so am hoping Dow doesn’t get a chance to yell "duplicated!" this time. 🙂

This is the reel that Sharon Shannon plays after Miss Thompson’s on her eponymous CD.

Miss Thompson’s is here

https://thesession.org/tunes/2264

However, this version of the Derry reel is one I learnt from my session-mate Pete Hill, who plays it on banjo. Then, it’s been ‘filtered for fiddle’, as it were, by yours truly, so goodness knows what relation it bears to Sharon Shannon’s version.

Great tune though.

A lovely 2nd part…I’m quite new to folk and I am trying to expand my repertoire!!! I shall learn this for definite! Thankyou very much

Yeah, that second part really, sort of *yearns*, to my ears. I think it’s because it takes so long to resolve back to A.

if my memory doesn’t betray me, the 1st part of this tune is identical to that of
‘shearing the sheep’,
its second part bearing no obvious similarity. That reel is listed in O’Neill’s 1001 and has been recorded many times (I first heard it from a Kevin Burke LP).
I checked this 7800tunestrong database for it and its absence came as a surprise. But then, there’s no end to music making and recombining! great!

Hmmm … it doesn’t sound *much* like shearing the Sheep to me. Basically, because it seems to be different. I can’t understand your use of the word "identical" in this context birlibirdie …

OK. I think it’s completely different from Shearing the Sheep.

K: A
c3B ABcA|~B2cB AFEF|ABce aAgA|(3fga ec BcAB|
c3B ABcA|~B2cB AFEF|1 ABce (3fga ec|BccB A3B:|2 ABce fece|fAgA a3g|
||:~f3e cfaf|geBe afge|~f3e cfaf|gfef f3g|
aecB ABcA|~B2cB AFEF|1 ABce fece|fAgA a3g:|2 ABce (3fga ec|BccB A3B||

X: 1
T: The Derry
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: Amaj
~c3B ABcA | ~B2cB AFEF | ABce aAgA | (3fga ec BcAB |
~c3B ABcA | ~B2cA BAFB |1 ABce (3fga ec | BccB A2BA :|2 ABce fece|fege a3g||
|:~f3e cfaf | geBe gaag | ~f3e cfaf | gfeg ~f3g |
aecB ABcA | ~B2cA BAFB |1 ABce fece | fege a2ga :|2 ABce (3fga ec | BccB A2BA ||

The 1st part reminds me of the Charleston Reel and the 2nd reminds me of the B-part of Sham’s Palace.

BTW I transcribed that direct from Sharon Shannon’s album.

Maybe because of confusion with Jimmy Keane’s Charleston Reel, this tune has appeared on Darren Breslin’s album mistitled as the Charlestown Reel. I’ve transcribed that version below:

X: 1
T: The Derry
N: Mistitled as The Charlestown
S: Darren Breslin – All Ireland Champion & http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1E8iTa0ePs

play video

M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: Gmaj
~B3A GdBG|(3BAG BA GEDE|~G2Bd gGfG|egdB AdGd|
ABBA GdBG|(3BAG BA GEDE|1 ~G2Bd gedB|ADFA G^cd=c:|2 ~G2Bd gedg|(3efg fd agfg||
|:~e2ge Bege|fdAd (3fga gf|e2ge Bege|fedf eagf|
gdBd GdBG|(3BAG BA GEDE|1 ~G2Bd gedg|(3efg fd agfg:|2 ~G2Bd gedB|ADFA G^cd=c||

Transposed into A for easy comparison, that becomes:

X: 1
T: The Derry
N: Mistitled as the Charlestown
S: Darren Breslin – All Ireland Champion & http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1E8iTa0ePs

play video

N: Transposed into A
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: Amaj
~c3B AecA|(3cBA cB AFEF|~A2ce aAgA|faec BeAe|
BccB AecA|(3cBA cB AFEF|1 ~A2ce afec|BEGB A^de=d:|2 ~A2ce afea|(3fga ge baga||
|:~f2af cfaf|geBe (3gab ag|f2af cfaf|gfeg fbag|
aece AecA|(3cBA cB AFEF|1 ~A2ce afea|(3fga ge baga:|2 ~A2ce afec|BEGB A^de=d||

Have been playing this a bit and come up with a nice version:

X: 1
T: The Derry
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: Amaj
~c3B AecA|BEcB AFEF|ABce aAgA|faec BEAB|
~c3B AecA|BEcB AFEF|1 ABce afec|(3B=cB GB A^de=d:|2 ABce fece|fAgA ~a2ga||
|:~f2af cfaf|geBe gbag|f2af cfaf|gfeg fbag|
aece AecA|BEcB AFEF|1 ABce fece|fAgA ~a2ga:|2 ABce afec|(3B=cB GB A^de=d||

"The Derry Reel" was composed by Eugene O’Donnell and appeared on an album he did with Mick Moloney entitled "Uncommon Bonds" — 1982 or 3, I think. I was on that album too and played Eugene’s tune along with he and Mick on that track:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khx5lmfZgds

play video

Eugene told me he was inspired by a tune I wrote "The Charleston Reel" (https://thesession.org/tunes/555) back in the 1970’s for my late uncle Mick Keane in London, although it was rechristened by Mick Moloney when Mick, myself, Robbie O’Connell, and Liz Carroll appeared on the nationally syndicated public radio show "Mountain Stage" based in Charleston, West Virginia in the early 1980’s. (The whole story is too long to go into at the moment).

Anyway, suffice it to say, as someone who writes a few tunes it is a great compliment when one of my tunes inspires another musician to write another tune. Puts the whole living tradition on solid footing…

All the best,

Jimmy

Version in G Major of The Derry Reel (normally played in A). This tune was arranged by the spanish trad folk band Stolen Notes for their Album "The Loot". The tune (the second one in this set) is played by Juan Almaraz (flute), Ruben Bada (bouzouki) and Rua Macmillan (fiddle)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFWhVKGLDyI

play video

This should be submitted as an alternate setting here: https://thesession.org/tunes/7671