The Scartaglen reel

This tunes is often played after The Banks of the Ilen. Both tunes are of Kerry/Cork origin and were recorded by Denis Murphy and Julia Clifford.

For me, the first five notes of this tune make it. I remember hearing it for the first time in Friel’s pub, Milltown Malbay in 1999. By the time the next tune came around, it had dissolved into thin air (like tunes do), except those first five notes, which stayed lodged in my brain as firmly as a plastic Excalibur in a block of quick-set cement.

Tommy Peoples has a version with C-natural (D mixolydian), called The New Road.

I like the beginning DFEF better.

Sorry, that’s what I meant. I’ve corrected the abc - ignore the sheet music.

this tune is in oneills as the new road but like the tommy people version has the c’s a la naturelle. thats the only difference i can see the rest of the dots are basically very similar
any explanations i wonder?

On the Chieftains’ "Water From the Well" CD, track 8, 3rd tune in set, it sounds like they play this single (without repeats).

Here’s a great version by Meabh O’ Hare
Third tune…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Swa_LUAm1Hw

play video

Just transcribed the Deanta setting from a friend.

X: 1
T: The Scarta Glen Road
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
S: Deanta
K: Dmaj
DFEF D2Ad | cAGF EFGD | F3E DFAd | cAGF EFGE |
DFEF D2Ad | cAGF EFGD | Addc d2ed |
|1 cAGF EFGE :|2 cAGE EDD2 :|
|:f3e fage | f2df afde | f3e fage | fdec Add2 |
f3e fage | f2df afde | fage d2ed | cAGF EFGE :|

I’ve just made two corrections to the abc, in bars 13 and 14.

This is the version with the B part that leads right back into the A part, great fun. To end the third repetition, just replay the first ending in the B part instead of that "lead-in" ending. Sorry, didn’t know how to stick that alternative into ABC notation.

Here is Cork fiddler Seamus Creagh’s take on the tune. He calls it “Tom Billy’s” on his recording, “Tunes for Practice.”

Transcribed from track 8 of Star Above The Garter by Denis Murphy And Julia Clifford. It is called Tom Billy’s in the tracklisting and the parts are not repeated. No further words necessary.

Probably less known than the homonym slide, I find it very nice

Is this Scottish rather than Irish?

Why do you ask?

This is how I learned it from Frances Marriott, more or less.