Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID#1136 (Little Fair Cannavans)
| Rhythm ? | Bars | 8-bar phrase structure | Mode ? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slip jig | 16 | AB | G Major |

about these two bars
These two bars are the start of my transcription of how this tune was played – the first time through – on the recording SE 3 (details in the Discography below).
Titles given to this tune in the sources listed below (plus notes of mine about this tune):
Little Fair Cannavans, The / An Ceannabhán Bán / Na Ceannabháin Bhána / Na Ceannabhain Bhana / Na Ceannbháin Bána / Cannabhan Ban (1st in set Whelan's Jig / Port Whelan on MoD) (also in D; 2nd part used as intro on AbsIr)
Discography
Here are all recordings of this tune considering only the indexed recordings. I have discovered by careful listening that these sources are in fact musically the same tune, regardless of the tune titles they use, key changes, retuning, etc. They are listed in order of when they were recorded.
| Year Recorded |
Track #Tune? |
[Album code] Artist. Title. Primary musicians (instruments). |
|---|---|---|
| ~1974 | 3#2 | [SE 3] Séamus Ennis. The Wandering Minstrel. Seamus Ennis (pipes). |
| 1993 | 9#1 | [MoD] Tony Mac Mahon, Noel Hill, Iarla Ó Lionáird. Music of Dreams. Tony Mac Mahon (accordion), Noel Hill (concertina), Iarla Ó Lionáird (vocals). |
| ~2000 | 15#3 | [LLPQ 1] The London Lasses and Pete Quinn. The London Lasses and Pete Quinn. Bernie Conneely (banjo), Elaine Conwell (fiddle), Karen Ryan (fiddle, whistle), Sharon Whelton (flute, whistle). |
| ~2000 | 14#1 | [DH 3] Dan Herlihy and John Drew. The Ballydesmond Polka. Traditional Irish Music from Sliabh Luachra Played By Dan Herlihy and John Drew. Dan Herlihy (accordion), John Drew (mandocello). |
| 2001 | 10#2 | [FDys] Davy Spillane and Kevin Glackin. Forgotten Days. Davy Spillane (pipes, whistle), Kevin Glackin (fiddle). |
| 2003 | 9#1 | [CSmth] Chris Smith with Roger Landes and Randal Bays. Coyotebanjo. Chris Smith (banjo, mandola, mandolin, field organ), Roger Landes (bouzouki), Randal Bays (fiddle). |
| ~2003 | 11#3 | [KitRec] Seán O'Driscoll and Larry Egan. The Kitchen Recordings. Seán O'Driscoll (banjo, bouzouki), Larry Egan (accordion). |
| ~2005 | 2#2 | [MMhn] Martin Meehan. Three's Company. Martin Meehan (flute, bodhrán). |
| 2007 | 10#2 | [AbsIr] various. Absolutely Irish. Mac Benford (banjo, vocals), Darrah Carr (feet), Liz Carroll (fiddle), Karan Casey (vocals), Brendan Dolan (piano), John Doyle (guitar, bouzouki, vocals), Seamus Egan (banjo, flute), Eileen Ivers (fiddle), Rhys Jones (fiddle, guitar, vocals), Joanie Madden (flute, whistle), Billy McComiskey (accordion), Susan McKeown (vocals), Mick Moloney (banjo, mandolin, guitar, vocals), Robbie O'Connell (vocals, guitar), Niall O'Leary (feet), Jerry O'Sullivan (pipes, whistle), Mike Rafferty (flute), Athena Tergis (fiddle). |
Bibliography
According to my research, there are zero transcriptions that sound very similar to this tune anywhere in the indexed books, regardless of tune title. Try my recommended links to other indexes if you need a transcription. To learn to play this tune, simply learn it from another musician or study the recording(s) listed above. See also: Tips for Learning Irish Traditional Music.
Year of the oldest source for this tune, considering the recordings and transcriptions listed above (note that I concentrate on sources after 1900): 1974
