Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID# 148 (Tie the Ribbons)

RhythmBars8-bar phrase structureMode
Reel16ABE Dorian
Transcription of first 2 bars of Tie the Ribbons
 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 Ch 2 (details in the Discography below).

Where do you get the tune titles?
Titles given to this tune in the sources listed below (plus notes of mine about this tune):
Tie the Ribbons / Ceangail na Ribíní / The Dublin Lasses / Dublin Lasses / Gearrchailiú Bhaile Átha Cliath / The Maids of Galway / Big Pat's Reel / Murtough Molloy / The Eight and Forty Sisters / Trim the Bonnet / Jimmy the Creelmaker / Jimmy the Creel Maker / Salamanca / The Pigeon House / The Dandy Reel / The Hills of Clady / O'Connell's Trip to Parliament (1st in set McKenna's Reels on FG 3; for The Walls of Limerick in book R) (also doubled) (compare 2nd part with 2nd part of The Eight and Forty Sisters in D&M #9)
What do the "track#tune" codes mean?

cd 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). Album details
and contents
19256#1[IDM 1] various. Irish Dance Music. View album details
19699#2[Ch 2] The Chieftains. 2. Michael Tubridy (flute, concertina, whistle), Seán Potts (whistle), Paddy Moloney (pipes, whistle), Martin Fay (fiddle), Peadar Mercier (bodhrán, bones), Seán Keane (fiddle).View album details
~19891#1[FG 3] Frankie Gavin. Frankie Goes to Town. Frankie Gavin (fiddle, flute).View album details
~199311#2[MB 2] Mary Bergin. Feadóga Stáin 2. Mary Bergin (whistle).View album details
~19967#1[KR] Kevin Rowsome. The Rowsome Tradition. Kevin Rowsome (pipes).View album details
~200712#1[Hmdgr] Paul Brock and Enda Scahill. Humdinger. Paul Brock (accordion), Enda Scahill (banjo, mandolin).View album details

Bibliography

Here are all transcriptions of this tune under any title whatsoever – considering only the indexed books – listed in chronological order. I have discovered by careful comparison that these are very similar to this tune as played on the recordings listed above.

As tune #1192 in [1850] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. [available]
As tune #1352 in [1850] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. [available]
As tune #1522 in [1850] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. [available]
As tune #607 in [1001] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. The Dance Music of Ireland. 1001 Gems. [available]
As tune #741 in [1001] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. The Dance Music of Ireland. 1001 Gems. [available]
As tune #294 in volume 2 of [R] Francis Roche. The Roche Collection of Traditional Irish Music. 3 vols. [available]
As tune #81 in volume 3 of [R] Francis Roche. The Roche Collection of Traditional Irish Music. 3 vols. [available]
As tune #193 in [CRE 1] Breandán Breathnach. Ceol Rince na hÉireann 1.
As tune #286 in [CRE 2] Breandán Breathnach. Ceol Rince na hÉireann 2.
As tune #284 in [CRE 2] Breandán Breathnach. Ceol Rince na hÉireann 2.
On page 124 of [Krsn] Miles Krassen. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. New and Revised. [available]
On page 155 of [Krsn] Miles Krassen. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. New and Revised. [available]
On page 94 of [Krsn] Miles Krassen. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. New and Revised. [available]
As reel #62 in [MM] Martin Mulvihill. First Collection of Traditional Irish Music.

If you are considering using the above transcriptions to help you learn this tune, I invite you to check these practical Tips for Learning Irish Traditional Music. See also: So why do you bother indexing books and abc?

Year of the oldest source for this tune, considering the recordings and transcriptions listed above (note that I concentrate on sources after 1900): 1903
Please cite your source when you use information from this document.
© 2000–2008 Alan Ng, agng@facstaff.wisc.edu. Questions? Comments? Please use the easy Feedback Form. Thank you!
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