Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID#162 (Blackbird)
| Rhythm ? | Bars | 8-bar phrase structure | Mode ? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hornpipe | 32 | AABB | D Mixolydian |
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 JnKlly (details in the Discography below).
Titles given to this tune in the sources listed below (plus notes of mine about this tune):
Blackbird, The / An Lon Dubh (2nd in set The Blackbird on JnKlly) (also 1st part singled) (also described as barn dance, set dance, or reel) (quite similar to The Stranger #1842; also compare set dance #164)
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). |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 19#2 | [JnKlly] John Kelly. Irish Traditional Concertina and Fiddle Music. John Kelly (concertina, fiddle). |
| 1977 | 7#3 | [BB 3] The Bothy Band. Out of the Wind into the Sun. Paddy Keenan (pipes, whistle), Matt Molloy (flute, whistle), Kevin Burke (fiddle), Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill (vocals, keyboards), Dónal Lunny (bouzouki, guitar, bodhrán, synthesizer), Mícheál Ó Domhnaill (guitar). |
| ~1995 | 7#2 | [Whr] Paddy Glackin and Robbie Hannan. The Whirlwind. Paddy Glackin (fiddle), Robbie Hannan (pipes). |
| ~2001 | 1#2 | [Beg 2] Beginish. Stormy Weather. Brendan Begley (accordion, vocals), Noel O'Grady (bouzouki), Paul McGrattan (flute, whistle), Gavin Ralston (guitar, keyboards), Paul O'Shaughnessy (fiddle). |
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 reel #15 in [Cobb] Dan Cobb. Cobb's Music of Ireland. |
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): 1975