Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID# 1729 (Scholar)

RhythmBars8-bar phrase structureMode
Reel32AABBD Major
Transcription of first 2 bars of Scholar
 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 DC1 (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):
Scholar, The / An Scoláire / The Poor Scholar / South Shore (also in A or C, also as hornpipe) (composed by James Hill)
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
194215#1[GD] various. From Galway to Dublin. Early Recordings of Traditional Irish Music. View album details
197114#1[DC1] various. The Drones and the Chanters. Irish Pipering. Séamus Ennis (pipes), Peadar Broe (pipes), Leo Rowsome (pipes), Paddy Moloney (pipes), Dan Dowd (pipes), Tommy Reck (pipes), Willie Clancy (pipes).View album details
~19878#3[FT] John Whelan, Eileen Ivers. Fresh Takes. John Whelan (accordion), Eileen Ivers (fiddle).View album details
~199314#1[JCnly] Johnny Connolly. An tOileán Aerach. Johnny Connolly (accordion).View album details
199415#3[JDr 1] Joe Derrane with Felix Dolan. Give Us Another. Joe Derrane (accordion), Felix Dolan (piano).View album details
~20081#2[TDeM] Tony DeMarco. The Sligo Indians. Tony DeMarco (fiddle).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 #1640 in [1850] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. [available]
As tune #867 in [1001] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. The Dance Music of Ireland. 1001 Gems. [available]
As tune #41 in [A] Hugh McDermott. Allan's "Irish Fiddler." [available]
On page 91 of [Krsn] Miles Krassen. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. New and Revised. [available]
On page 46 of [SK] Sean Keane. Fifty Fiddle Solos. [available]
On page 56 of [M] Phil Rubenzer. Midwestern Irish Session Tunes. 3rd Edition.
On page 94 of [M2] Phil Rubenzer. Midwestern Irish Session Tunes. Millennium Edition.
As reel #304 in [Cobb] Dan Cobb. Cobb's Music of Ireland. [available]
As tune #15 in [DM 4] Dave Mallinson. 100 Vital Irish Session Tunes. [available]

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