Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID#1834 (Steeplechase)
| Rhythm ? | Bars | 8-bar phrase structure | Mode ? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reel | 32 | AABB | C 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 BtB (details in the Discography below).
Titles given to this tune in the sources listed below (plus notes of mine about this tune):
Steeplechase, The / Carrigaline / It's a Hard Road to Travel / The Milestone (3rd in set Reels from the 1920's on FG 3; mislabeled as The King of the Clans on RedW)
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). |
|---|---|---|
| 1932 | 10#2 | [WW 1] various. The Wheels of the World. Early Irish-American Music. Classic Recordings from the 1920s and 1930s. Vol. 1. |
| 1932 | 4#2 | [BtB] Paddy Killoran, James Morrison. From Ballymote to Brooklyn. Paddy Killoran (fiddle), James Morrison (fiddle). |
| ~1977 | 6#2 | [AM] Andy McGann and Paul Brady. It's A Hard Road to Travel. Andy McGann (fiddle), Paul Brady (guitar). |
| ~1979 | 6#1 | [Ev] Kevin Burke and Jackie Daly. Eavesdropper. Kevin Burke (fiddle), Jackie Daly (accordion, concertina). |
| ~1982 | 6#1 | [TP 4] Tommy Peoples. The Iron Man. Tommy Peoples (fiddle). |
| ~1989 | 9#3 | [FG 3] Frankie Gavin. Frankie Goes to Town. Frankie Gavin (fiddle, flute). |
| ~1993 | 3#2 | [JKn 2] James Keane. That's the Spirit. James Keane (accordion). |
| ~1997 | 3#2 | [GL1] various. The Dance Music of Ireland. Jigs and Reels. |
| ~2000 | 9#2 | [MMR 3] Mike and Mary Rafferty. The Road from Ballinakill. Mike Rafferty (flute, whistle, lilting), Mary Rafferty (accordion, flute, whistle, concertina). |
| 2008 | 4#2 | [RedW] The Red Wellies. The Red Wellies. Claudine "Beanie" Odell (fiddle), Duncan Wickel (fiddle, pipes), Vincent Fogarty (bouzouki). |
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 #1226 in [1850] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. |
| On page 100 of [Krsn] Miles Krassen. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. New and Revised. |
| As reel #321 in [Cobb] Dan Cobb. Cobb's Music of Ireland. |
| As reel #217 in [JKg 3] Josephine Keegan. A Drop in the Ocean. Traditional Irish Tunes Collected by Josephine Keegan. |
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