Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID# 308 (Chattering Magpie)

RhythmBars8-bar phrase structureMode
Reel16ABG Major
Transcription of first 2 bars of Chattering Magpie
 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 Plx 5 (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):
Chattering Magpie, The / Chatterin Magpie / An Mheaig Chabach / Gun in the Thatch
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
~19462#1[ICTM] various. Ireland. Irlande. View album details
~19761#5[Ch 6] The Chieftains. 6. Bonaparte's Retreat. Paddy Moloney [misspelled as:] Maloney (pipes, whistle, bodhrán), Seán Potts (whistle, bodhrán), Martin Fay (fiddle), Michael Tubridy (flute, concertina, whistle), Derek Bell (harp, oboe, tiompán), Seán Keane (fiddle).View album details
~19798#2[Plx 5] Planxty. After the Break. Christy Moore (vocals, guitar, harmonium, bodhrán), Donal Lunny (blarge, guitar), Andy Irvine (vocals, mandolin, mandola, hurdy gurdy, bouzouki), Liam O'Flynn (pipes, whistle), Matt Molloy (flute, whistle).View album details
~198411#2[Crsl] Séamus McGuire, Manus McGuire, Dáithí Sproule. Carousel. Séamus McGuire (fiddle, viola), Manus McGuire (fiddle), Dáithí Sproule (guitars, vocals).View album details
19855#2[Kn] Noel Hill and Tony MacMahon. In Knocknagree. Noel Hill (concertina), Tony MacMahon (accordion).View album details
19911#5[Ch AIE] The Chieftains. An Irish Evening. Live at the Grand Opera House, Belfast. Martin Fay (fiddle), Seán Keane (fiddle), Kevin Conneff (bodhrán, vocals), Matt Molloy (flute), Paddy Moloney (pipes, whistle), Derek Bell (harp, tiompán, keyboards).View album details
~199516#1[MMR 1] Mike and Mary Rafferty. The Dangerous Reel. Mike Rafferty (flute, whistle, pipes), Mary Rafferty (accordion, flute, whistle).View album details
200013#2[CTL 8] Cherish the Ladies. The Girls Won't Leave the Boys Alone. Joanie Madden (whistle, flute, vocals), Mary Coogan (guitar, banjo, mandolin), Donna Long (piano, keyboards, vocals), Mary Rafferty (accordion, concertina, whistle), Deirdre Connolly (vocals, whistle, flute), Liz Knowles (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 #77 in [CRE 1] Breandán Breathnach. Ceol Rince na hÉireann 1.
On page 74 of [RM] Randy Miller and Jack Perron. Irish Traditional Fiddle Music. [available]
On page 29 of [T] Fintan Vallely. Timber. The Flute Tutor. 2nd Edition. [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): 1946