Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID#3430 (Fair-Haired Boy)
| Rhythm ? | Bars | 8-bar phrase structure | Mode ? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reel | 16 | AB | 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 RF (details in the Discography below).
Titles given to this tune in the sources listed below (plus notes of mine about this tune):
Fair-Haired Boy, The / The Fair Haired Boy, The / The Fairhaired Boy / An Buachaillín Fionn / Micho Russell's / The Flower of the Flock (1st in set Micho Russells Set on 4MD 2; 3rd in set Oil for the Chain on MSHtn 1) (also doubled)
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.
| Year Recorded |
Track #Tune? |
[Album code] Artist. Title. Primary musicians (instruments). |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | 16#1 | [RF] Miko, Pakie and Gussie Russell. The Russell Family of Doolin, County Clare. Miko Russell (whistle, flute, vocals), Gussie Russell (whistle), Pakie Russell (concertina). |
| 1993 | 13#1 | [MoD] Tony Mac Mahon, Noel Hill, Iarla Ó Lionáird. Music of Dreams. Tony Mac Mahon (accordion), Noel Hill (concertina), Iarla Ó Lionáird (vocals). |
| ~1993 | 10#1 | [4MD 2] Four Men and a Dog. Shifting Gravel. Cathal Hayden (fiddle, banjo), Gino Lupari (percussion, vocals), Kevin Doherty (guitar, vocals), Arty McGlynn (guitar), Conor Keane (accordion), Gerry O'Connor (banjo, fiddle). |
| ~2003 | 7#3 | [MSHtn 1] Matt and Shannon Heaton. Dearga. Shannon Heaton (flute, whistle, vocals), Matt Heaton (guitar, vocals, bodhrán, dobro, electric guitar). |
| ~2006 | 1.15#2 | [WFO 3] various. Wooden Flute Obsession 3. |
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 #255 in [CRE 2] Breandán Breathnach. Ceol Rince na hÉireann 2. |
| As reel #524 in [HN] Henrik Norbeck. Henrik Norbeck's Abc Tunes. |
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): 1966