Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID# 4887 (Spotted Cow)

RhythmBars8-bar phrase structureMode
Double jig48AABBCCD Major
Transcription of first 2 bars of Spotted Cow
 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 PHGH 2 (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):
Spotted Cow, The / An Bhó Bhreac /(also as The Goats' Horns in book 1850 but witthout 3rd part) (compare Peacock's Feather #2485 and compare with parts of Lark in the Morning #1091)
What do the "track#tune" codes mean?

cd Discography

Here is the sole recording of this tune considering only the indexed recordings.

Year
Recorded		 Track
#Tune		 [Album code] Artist. Title. Primary musicians (instruments). Album details
and contents
~20075#2[PHGH 2] Peter Horan and Gerry Harrington. The Merry Love to Play. Peter Horan (flute), Gerry Harrington (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 recording listed above.

As tune #926 in [1850] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. [available]
As tune #983 in [1850] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. [available]
As tune #199 in [1001] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. The Dance Music of Ireland. 1001 Gems. [available]
On page 56 of [Krsn] Miles Krassen. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. New and Revised. [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
Please cite your source when you use information from this document.
© 2000–2008 Alan Ng, agng@facstaff.wisc.edu. Questions? Comments? Please use the easy Feedback Form. Thank you!
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