Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID# 713 (Ger the Rigger)

RhythmBars8-bar phrase structureMode
Single reel32AABBA Major
Transcription of first 2 bars of Ger the Rigger
 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 JDa 1 (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):
Ger the Rigger / Jer an Rigéara / Jer the Rigger / Thadelo's (also in G, also as hornpipe)
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
197712#2[JDa 1] Jackie Daly. Music from Sliabh Luachra. Jackie Daly (accordion, concertina).View album details
~19786#2[KB Cap] Kevin Burke. If the Cap Fits. Kevin Burke (fiddle).View album details
~19899#2[JOL 2] Johnny O'Leary. An Calmfhear. The Trooper. Johnny O'Leary (accordion).View album details
~19987#2[FFH] Far From Home. Tri. Turner Collins (accordion, whistle, vocals), Bob Newton (octave mandolin, mandocello, bodhrán, vocals), Daithi Wolfe (fiddle).View album details
19992(8:56)#4[MH 4] Martin Hayes, Dennis Cahill. Live in Seattle. Martin Hayes (fiddle), Dennis Cahill (guitar).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 #128 in [CRE 2] Breandán Breathnach. Ceol Rince na hÉireann 2.
As tune #113 in [JOL] Terry Moylan. Johnny O'Leary of Sliabh Luachra. Dance Music from the Cork-Kerry Border. [available]
As tune #20 in [IBPS] Pat Conway. Ireland's Best Polkas and Slides. [available]
On page 229 of [M2] Phil Rubenzer. Midwestern Irish Session Tunes. Millennium Edition.
As polka #17 in [Cobb] Dan Cobb. Cobb's Music of Ireland. [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): 1966
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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