Here's a slightly less common Gordon's reel than the Lordy version. This one has the marked advantage of being much shorter. I'll have to work myself up to recording the longer one in the next while. In the meantime, I'll go for the Gordons that goes in a glass, with a slice of lime.

Here's a march popular with flute players where I come from. I'm not sure where it came from originally.

I think the "pike" in question is the weapon variety and not the ingredient Olympic divers include to get more points per plunge. Are the extra points as compensation for any potential lacerations they might sustain if the pike bites them? Maybe the chlorine in the pool sedates it and stops this from being a risk anyway.

I played it a second time on a piccolo (or pikeolo) but got very self-conscious as people playing little flutes haven't always got on too well with my neighbours. Anyway, I think the tune suits the tiny treatment.

I learned this tune from the Donegal fiddle player, James Byrne.  I thought long and hard about the name and came up with this one.

I'm not sure whether the Blackthorn Stick was made from part of this, or whether it was bought from ebay or ebough. (The spellchecker thought it was neither of the above, or the beside).

It's a good tune anyway.

Oíche mhaith.

Here's a popular reel which should be a safe bet at most sessions.

I'm afraid I didn't have much time to record this tune so its regal qualities are a bit left to the imagination here. I'm sure they'll be reinvigorated when someone else plays it.

More humours - / ; / ... ? this time in the form of a hormpipe which is a nice, melodic minor-sounding one.

I might have first heard it on Michael Tubridy's "Eagle's Whistle" record where he played it on a concertina. There's some lovely flute playing on that record too (all well as the concertina playing I mean).

I'm not sure whether the Blackthorn Stick was made from part of this, or whether it was bought from ebay or ebough. (The spellchecker thought it was neither of the above, or the beside).

It's a good tune anyway.

Oíche mhaith.

I've just realised (the spellchecker wants a "z" in "realised" and "spellchecker" to be 2 words - it can go and ztrangleitzelf for all I care) that I have put hardly any hornpipes on this site. Here's a nice common one called "The Plains of Boyle". I put some more on soon.

Cheers,

Michael.

Here's a fairly common reel which should sound well on a flute.  I think the prickly nature of its title has had an effect on my playing and there are more than a few holes in it but you should get the jist of what ought to have been going on.

(I was wondering whether I should limit the number of tunes I record per day / week so that the tunes don't disappear off the first screen before people have a chance to see them.  On the other hand, the index makes them fairly accessible wherever they end up.  Any thoughts? )

Here's a great jig which I think was made popular by a recording of Michael Coleman. Michael Coleman came from Killavel, Co. Sligo and settled in New York where he worked as a tram conductor (I know that wasn't his primary reason for being there but so be it). He was frequently pestered by executives from the likes of Decca and Columbia records to record tunes for them on the fiddle. Fortunately the allure of tram life wasn't always too powerful to be overshadowed by the record moguls' offers of dollars and other, unstated rewards.

I never quite knew what "Tell Her I Am" meant. In an attempt to make some sense of it, I put it into an anagram machine. I was repayed with "A Hell Remit".

There you go.