Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish Style: Bluegrass (Scruggs) Key: C Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Beginner
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 11/30/2016
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Notes: A much-loved Christmas song and harp melody is ‘Ar Hyd y Nos’, known in choral music internationally as ‘All through the Night’.
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish Style: Other Key: C Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Expert
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 12/10/2016
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Notes: In memory of Bill Keith, here is a lovely Welsh air in Celtic fingerstyle that can be played as a Christmas tune.
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish Style: Unknown/None Chosen Key: Am Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Expert
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 4/16/2013 - 1 Member Comments
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Notes: The famous Irish air and lament about an 1828 boating accident near Galway town, based on Dolly MacMahon's sean-nos version in A Dorian. This is a highly ornamented setting for advanced players, similar to the arrangements one can find in my first tune collection, Mel Bay's Complete Book of Irish & Celtic 5-String Banjo. This tune can also be played in 3/4 and in 6/8, as a jig, known as 'The Sheep in the Boat' (Junior Crehan).
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish Style: Unknown/None Chosen Key: Em Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Beginner
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 4/16/2013
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Notes: Moved from the standard A Dorian to E Dorian, this is a beginner version of the famous Irish air and lament. I've added fretting-hand fingerings.
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish Style: Other Key: G Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Expert
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 11/26/2015
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Notes: This arrangement is based on the sean-nós version sung by the lovely Dolly MacMahon. It's in the key signature of G, but that's misleading because it's sometimes A Dorian (as sung here), or, on the uilleann pipes (same key signature), which sounds less like A Dorian and more like D Mixolydian.
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish Style: Other Key: Am Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Beginner
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 10/23/2015
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Notes: This is a beginner's arrangement like one would find in my most recent tune collection, Mel Bay's Easy Irish & Celtic Melodies for 5-String Banjo: Best-Loved Airs and Session Tunes. Here is a bare bones arrangement of the famous Irish air and lament about an 1828 boating accident near Galway town, based on Dolly MacMahon's sean-nos version in A Dorian. It can also be played in 3/4 and in 6/8, as a jig, known as 'The Sheep in the Boat' (Junior Crehan). Compare this arrangement with the highly ornamented version of 'Anach Cuain' (Air/Lament), for advanced players.
Genre: Bluegrass Style: Other Key: D Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Intermediate
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 1/21/2010
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Notes: Here's a bluegrassy version of this old-time tune, in standard G tuning, a fiery melodic version based loosely on fiddler Stuart Duncan's variations with the Nashville Bluegrass Band. I have tried to keep the melody flowing at all times, adding fill notes while keeping the main notes in the usual places, using slides, syncopation, pinches and pull-offs to keep it in the bluegrass camp.
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish Style: Unknown/None Chosen Key: G Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Intermediate
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 4/1/2013
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Notes: I thought it would be fun to come up with a jiggy 6/8 arrangement for Blackberry Blossom, the well-known fiddle tune. This has some interesting ornamentation in the B part, as well. Enjoy!
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish Style: Unknown/None Chosen Key: G Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Intermediate
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 5/3/2016
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Notes: I've put in some fretting-hand fingerings, which I don't normally do. This one is tricky. It's not Old Time, and it's not exactly Bluegrass. But it is a melody, the way I hear and feel it, as a waltz and as a slow air (with rubato). I have added optional fermatas, but these only come into play when one is slowing it way down (not as the country waltz).
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish Style: Other Key: D Difficulty: Intermediate
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 6/9/2015
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Notes: Here is a Celtic fingerstyle setting using Double D tuning (Double C-Capo II) for the Old Time reel that goes under interchangeable titles. The titles create confusion since there are two main branches in Old Time and further regional, local and bluegrass variants. The A Part is pretty close in most versions with one noticeable variation – either dipping down to an A-note or rising up to F# in the second and sixth measures. (Here I dip down to the A-note in the sixth measure.) This variation is found in both Old Time and Bluegrass versions and a G chord is sometimes played in these spots (as I do here). It’s in the B Part (fifth and sixth measures) where the melodic contour branches in one of two directions – either dipping down from the fifth (A) to the tonic (D)/D chord, or, as Paul Warren played it (New Five Cents), using a G-note double-stop with a B-note)/G chord, then up to an A-note/A chord and moving upwards happily in major second intervals. Many (but not all) Old Time versions (‘New Five Cents’, ‘Ruffled Drawers’ or ‘Buffalo Nickel’) tend to keep dipping down to the low D-note/D chord and use fewer chords than Bluegrass versions which are based on Paul Warren’s version. This setting uses a lot of fretting-hand ornamentation and makes for a lovely hornpipe.
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish Style: Other Key: G Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Expert
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 1/17/2018
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Notes: The oldest Irish versions of this tune are in G Dorian (two parts), with even older Scottish versions under different names. Many two-part versions are in G Mixolydian and are very close to 'Paddy on the Turnpike'. This version is fairly contemporary, similar to Eileen Ivers', John Carty's and Matt Cranitch's fiddle versions, all of which have three parts. This version has a little more "D-ness" to it thanks to Eileen's version. (I would not call this 'Paddy on the Turnpike', which only has two parts. I have other three-part Celtic fingerstyle versions of this tune with more "F-ness" to them.)
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish Style: Other Key: G Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Intermediate
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 6/30/2014
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Notes: Similar to the rendition on my recording for Complete Book of Irish & Celtic 5-String Banjo, and in my BHO Music Files. Note fretting-hand fingerings: index (i), middle (m), ring (r), and pinky (p) fingers. I could have used (l) for little finger, but it looks too much like the "i" for index, so I opted for "p" (pinky).
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish Style: Unknown/None Chosen Key: G Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Intermediate
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 11/17/2017
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Notes: Parts A, B, C (1st JPEG) and parts D, E and F (2nd JPEG): Educational tab based on the bagpiping tune by Canadian Neil Dickie, and keeping with free-use guidelines (not for money). This version is in the key of G, while Neil's piping version is in A. (c) Copyright 1983 by Neil Dickie, SOCAN.
Genre: Bluegrass Style: Bluegrass (Scruggs) Key: G Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Beginner
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 6/15/2015
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Notes: I have this exact tab recorded note-for-note in the BHO music files, played to a piano backing track so that I could put in bass movement and chords in order for the syncopated figures to be heard against the normal downbeats and strong beats. I also play this with a considerable amount of swing (bounce) which gives the tune an even more syncopated feeling. This is a cakewalk, similar to ragtime, though it could be sped up and played as a driving breakdown. Playing tip: as tempo increases, the more the bounce (degree of swing) tends to even out. The focus here is to demonstrate syncopation and accenting in Scruggs-style picking. Big thanks to Taj Mahal for this lovely tune.
Genre: Bluegrass Style: Bluegrass (Scruggs) Key: G Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Beginner
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 6/15/2015
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Notes: I have this exact tab recorded note-for-note in the BHO music files, played to a piano backing track so that I could put in bass movement and chords in order for the syncopated figures to be heard against the normal downbeats and strong beats. I also play this with a considerable amount of swing (bounce) which gives the tune an even more syncopated feeling. This is a cakewalk, similar to ragtime, though it could be sped up and played as a driving breakdown (see other tab). Playing tip: as tempo increases, the more the bounce (degree of swing) tends to even out. The focus here is to demonstrate syncopation and accenting in Scruggs-style picking. Big thanks to Taj Mahal for this lovely tune.
Genre: Bluegrass Style: Bluegrass (Scruggs) Key: A Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Intermediate
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 11/19/2015
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Notes: Bill Keith played this live at the Eagle Tavern in New York on March 20, 1988. Capo II to play in A.
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish Style: Other Key: Bm Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Intermediate
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 4/10/2013
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Notes: These are A-Part Fretting and Picking-Hand exercises for the tune which appears (as a beginner version in its entirety) in my recent Mel Bay Book/CD compilation, Easy Irish & Celtic Session Tunes for 5-String Banjo: Best-Loved Jigs and Reels (MB21597BCD).
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish Style: Other Key: D Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Intermediate
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 1/10/2010 - 5 Member Comments
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Notes: Originally known as 'Jackson's Victory' (while he was still popular) and later changed to the 'Eighth of January', we also know this favorite tune as the melody or "air" to the 'Battle of New Orleans'. Notice the Celtic-sounding drones and raggy syncopation I have put into the second part to give it more lift. I use a lot of staccoto-single-string work in the second part to capture the melody down the neck, but it could also be played an octave higher in a more legato-melodic style.
Genre: Bluegrass Style: Bluegrass (Scruggs) Key: G Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Intermediate
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 1/10/2010
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Notes: This is a Scruggsy version of the tune; please also see my two other more melodic/single-string versions, one in D Major, another in G Major.
Genre: Bluegrass Style: Other Key: G Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Beginner
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 1/10/2010
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Notes: See my melodic version in D and my Scruggsier version in G. Originally known as 'Jackson's Victory' (while he was still popular) and later changed to the 'Eighth of January', we also know this favorite tune as the melody or "air" to the 'Battle of New Orleans'. Notice the Celtic-sounding drones and raggy syncopation I have put into the second part to give it more lift. I use a lot of staccoto-single-string work in the second part to capture the melody down the neck, but it could also be played an octave higher in a more legato-melodic style.
Genre: Bluegrass Style: Other Key: C Tuning: Drop C (gCGBD) Difficulty: Expert
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 1/25/2010
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Notes: For Paddy Kiernan, who proved to me about reaching top speed with accuracy using 21st-century picking-hand fingerings. I've also tabbed this here in D and G (both melodic/single-string), also a Scruggsy version (G), and now this one in Drop C tuning, dedicated to Bill Keith.
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish Style: Other Key: D Difficulty: Expert
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 1/13/2010 - 1 Member Comments
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Notes: Here I make (1) “melismatic variations” in the form of grace notes, using slides and pull-offs, (2) “intervallic variations” by moving away from the normal melody, substituting higher and lower notes, also developing a series of either ascending or descending note patterns, and (3) “rhythmic variations” in the form of syncopation, also by making two eighth notes a quarter note (as in the first full measure), or by making a quarter note two eighth notes (as in measures 6 and 10, on the third beat). The pinches, sometimes straight, sometimes syncopated, serve as examples of combined intervallic-rhythmic variation.
I have doubled the parts, also breaking them up into units of four measures each, indicated by a heavy bar line, putting in variations that sound good to me after all these years playing the tune.
Within the A and B sections, the order of parts can be moved around any way you want, but here I start with the simple before moving to the more complex. One can go back to playing the tune’s structure as AB, instead of doubling both sections.
The tune structure here is actually A1, A2, A3, A4; B1, B2, B3, B4. These are not the only variations, obviously, but these are what I like to hear and play. It’s about playing the sounds that you want to hear, not about playing variations just to play them, or an abstract exercise.
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish Style: Other Key: D Difficulty: Intermediate
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 4/18/2011 - 2 Member Comments
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Notes: Okay, here's a tune from my very first book (Limited Printing First Edition - 1994), in manuscript form: 25 Traditional Irish & Celtic Tunes. I expanded that book and made a CD, at the request of Bill Bay, to produce: Mel Bay’s Complete Book of Irish & Celtic 5-String Banjo.
Genre: Bluegrass Style: Bluegrass (Scruggs) Key: G Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Intermediate
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 6/25/2015 - 1 Member Comments
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Notes: This is based on the original Reno & Smiley recording. It's heavily syncopated and very striking: Reno accented a lot of melody notes on the offbeats, also brushing with his thumb, letting the banjo ring into the downbeat, and his staccato single-string work is legendary stuff, a bold stylistic departure from Earl's approach. This is one of Reno's signature tunes, perhaps his answer to Scruggs' 'Foggy Mountain Breakdown'. (See page 1 and 2.)
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish Style: Other Key: G Difficulty: Intermediate
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 3/21/2013
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Notes: This in an original tuning, f#EGBD (Hanway Celtic E Modal).
Genre: Jazz Style: Other Key: G Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Expert
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 1/17/2018
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Notes: Great jazz tune, here using voice-leading, with harmony notes underneath and melody on top. It's a straight version of the "head." I also have an intermediate version with easier chords, and another version uses chord arpeggios, rolling through the chords, but not concerned with stating the melody, just playing around it for fun. Enjoy!
Genre: Jazz Style: Other Key: G Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Intermediate
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 1/17/2018
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Notes: Great jazz tune, here using chord arpeggios, rolling through the chords, but not concerned with stating the melody, just playing around it for fun. I have two others (intermediate and advanced) using voice-leading, with harmony notes underneath and melody on top. Both are very straight versions of the "head." Enjoy!
Genre: Jazz Style: Other Key: G Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Intermediate
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 6/25/2015
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Notes: Great jazz tune, here using voice-leading, with harmony notes underneath and melody on top. It's a very straight version of the "head." I also have an advanced version of this using fuller chords. Another version uses chord arpeggios, rolling through the chords, but not concerned with stating the melody, just playing around it for fun! Enjoy!
Genre: Jazz Style: Other Key: G Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Expert
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 11/15/2015
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Notes: This is the standard notation and chords to my tablature setting, How High the Moon (Advanced).
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish Style: Unknown/None Chosen Key: G Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Intermediate
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 5/3/2016
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Notes: This is a lovely reel that I find works beautifully in between 'The Man of the House' and 'The Cameronian', here presented in Celtic fingerstyle.
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish Style: Unknown/None Chosen Key: G Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Intermediate
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 5/3/2016
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Notes: Similar to my original setting, here I include intervallic variation (both parts) and rhythmic variation, incorporating a string of triplets in the B part. The "short" (fiddle) rolls or graced triplets in the first part of my first setting are now replaced by a pair of 16th notes and an 8th note, and are typical Scottish fiddle ornaments used for reels and hornpipes. This tune could be turned into a Scottish strathspey by inserting Scots snaps (reverse dotted pairs) and dotted-eighth-note combinations.
Genre: Bluegrass Style: Bluegrass (Scruggs) Key: A Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Beginner
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 8/26/2015 - 1 Member Comments
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Notes: Here is a Scruggsy arrangement for the OT tune, with some melodic and Celtic-style flourishes.
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish Style: Other Key: D Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Intermediate
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 3/13/2016 - 4 Member Comments
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Notes: Here is an almost bare bones arrangement (standard notation) for the traditional reel in D major. Notice how I use an F# in spots (not the usual B-note). I've also changed a commonly played triplet (B-part) to two 16th notes followed by an 8th note, which has more punch, less bounce, than the triplet. It's called a "treble" no matter how it is notated.
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish Style: 4-String (Tenor/Plectrum) Key: G Tuning: Tenor Irish (GDAE) Difficulty: Intermediate
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 2/25/2016
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Notes: In gratitude to Mike Keyes. This version (G) is based on Micho Russell's (Co. Clare) tin whistle version in F.
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish Style: Other Key: G Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Intermediate
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 12/18/2017
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Notes: This Irish fingerstyle version (G) is based on Micho Russell's (Co. Clare) tin whistle version in F. It has a bit of a lilt to it, and is not played too fast. It's a laid-back two-part version that can stand on its own or go with other tunes.
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish Style: Other Key: G Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Expert
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 12/17/2017
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Notes: Here is a nine-part-contest version of the famous Scottish reel—not for the faint of heart. I have it in G, but obviously, it can be capoed to A. These are advanced Irish fingerstyle variations (G tuning) that use ornamentation in the form of triplets, inspired by legend Anthony Sullivan, who pioneered 4-string variations in A (GDAE tuning). In that same spirit, I have added (optional) chords and a fancy ending that is reminiscent of frenzied fiddlers bringing the tune home. One doesn't have to play all nine parts, and they can be combined and re-combined to suit one's taste; in other words, make this tune as long or as short as you want.
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish Style: Other Key: C Tuning: Drop C (gCGBD) Difficulty: Intermediate
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 5/19/2015 - 1 Member Comments
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Notes: This quirky tune from the Penquin Cafe Orchestra has found its way into mainstream Irish and Celtic music as a reel. I've put it back to its original keys, and it can be capoed up two or four frets.
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish Style: Other Key: D Tuning: Drop C (gCGBD) Difficulty: Intermediate
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 12/1/2015
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Notes: I now have a harmony part for this, tab to follow. I had put it back to its original keys, and it can be capoed up two or four frets. Start with capo 2 for Irish Trad sessions because it begins and ends in the key of D. It's easy on the 5-string, and it’s a fabulous tune closert, a real crowd-pleaser. It works for Sharon Shannon among others.
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish Style: Other Key: D Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Expert
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 1/7/2017
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Notes: Music for a Found Harmonium (Harmony), pages 1 and 2.
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish Style: Unknown/None Chosen Key: C Tuning: Drop C (gCGBD) Difficulty: Intermediate
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 5/8/2016
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Notes: Here's a snapshot standard arrangement that matches my tab of the same tune based on the original Penguin Cafe Orchestra version.
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish Style: Other Key: C Tuning: Drop C (gCGBD) Difficulty: Intermediate
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 5/8/2016 - 1 Member Comments
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Notes: Here's a snapshot tab arrangement that matches my standard version of the same tune based on the original Penguin Cafe Orchestra version.
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish Style: Unknown/None Chosen Key: D Tuning: Drop C (gCGBD) Difficulty: Intermediate
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 5/8/2016
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Notes: I play this on the 5-string in a dropped C-tuning, capoed up two frets. But it works on tenor banjo, and a variety of tunings can be used. Which instrument and tuning suits your style best?
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish Key: D Tuning: Drop C (gCGBD) Difficulty: Intermediate
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 4/28/2016
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Notes: Now popular in Irish trad, this setting is based on Sharon Shannon's version. Notice the trebles.
Genre: Traditional Style: Other Key: D Tuning: Double C (gCGCD) Difficulty: Intermediate
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 6/9/2015
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Notes: Here is the setting (for my mp3) using Double D tuning (Double C-Capo II) for ‘New Five Cents’, the Old Time reel that goes under interchangeable titles. The titles create confusion since there are two main branches in Old Time and further regional, local and bluegrass variants. The A Part is pretty close in most versions with one noticeable variation – either dipping down to an A-note or rising up to F# in the second and sixth measures. This variation is found in both Old Time and Bluegrass versions and a G chord is sometimes played in these spots. It’s in the B Part (fifth and sixth measures) where the melodic contour branches in one of two directions – either dipping down from the fifth (A) to the tonic (D)/D chord, or, as Paul Warren played it (New Five Cents), using a G-note double-stop with a B-note)/G chord, then up to an A-note/A chord and moving upwards happily in major second intervals. Many (but not all) Old Time versions (‘New Five Cents’, ‘Ruffled Drawers’ or ‘Buffalo Nickel’) tend to keep dipping down to the low D-note/D chord and use fewer chords than Bluegrass versions which are based on Paul Warren’s version.
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish Style: Other Key: D Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Intermediate
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 10/25/2015
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Notes: This is for Bill Keith, my hero, friend and mentor. Here is a legato arrangement in Celtic Fingerstyle (G tuning, no capo), not unlike Bill Keith's bluegrass version but adding rhythmic and melismatic ornamentation in the form of triplets and double cuts (double-grace notes). Enjoy!
Genre: Traditional Style: Other Key: D Tuning: Double C (gCGCD) Difficulty: Intermediate
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 6/9/2015
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Notes: Here is a straightforward setting using Double D tuning (Double C-Capo II) for the Old Time reel that goes under interchangeable titles. The titles create confusion since there are two main branches in Old Time and further regional, local and bluegrass variants. The A Part is pretty close in most versions with one noticeable variation – either dipping down to an A-note or rising up to F# in the second and sixth measures. This variation is found in both Old Time and Bluegrass versions and a G chord is sometimes played in these spots. It’s in the B Part (fifth and sixth measures) where the melodic contour branches in one of two directions – either dipping down from the fifth (A) to the tonic (D)/D chord, or, as Paul Warren played it (New Five Cents), using a G-note double-stop with a B-note)/G chord, then up to an A-note/A chord and moving upwards happily in major second intervals. Many (but not all) Old Time versions (‘New Five Cents’, ‘Ruffled Drawers’ or ‘Buffalo Nickel’) tend to keep dipping down to the low D-note/D chord and use fewer chords than Bluegrass versions which are based on Paul Warren’s version.
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish Style: Unknown/None Chosen Key: G Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Beginner
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 5/3/2016
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Notes: 'Speed the Plough' is a very old traditional tune that has morphed into many other tunes. This is for 5-string banjo enthusiasts who love a good fiddle tune from the days of yore.
Genre: Bluegrass Style: Bluegrass (Scruggs) Key: D Tuning: aDGBD Difficulty: Intermediate
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 2/21/2016
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Notes: Scruggs's version from the Martha White Radio Show, June 1953.
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish Style: Unknown/None Chosen Key: Em Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Beginner
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 4/16/2013
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Notes: The prototype Tom Hanway Stelling Swallowtail is named for this jig, also the reel, and the book Swallow Barn. Here's the whole tune in E Dorian mode with melodic and rhythmic variations using grace notes, plus some picking-hand options.
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish Style: Unknown/None Chosen Key: D Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Beginner
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 4/10/2013
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Notes: This is an exercise in Celtic fingerstyle banjo illustrating possible melodic variations for the opening phrase of this jig, also comfortable fretting-hand and picking-hand options. This is in E Dorian (a mode using the same notes as D Major).
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish Style: Other Key: Em Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Intermediate
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 5/16/2015 - 3 Member Comments
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Notes: This tune has found its way into Irish traditional music circles, and I play it regularly with James Wickham (button accordion) at the Cryan's session in Carrick on Bannow, Co. Leitrim. James and I have moved it up to Em in a tune medley, followed by 'Ships are Sailing' and then a tune in D, depending, sometimes 'St. Anne's Reel' or 'The Maid Behind the Bar'. It always goes over well with the punters.
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish Style: Other Key: Dm Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Beginner
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 12/14/2017
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Notes: The Irish reel credited to Davey Arthur. This is a bare-bones setting for the tune with minimal ornamentation. The picking-hand fingerings have a purpose: maximum speed, so try to incorporate them and don't revert to TITI TITI patterns if you hope to play this at the fastest session tempos. I also put in fretting-hand fingerings as a courtesy. };^D>
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish Style: Other Key: Dm Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Intermediate
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 12/14/2017
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Notes: The Irish reel credited to Davey Arthur. This is a session-friendly setting for the tune with picking-hand ornamentation. The picking-hand fingerings have a purpose: maximum speed, so try to incorporate them and don't revert to TITI TITI patterns if you hope to play this at the fastest session tempos. I also put in fretting-hand fingerings as a courtesy. };^D>
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish Style: Other Key: Dm Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Expert
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 12/14/2017 - 1 Member Comments
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Notes: This is an advanced setting for the popular Irish reel in D Minor, and as a courtesy, I have included fretting- and picking-hand fingerings. It's Celtic fingerstyle at its most elaborate, loosely based on Brian Conway's fiddle playing, a tune credited to Davey Arthur. This setting can be transposed further up the neck because it uses no open strings, so try E Minor, F Minor, G Minor, A Minor and B Minor; okay, C Minor is as high as it goes! };^D>
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish Style: Other Key: G Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Intermediate
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 7/14/2014
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Notes: This transcription is pretty close to the setting I used for Mel Bay's Complete Book of Irish & Celtic 5-String Banjo (1998). The notes are the same, but the fingerings are slightly different.
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish Style: Other Key: D Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Intermediate
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 2/11/2013 - 1 Member Comments
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Notes: These are variations on the first four measures in Celtic fingerstyle banjo.
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish Style: Other Key: D Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Intermediate
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 7/7/2014
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Notes: Here's the very popular reel which I played up-the-neck at slow speed for beginners on Easy Irish and Celtic Session Tunes for 5-String Banjo: Best-Loved Jigs and Reels. This tablature is slightly different from how it is transcribed and played in that collection, but the notes are the same. Please find my Mel Bay Celtic collections (200 tunes) here: http://www.melbay.com/Author/Default.aspx?AuthorId=37876
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish Style: Other Key: Am Difficulty: Intermediate
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 5/16/2011 - 1 Member Comments
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Notes: This classic Irish reel is in A Dorian mode, not A minor. It's from my first self-published book, 25 Traditional Irish & Celtic Tunes for the Bluegrass Banjo Player (1994).
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish Style: Unknown/None Chosen Key: G Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Intermediate
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 5/3/2016 - 1 Member Comments
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Notes: Twenty-four variations on the Opening Phrase using the three general kinds of Celtic decoration (rhythmic, melismatic, intervallic) in various combinations.
Genre: Fiddle/Celtic/Irish Style: Other Key: Em Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Beginner
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 2/8/2016
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Genre: Traditional Style: Other Key: G Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Intermediate
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 2/4/2018
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Notes: Thanks to Larry Campbell (OT fiddle) and Joel Hooks (classic banjo) for this hybrid arrangement (AABBACCDD). Here are all the parts, though it's still possible to play the tune like an Irish polka (AABB), or using different combinations of the original four piano parts as composed by Kerry Mills (1899). Some tunes stand the test of time.
Genre: Bluegrass Style: Bluegrass (Scruggs) Key: G Tuning: Standard Open G (gDGBD) Difficulty: Intermediate
Posted by Tom Hanway, updated: 6/15/2015
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Notes: Notice all the syncopation in this old cakewalk. I tabbed this for bluegrass banjo players who are looking for new and interesting tunes. Actually, this one dates from 1899. It's Scruggsy but also combines melodic and single-string playing. I will soon tab another version with the C-Part (rare).
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