Commonly played ITM sets

Trad Irish Music
1

I’m fairly new to the Irish Traditional Music scene, and even more so my friends that I’ve inspired to join me in this wonderful journey. There’s great interest in the music in my surroundings, but not much knowledge. I’ve started joining sessions, and the enjoyment grows for every time! To quicken the development of my friends, I’ve decided to try and pull off some beginner’s sessions for me, my friends, and others who want to get a taste of it. We’ll play at a moderate tempo, and mainly play songs that were decided in advance.

To do this, I’m going to compile a list of the most commonly played tunes, grouped in the most commonly played sets. This is where I need help. What tunes are the most commonly played at your sessions? I’ve found this question asked on a wide range of forums, so I’ve got a general idea there. In order for me to lead the session though, I’m curious of what set of tunes you fellows normally play? I understand that this various a lot from player to player, time to time, and place to place, I just want to get a general idea.

I’m very thankful for all and any information on this matter! If you find my method to be bad, or hindering the development of a good “ear” for ITM, then I’d prefer to discuss that in private messages in order to keep this on track. I want to play ITM with my friends. My friends want to play ITM with me. My friends need some help on the road in order to play it, and I’ve got the time to write sheet music and make simple recordings for them. (And I’ve already gathered a whole bunch of recordings for them, for inspiration on how ITM is “supposed” to sound, and how every instrument is normally played to sound more “Irish”.) So, I might get a bit defensive if my method is criticized in this post, but I’m more than happy to discuss it in private messages. If you have any inputs on that, I’m all ears to ideas!

Thanks you very much for you time!
Best regards
Gusten, Sweden

2

Sorry guys, I realize I sound rather lazy asking for this. After much searching on thesession.org, I’ve compiled a list of what seems to be commonly played sets. Let’s start this discussion off with that, and maybe you can verify or sort out what seems to be common or not.


Tarbolton/Longford Collector/Sailor’s Bonnet

Tulla/Skylark/Roaring Mary

Lord McDonalds/Ballinasloe Fair or O’Rourkes/Irish Girl

the two Copperplates

the Bothy Band’s Salamanca/Banshee/Sailor’s

O’Rourke’s/the Wild Irishman

The Teetotaller/The Scholar/The Traveller

Haste to the Wedding/Tripping up Stairs

Boys of Bluehill/Harvest home

Speed the Plough/Shaskeen/Congress

Cuckoo’s Nest/Home Ruler

Tone Rowe’s/Rambling Pitchfork/The Black Rogue

Rose in the Heather/Caliope House/Going to the Well

Down the Broom/ The Gatehouse Maid

The Humours of Tullycrine/ Mickey Callaghan’s

Rolling in the Barrell/ The Tap Room/ The Earl’s Chair

Lady Anne Montgommery/ Maude Miller/ Molloy’s

Taim in Arrears/ Hardiman the Fiddlers

The Old Time Wedding Reel x 3

King George IV/ The Old King’s Reel/ The King’s Reel

John Stenson’s #s 1 & 2

Dinny O’Brien’s/Farewell to Connaught

The Blackberry Blossom/Dick Gossip’s

Doonagore/Road to Monalea/McGovern’s

John Carty’s/Feeding the Birds/Bunker Hill

Brosna/Mick Duggan’s/Denis Murphy’s

Dickie Sherlock’s/The Mountain Top/Last Night’s Fun

Humours of Tulla/The Bucks of Oranmore/Jolly Tinker

Faroe Rum/Aandowin at da Bow/Forfeit o da Ship

Fermoy Lasses / Dunmore Lasses / Limerick Lasses

Jer The Rigger/John Ryan/Dennis Murphy

Over The Waterfall/March of Saint Timothy

The Tarbolton /The Longford Collector/The Sailor’s Bonnet


Thank you!

3

I recognize

Though the Tulla is pretty optional in that set, and it’s been ages and ages since I heard the Salamanca set.

I know lots of the other tunes you list (though note that some of them aren’t ITM), but none of those sets sound familiar at all.

Other classic sets that pop to mind are
Liffey Banks / Shaskeen (/ Bag of Spuds)
Boys of Ballisodare / Five Mile Chase
Boys of the Lough / Devils of Dublin

4

This is exactly the kind of input I was hoping for, thank you! I expect people’s experience of what is “common” to vary, would be surprising otherwise. I’ll probably never have all the people interested in playing learn all of those tunes anyways, so it’s great to narrow it down to what most people recognize. Thanks alot for your reply!

5

I meant to add that one great thing about these sets (at least the ones I know) are that it is pretty easy to find great traditional recordings of them to study: Michael Coleman, Joe Cooley, “An Historic Recording Of Irish Music”, etc…

6

I’ve been trying to create my own sets. In other words, at least sets I’ve never heard in sessions, recordings or otherwise.

7

Man, you went all out. Those are some tunes I need to look up. Thanks for that.

8

Here’s the ones I can remember:



Boys of Bluehill/Off to California – hornpipes
Connaughtman’s Rambles/Donnybrook Fair/Dusty Windowsills – jigs
Rattlin’ bog/Egan’s Polka
Mickey Chewing Bubblegum(Sweeney’s)/Maids of Ardaugh/Finnish Polka
Kesh Jig with anything — jigs
Blackthornstick/My Darling Asleep — jigs
Banish Misfortune/Cliffs of Moher ----jigs
Butterfly/Barney Bralligan —slip jigs
Road to Lisdoonvarna/Lonesome Road to Dingle(Brosna)/Dingle Regatta—slip jigs
Denis Murphy’s Slide/Cul Aodh slide
Shoe the Donkey (Vienna Walt)/Sonny Brogan’s/JOhn Doherty’s mazurka
St Anne’s/Father Kelly’s --reels
Silver Spear/Sally garden --reels
Redhaired boy/Reconciliation/Star of Munster—reels
Hgh Reel/Banshee/Dick Gossip’s --reels
Rolling in the Ryegrass/Come west Along the Road—reels
Drops of Brandy/Comb Your Hair and Curl it–slip jigs
Roddy McCorley/Foggy Dew—marches
dawning of the Day/Star of the County Down—marches

9

Thanks for the list of sets! Recognize most of them (unlike on my list).

I think I’m going with a different strategy here though. I brought a recording device on the last local “real” session I went to, so now I have most of the tunes they usually play there. I will make notations on the ones I like the most from there, and introduce to my “newbie session” group. That way they are more likely to be able to tag along on some tunes when they eventually go live. Beside what was played on the last local session, I will make my own sets of tunes that are listed as the most common on various web pages. If I try to use the most common tunes, rather than sets, my buddies are more likely to find tunes every now and then to tag along with.

10

Hi Gusten - Yes ITM is a wonderful hobby - I’m loving it too! I think you hit on the best thing last - to record your sessions and learn the tunes as played at the session. Unless you don’t plan to session & just want to learn tunes I think playing to recordings of live players is best.

Deisman

11

We had a musician in town who did something like this. The result ten years later is that you can’t play certain tunes in session without some players habitually playing the whole set. It’s as if they learned the sets as six-part tunes with a particular set of repeats.

I understand the necessity of having a tune list and even sheet music (shudder) for new players, but you will become much stronger players by making up different sets with your tunes each week. Your session leader should be able to hold the transitions together until everyone gets good at it.

Personally, I usually string together whatever comes to mind. Sometimes I do classic sets like the Coleman Earl’s Chair/Woman of the House, but folks play the Earl’s Chair with other tunes just as often. I have a couple sets I like but I try not to bludgeon other players with them week after week. :wink:

12

A better approach would be to compile a list of common tunes for your session players to learn, and then let them come up with their own sets. There’s plenty of lists of common session tunes out there.