Comments

minor reels

minor reels

could you let me know your favourite reels in Dmin or Amin

# Posted on February 17th 2006 by megaleemoo

Re: minor reels

The Porthole of the Kelp, which I can't play in the original key. There are tons of great tunes in Ador, but Sonny's Return (aka. Paddy Lynn's Delight) is a beautiful tune which isn't overplayed.

# Posted on February 17th 2006 by slainte

Re: minor reels

Guns of the Magnificent Seven in Am. Congress, also Am.

# Posted on February 17th 2006 by TheSilverSpear

Re: minor reels

alex campbell's is a good tune in Amin.

it's on the site somewhere

# Posted on February 17th 2006 by flamin fiddler

Re: minor reels

Are minor reels for Morris dancers?

# Posted on February 17th 2006 by showaddydadito

Re: minor reels

Groan ....

# Posted on February 17th 2006 by Ottery

Re: minor reels

Ay thang you . . . .

# Posted on February 17th 2006 by showaddydadito

Re: minor reels

Here are some Aminor favorites. Gravel Walks, because I love how it goes to C major in the last part. Star of Munster. Brenda Subbarts (sp?).

# Posted on February 17th 2006 by AlBrown

Re: minor reels

The Old Bush morphs back and forth between Adorian and A mix

# Posted on February 17th 2006 by wormdiet

Re: minor reels

Does it count if it goes to the major in the 2nd part?

Abbeyleix - a Sean Ryan composition. Dmin (actually D Dorian - but almost all of the above tunes are in fact in the Dorian mode, so I think I can get away with it) in the 1st part and D major in the 2nd.

To my ear, The Old Bush is in Dmix - it just doesn't come to rest very often. But then, it depends whether you play it with all the Cs natural or with some of them sharp.

# Posted on February 17th 2006 by ragaman

Re: minor reels

Tam Lin - amazing tune.
Julia Delaney
Grumbling Old Man, Cackling Old Woman
Gravel Walks
Paddy Fahy's (I know there are a couple - this one is especially nice: http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/463 )

# Posted on February 17th 2006 by Crysania

Re: minor reels

I must caveat that some of these "Minor" tunes are actually "Dorian" tunes, we sometimes have a sloppy tendency to put categorize Dorian tunes as Minor. For what that distinction really means, ask someone smarter than me.

# Posted on February 17th 2006 by AlBrown

Re: minor reels

The Maid in the Cherry Tree A Dorian
The Broken Pledge in D Dorian

# Posted on February 17th 2006 by Hanley

Re: minor reels

Here's a couple of "non major" favorites of mine :

The Kylebrack Ramblers
The Star Of Munster
The Congress
Faheys

Check out Paddy O"Brian (Tipperary) compositions for some sweet tunes.

# Posted on February 17th 2006 by Strathfoyle

Re: minor reels

Somebody should make a catalog of Fahey tunes and give them names or numbers. There must be fifty tunes known only as “Paddy Fahey’s.”

# Posted on February 17th 2006 by Bob himself

Re: minor reels

Isn't the reel in question actually called "Paddy Fahy's No. 1"?

# Posted on February 17th 2006 by fidkid

Re: minor reels

Bobhimself,
Maybe Fahey should be like Beethoven and Mozart, and have Opus 1, Opus 2, etc etc!!

# Posted on February 17th 2006 by AlBrown

Re: minor reels

Allegedly, he gives the tunes numbers, but I've never seen anything past #2. The Kane Sisters' two albums together have fourteen Fahey tunes, all unnumbered.

# Posted on February 17th 2006 by Bob himself

Re: minor reels

Bonepart Crossing the Rockies.
I know historians may disagree on the historical truth of this......

# Posted on February 17th 2006 by Guernsey Pete

Re: minor reels

Dinkie's!

http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/24

# Posted on February 17th 2006 by Wurzel

Re: minor reels

The Morning Dew

http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/69

# Posted on February 17th 2006 by mickray

Re: minor reels

Here's a couple of fun ones in addition to the above worthy tunes...
(A dorian) Man of the House, Paddy Ryan's Dream, Hunter's Purse...
(G dorian) Farewell to Milltown, The GIrl Who Broke My Heart...
(E dorian) Green Fields of Rossbeigh, Nine Pint Coggie, and The Roseate Tern (by Cape Breton composer/fiddler Paul Cranford, which could possibly found on his website - cranfordpub.com - and though not strictly ITM, is a very nice minor reel indeed).

# Posted on February 17th 2006 by drone

Re: minor reels

I second Tamlin.

Easter Sunday is pretty good for Amin.

# Posted on February 17th 2006 by Unseen122

Re: minor reels

"Bonepart Crossing the Rockies." - Pete, I remember reading somewhere that he did cross the Rockies ..on Elephants .......or was it Kangaroos?

# Posted on February 17th 2006 by Ptarmigan

Re: minor reels

lol, not ALL morris tunes are minor. Some of them yes, but most of them are quite major and happy.

# Posted on February 17th 2006 by banana512

Re: minor reels

Cherry tree is pretty good

# Posted on February 18th 2006 by dorian

Re: minor reels

Thanks, I’ll start looking at them and giving them a play. We do a set at the moment: autumn child, barefoot bride, butterfly; and I really am a sucker for the minor keys (or dorian, sorry, sorry, lol) I’d like to put together a few more nice sets

# Posted on February 18th 2006 by megaleemoo

Re: minor reels

abbeyleix isnt in the files, do u have thabc quirl?

# Posted on February 18th 2006 by megaleemoo

Re: minor reels

yes it is megaleemoo, look properly!

# Posted on February 18th 2006 by megaleemoo

Re: minor reels

julia delaneys donkey in Dm is ok

# Posted on February 18th 2006 by Ripthecalico

Re: minor reels

The Green Fields of Glentown?
Farewell to Erin?
The Abbey?
(Why am I using all these question marks???????)

# Posted on February 18th 2006 by hurleystick

Re: minor reels

I'm not sure if it's in E or B but Richard Dwyer's is a great tune.

# Posted on February 18th 2006 by wormdiet

Re: minor reels

Brenda Stubberts A dorian Is there another name for Barefoot bride?

# Posted on February 18th 2006 by dorian

Re: minor reels

What the hell is "Dorian", never heard of it before?

# Posted on February 19th 2006 by tirvaluk

Re: minor reels

Just like E minor is the relative minor to G major,
A Dorian is the relative Dorian to G Major

In other words, A Dorian, E minor and G major all use the same notes, but have a different tonic.

So A Dorian is A B C D E F# G

A Dorian has a minor feel to it becuase the third is flattened in comparison to A major.

# Posted on February 19th 2006 by BegF

Re: minor reels

One easy way to learn the modes is with a piano because you can visually see the whole steps and half steps. The whole steps have a black key in between, and half steps don't. If you only play the white keys, C-to-C is major, D-to-D is dorian, and G-to-G is mixolydian, and A-to-A is minor. There are other modes too, but these are the ones you'll encounter with ITM. Many times people unfamiliar with ITM will think a tune in the dorian mode is minor, but most “minor” tunes are actually dorian. There are only a few truly minor tunes in ITM.

# Posted on February 19th 2006 by Phantom Button

Re: minor reels

Maybe you should tend to the garden instead. ;-)

# Posted on February 19th 2006 by Phantom Button

Re: minor reels

Beer???!!! I'll be right over. :-P

# Posted on February 19th 2006 by Phantom Button

Re: minor reels

The Red Crow!
Fabulous tune really.

Also, if you just want tune with thode keys, just do a tune search here, leave the name blank, and put in a reel and either Dm or Am, or anything else you want.

# Posted on February 19th 2006 by Red Crow

Re: minor reels

By what twisted logic is "The Old Bush" in D? In both the first and second parts it quite clearly resolve to A repeatedly. Sure the pickup notes ("anacrusis" to sound like a dork) start on D. . . but there must be a better reason. . . or I am thinking of a different tune.

Or somebody is getting key signatures confused with modes?

# Posted on February 19th 2006 by wormdiet

Re: minor reels

Hey worm, the Old Bush is a D mix tune that starts on an Amin chord but resolves to D. It toggles between using an F natural and F sharp that throws it temporarily towards a major mode, but it's swiftly pulled back. One of the main characteristics is the heavy use of the dominant C chord (mixolydian mode). The B part of the tune starts with this. If it were in the A minor or dorian mode you wouldn't find the sub-mediant (C) or 3-chord coming into play like that.

This is one of the aspects of ITM that grabbed my head initially.

# Posted on February 19th 2006 by Phantom Button

Re: minor reels

Sorry, I meant to say mediant instead of submediant. The mediant is the third tone of a scale, and the submediant is the sixth. In A minor or dorian the C chord would be the mediant. It would be unusual to use the C chord in that mode whereas it would be very common in D mix.

# Posted on February 20th 2006 by Phantom Button

Re: minor reels

I thought that those names only applied to the tones when they come in the order of the major scale rather than other modes. Always thought that C chord in Dmix was the subtonic. Oh well...

I use a C chord as a prominent chord in A min/dor tunes all the time. Guess it boils down to personal preference.

# Posted on February 20th 2006 by Dow

Re: minor reels

Would you use it as a main chord, or as a substitution?

# Posted on February 20th 2006 by Phantom Button

Re: minor reels

Substitution. But I'd still consider doing stuff like starting a B-part with it and putting it in other prominent places. But before we get into a silly argument, I'd agree that C is more important in Dmix. But I wouldn't have said that C is "unusual" in Amin/dor, that's all.

# Posted on February 20th 2006 by Dow

Re: minor reels

Ok... agreed, I was referring to main chords as opposed to substitute chords when I said "uncommon."

# Posted on February 20th 2006 by Phantom Button

Re: minor reels

So now all I have to do is get you to agree with me about the "subtonic" thing. Although maybe it's too much to expect the mighty Phantom to back down and agree with me twice in one sitting. Worth a try though :-D

# Posted on February 20th 2006 by Dow

Re: minor reels

You're right that the subdominant is the 7th scale degree, but in the mixolydian mode it functions as a dominant chord.

# Posted on February 20th 2006 by Phantom Button

Re: minor reels

No, "subtonic", not subdominant or dominant or anything else. It's the flat 7. Google "subtonic". Oo I'm so right it makes my toes curl. C'mon hurry up and back down Jack it'll make my day ;-)

# Posted on February 20th 2006 by Dow

Re: minor reels

You're funnyy, Dow. I was taught that a major chord built on the 7th note of a mixolydian scale functions as the dominant chord. If you want to call it a "subdominant," be my guest, but I prefer to think of it in terms that make sense to how the music sounds.

# Posted on February 20th 2006 by Phantom Button

Re: minor reels

sub*TONIC* not sub*DOMINANT*. You're doing this deliberately now aren't you?! :-)

# Posted on February 20th 2006 by Dow

Re: minor reels

Sorry... yes... "subtonic." hahahaha

# Posted on February 20th 2006 by Phantom Button

Re: minor reels

YESSSSSS! Now I can get on with some work :-)

# Posted on February 20th 2006 by Dow

Re: minor reels

Actually just before I go, a little aside: what you were saying about subtonic functioning like a dominant is interesting because some theorists say that it functions like a second tonic, which is why the term "dual tonic" came about. I've always had a problem with the idea of there being two tonics, because that C chord still seems to me to be secondary to the D, so in that sense it *is* more like a dominant, as you said earlier. Mind you, in tunes like the Old Bush or Rakish Paddy you can see where the notion of dual tonic comes from I suppose. I quite like the term "subtonic" though, because it gives a sense of it being "next to the tonic whilst being secondary to it".

# Posted on February 20th 2006 by Dow

Re: minor reels

Right, I'm going now. Can you pass me my anorak? I need it for the work I'll be doing today. Ta.

# Posted on February 20th 2006 by Dow

Re: minor reels

Actually I just read that the subtonic of minor keys is the dominant of the relative major which I've never thought of before. How exciting. I might go and mess around with some chord progressions instead of doing my work...

# Posted on February 20th 2006 by Dow

Re: minor reels

I thought a dominant was a lady who wore black leather and bossed people around, and that tonic was something you drank when you weren't feeling well...... ;-)

# Posted on February 20th 2006 by AlBrown

Re: minor reels

Meanwhile: the "Bonepart" was Bonaparte (sic) "Old Boney" Reed (1877-1963) who crossed the Ozarks on stilts in 1905. The joke was about how much longer the stilts would be to cross the Rockies. Incidently he never liked the name Bonaparte.and always refered to the tune as "Listowel"

# Posted on February 21st 2006 by Owell Mabee

Re: minor reels

P.S. I shall pull the other one upon request

# Posted on February 21st 2006 by Owell Mabee

Re: minor reels

Go on then, pull the other one Owell:
http://www.fairytail.com/00Galleries/images2001/boys-girls/pull.html

# Posted on February 21st 2006 by Ptarmigan

Re: minor reels

Megaleemoo - Abbeyleix is here:

http://thesession.org/tunes/display/1288

Perhaps you mistyped the title.

# Posted on February 21st 2006 by ragaman

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