The Session >> Tunes >> The Beauty Spot (reel)

Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

The Beauty Spot

reel

Key signature: Dmixolydian

Submitted on December 30th 2002 by Will Harmon.

This tune has been added to 125 tunebooks.

Also known as An Ball Seirce, Beauty Spot, Colonel Taylor's, Sean Maguires, The Tailor's Thimble.

Recordings of a tune by this name:

Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

X: 1
T: Beauty Spot, The
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: Dmix
|(3AAA GB A2 dB|cBcG EFGB|A2 GB ABdB|cBcG ED (3DDD|
|A2 GB (3AAA dB|cBcG EFGB|(3AAA Ad ~B3d|cBce ed(3ddd||
|ed (3B^cd edcd|ed^cd eaag|ed (3B^cd ed=cB|ABcd ed^cd|
|ed (3B^cd edcd|ed^cd eaag|fgdB =cABG|ABcd gedB||

Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments
The Beauty Spot sheetmusic
Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

The Beauty Spot

Most printed sources give this as D mixolydian, but I'd tend to place it in A dorian--it's the same key signature (one sharp), so I guess it boils down to whether you hear this tune as resolving to the A or D, if it ever resolves at all.

Some versions of the Beauty Spot stay in D mix/A dorian for the B part, keeping to the c naturals for those triplets. Breathnach gives another option, collected off of fiddler Tommy Potts, in Volume 1 of Ceol Rince na Eireann.

T:An Ball Seirce
L:1/8
M:4/4
K:A dorian
dB|A2 AF A2 dB|{d}cAAG EFGc|(3ABA AF A2 dB|
|cAGE ED D2|(3ABA AF A2 dB|{d}cAAG EFGc|
|(3ABA AF A2 dB|cAGE EDD2||
|e~d3 edcd|e~d3 eaag|e~d3 edcA|ABcd edd2|
|e~d3 edcd|e~d3 eaag|afge fde^c|Add^c dedc||

# Posted on December 30th 2002 by Will Harmon

Almost the same but without the ornamentation (quick transcribe from the Paddy Canny CD)
X:1
T:The Beauty Spot
M:4/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=175
K:Dmix
B|A2 GB AddB|cBcG EFGB|A2 GB AddB|cBcG EDDB|
A2 GB AddB|cBcG EFGB|AGAd B3 d|cBcG EDDB||
eddd edcd|edcd eaag|edcd eddc|ABcd eddg|
eddd edcd|edcd eaag|fgdB c2 AB|ABcd edd||

# Posted on December 30th 2002 by Bernie

Dmix or Ador

This is one of those tunes like "Jigging The Donkey" and "The Bank Of Ireland" where the backer sets the mode of the tune by the order the chords are played in, since both are implicit from the melody. Also you could mix the 2, playing a different mode each repetition of the tune. If I was using Ador I would resolve to D major chords at the end of phrases, and if Dmix then I'd resolve to G maj where the melody drops to the low D.

# Posted on January 3rd 2003 by Dr. Dow

Recorded on wax cylinder by pipers Barney Delaney (who announced it as Colonel Taylor's reel) and Patsy Touhey - transcribed in Mitchell and Small's book Piping of P.T. - and recorded on 78 RPM disk in the 20's by piper Sean O'Nolan, under the title The Tailor's Thimble.

# Posted on November 29th 2003 by KLR

The Beauty Spot

Here's a transcription of Maeve Donnelly's very different minor version played on a fiddle tuned A.EAe:

X: 1
T: Beauty Spot, The
M: C|
L: 1/8
R: reel
D: Maeve Donnelly: Maeve Donnelly
Z: Dow
K: Bdor
F3E F2BA|F2EC A,B,CE|~F3E ~F2BA|FAEA, CB,CE|
~F3E F2BA|F2EC A,B,CE|~F3A ~G3B|AFEA, CB,CE||
cBAB cB~B2|ceAB cafe|cBAB cB~B2|EFAB cB~B2|
c2AB cB~B2|ceAB cafe|~c3A BcBA|EFAB cABA||

Here's the same transcription for standard tuning (high D’s are omitted to make it more manageable on the fiddle):

X: 1
T: Beauty Spot, The
M: C|
L: 1/8
R: reel
D: Maeve Donnelly: Maeve Donnelly
Z: Dow
K: Edor
B3A B2ed|B2AF DEFA|~B3A ~B2ed|BdAD FEFA|
~B3A B2ed|B2AF DEFA|~B3d ~c3e|dBAD FEFA||
fede fe~e2|fade fbba|fede fe~e2|ABde fe~e2|
fede fe~e2|fade fbba|~f3d efed|ABde fded||

And here is the same version transposed down into the usual range for comparison with the standard setting:

X: 1
T: Beauty Spot, The
M: C|
L: 1/8
R: reel
D: Maeve Donnelly: Maeve Donnelly
Z: Dow
K: Ddor
A3G A2dc|A2GE CDEG|~A3G ~A2dc|AcGC EDEG|
~A3G A2dc|A2GE CDEG|~A3c ~B3d|cAGC EDEG||
edcd ed~d2|egcd eaag|edcd ed~d2|GAcd ed~d2|
edcd ed~d2|egcd eaag|~e3c dedc|GAcd ecdc||

Here’s an extremely groovy setting I got from James Fagan who said he’d learnt it from a piper:

X: 1
T: Beauty Spot, The
M: C|
L: 1/8
R: reel
Z: Dow
S: James Fagan
K: Dmix
A3G A2dB|BccG DEGE|GA (3BAG AdcA|BAGd edBG|
A3G A2dB|BccG DEGE|GA (3BAG AdcA|BAGd edd2||
eddA ed~d2|edcd efgd|e2dA edcA|GAcd edd2|
e2dA edcd|edcd efg2|fgef decd|ABcA GA (3BAG||

Variation for bar 4 is |EAGc edBG|
Variations for the last bar are |BcAB GAEG| and |ABGA EFGE|

Here's a version that's a bit more standard for comparison with the above:

X: 1
T: Beauty Spot, The
M: C|
L: 1/8
R: reel
Z: Dow
K: Dmix
A3G A2dB|~c3G EFGE|A2AG AddB|cBcG EDDG|
A3G A2dB|~c3G EFGE|A3c ~B3d|cBcG EDD2||
ed~d2 edcd|ed~d2 eaag|ed~d2 edcA|GAcd ed~d2|
ed~d2 edcd|ed~d2 eaag|fgef decA|GAcd egdc||

# Posted on December 5th 2006 by Dr. Dow

The Beauty Spot

As a polka(!): http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/3681

# Posted on February 24th 2007 by slainte

Go here for a similar tune http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display/2504

# Posted on September 4th 2007 by Dr. Dow

John Williams

John Williams plays what sounds like a very old version. I assume he got it from Mikilìn Conlin (RIP), an old box and concertina player from Lisdoonarna, Co Clare, who was much loved and is much missed.

# Posted on June 25th 2008 by David Levine

I heard there was an interesting story behind the name of this tune, but no one ever told me. Does anyone know?

# Posted on June 17th 2009 by Piping Crow

Story behind title of this tune

The title is a reference to the story of Diarmuid and Grainne. Diarmuid had a magical spot on his forehead that made him irresistible to any woman who saw it (I think it was either ususally invisible or he kept it covered up--it's been a while since I read the story). Grainne was betrothed to Fionn mac Cumhaill; Diarmuid was one of the Fianna. Grainne saw the spot at her betrothal feast, fell in love with Diarmuid, and they eloped. Fionn pursued them with vengeance in mind; however, eventually they are reconciled and Diarmuid welcomed back into the Fianna. Years later, he joins Fionn and others in a boar hunt on Ben Bulben and is mortally wounded by the boar. Fionn has the power to heal Diarmuid by letting him drink water from his hands, but twice lets the water slip through his fingers. Fionn's grandson threatens him with violence if he doesn't help Diarmuid, so he goes back a third time for water, but when he returns, Diarmuid has died.

# Posted on November 24th 2009 by PiperinNC

The Beauty Spot

Here it is by the band Providence, from about 1.47
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkF9IcsmubM

# Posted on October 6th 2010 by bogman

Mcsherry´s version

X: 1
T: Beauty Spot, The
M: C|
L: 1/8
R: reel
Z: M.Novo
K: Dmix
~A3G AddB|~c3G E~G3|AAGB AAde|cBcG EDDB|
AAGB AAde|~c3G E~G3|AAGB AAde|cBcG EDDg||
eddg ed (3Bcd|eddg egag|eddg edcA|GG (3Bcd e2dg|
eddg ed (3Bcd|eddg e ~g3|aged dcAF|GA (3Bcd e2dB||

# Posted on April 8th 2011 by Manu Novo

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