The Gravel Walks

reel

Key signature: Adorian

Submitted on May 21st 2001 by Jeremy.

This tune has been added to 817 tunebooks.

Also known as Barty's Choice, Gravel Path To Granny, The Gravel Path To Granny's, Gravel Walk, The Gravel Walk To Grania's, The Gravel Walk, Gravel Walks, Gravel Walks To Grannie, The Gravelwalks, Snow On The Hills, Walk To Grania's.

Recordings of a tune by this name:

A Controversy Of Pipers by Various Artists
Across The Borders by Battlefield Band
ALive by Kúla
Altan: Live by Altan
Best Of Irish Fiddle by Florie Brown
Bring Yer Wellies by Gaelic Storm
Bruscar Bán by The Culchies
Caise Ceoil by Various Artists
Captain Hopper's Mutiny by Bowi
Castle Ceili Band by Castle Ceili Band
Crossing The Bridge by Eileen Ivers
EP by Needfire
Fibb'nacci Sequence by Knot Fibb'n
Fiddle Sticks, Irish Traditional Music From Donegal by Various Artists
Fiddlers Five by Fiddlers Five
From Both Sides by Niamh Ni Charra
From The Floor Up by Wild Asparagus
Garden Of Butterflies by Jody's Heaven
Glackin by Paddy Glackin
Helter's Celtic by Ashley MacIsaac
High Strung by Darcy Nair
Hit The Bricks... by Waking Maggie
I Won't Be Afraid Any More by Nomos
I'll Have A Pint!!! by Flaming Seamus
In My Hands by Natalie MacMaster
Irish Cream by Irish Cream
Irish Fiddle Solos by Pete Cooper
Live At Carnegie Hall by Boys Of The Lough
Live-Disc 1 by Natalie MacMaster
Live-Disc 2 by Natalie MacMaster
Musiques Traditionnelles D'Irlande by The Crickard Brothers
One More... by Caa A Dram
Osna by Osna
Rocky Road To Dublin by Kings Galliard
Sarah'ndipity by Sarah Burnell
Second Album by Boys Of The Lough
Selkie by Mick Conneely
Some Foriegn Land by Colcannon
Sounds From The Atlantic by Innisheer
Sparks On The Flags by The Bridge Céilí Band
Stony Steps by Matt Molloy
The Ale Is Dear by Clandestine
The Coming Of Spring by Cliff Moses
The Crooked Road by Eamon De Buitlear Agus Ceoltoiri Laighean
The First Measure by Pipedown
The Gravel Walks: The Fiddle Music Of Mickey Doherty by Mickey Doherty
The Little Cascade by Ben The Hoose
The Parting Glass by The Churchfitters
The Rights Of Man The Concert For Joseph Doherty by Various Artists
Threads by Battlefield Band
Tuned In by Johnny Murphy
Uilleann Pipes And Whistles - Traditional Music From Co. Monaghan by Martin McCormack
Va by Slainte Mhath
Volume 3: The Rhythm Chapter by Fiddlers 3
Wet Your Whistle by Wet Your Whistle
Where Else Would You Be by The Pub Scouts

Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

This is a rocking reel guaranteed to liven up any session.

The first three parts are in A dorian, with the last part in C major. This last part gives the tune a great lift.

If you can turn some of those C notes in the last part into triplets, it can sound quite good. For the other three parts, droning an A or E will generally fit (on the fiddle try playing the open E string with every open A string).

This tune is sometimes played in a set with The Boys Of Malin. The change from A major to A minor can be quite spectacular.

# Posted on June 2nd 2001 by Jeremy

The Gravel Walks

This is one of my favorites. I like to play it at breakneck speed just for fun - for dancing, take it easy!

I've heard that the first two sections have been set in 6/8 as a jig, although I've never heard it.

# Posted on August 30th 2001 by JeffK627

There's some controversy over whether the last section should be repeated. It's a very Donegal/Scottish tune, too, and it's not the flute players' favorite piece either -- definitely a fiddle tune!

Zina

# Posted on August 30th 2001 by Zina Lee

Oh, and on the last time through, my guitar player George will usually play A instead of Am on the first part. I love the way that sounds!

# Posted on August 30th 2001 by Zina Lee

Key change

I was going to comment that the F natural is hard to do on the keyless flute, and i noticed that the GIF missed the key change that's in the ABC. It's supposed to change to C major in the last part.

# Posted on August 30th 2001 by glauber

Last part

Well, if you play that last part exactly as it's shown in the sheetmusic, it'll still come out in the key of C.

There are no F naturals played in that part and consequently no need to change the key signature.

I put the change to C in the ABC notation for the benefit of ABC programs that generate chordal accompaniment.

# Posted on April 19th 2002 by Jeremy

Not for Flute Players?

I once heard the flute player from a Cleveland area band called Liafal play the bejeezus out of this one!

# Posted on April 29th 2002 by JeffK627

Repeat last part of Gravel Walks

The last part is almost always repeated in sessions and on recordings.When only played once 8bars it sounds odd to me and destroys the lift once acquired
this seems unusual are there other multipart reels where the last part is repeated?
Is it controversial as Zina says?

# Posted on January 24th 2003 by timjellies

Sets

Any ideas what to play this tune wit - I've been looking forever and can't find nything - maybe I'm justnot looking in the right place

# Posted on April 12th 2003 by Nutty Nessie

What to play with The gravel walk

Johnny's Wedding / Rogue's Reel / The Gravel Walk

Maid Behind The Bar / Gravel Walk

Farewell To Erin / The Gravel Walk

Old Maid In The Garrett / Gravel Walk

Mouth of the Tobique/The Night We Had the Goats/The Gravel Walk

Jug Of Punch/Pinch Of Snuff/Jenny's Chickens/The Gravel Walk

Sleepy Maggie/Gravel Walk/Little Beggarman

Banshee / Gravel Walk / Old Copper Plate

The Silver Spire / The Glass Of Beer / The Gravel Walk

Maggie Brown's Favorite/Gravel Walks/Mason's Apron

Sleepy Maggie - Gravel Walk - The High Road To Linton

Tommy Coen's/The Sally Gardens/The Gravel Walk

Gravel Walk / The Curragh Races / Star Of Munster

Lads Of Laois/Gravel Walk/Glass Of Beer

Gravel Walk/Tamlin Reel

Rocky Road To Dublin/ Congress Reel/ Gravel Walk

# Posted on April 12th 2003 by gian marco

Last Part

I agree with the consensus that the last part should always be played twice; it's a great part of the tune as the change into the key of C gives it extra drive. Another 4 part reel with just one part normally played twice is College Groves but in that case it's the first part!

# Posted on April 13th 2003 by Bannerman

Easy substitute

For some flute players who hate to play this gorgeous reel, learn and play Matt People's No.1: http://thesession.org/tunes/display.php/691

# Posted on June 19th 2004 by slainte

Tripping up the Stairs

Gian Marco, on a various Donegal fiddler's CD I have, Ciaran Tourish & Dermot McLaughlin play Tripping up the Stairs into the Gravel Walk, and it sounds awesome! In fact, I think that's my favorite set on the whole CD. I just noticed that you didn't have that in your suggested set list.

-Max

# Posted on June 19th 2004 by Max Becher

More on the third part

Breathnach lists this tune in CRE2 without the third part, as a gan ainm, which is where I first picked it up, from a flute player I used to know. Sounds quite good that way too, although those who learned it first with the third part would probably miss it.

# Posted on March 5th 2005 by Jon Kiparsky

Oops. should have said with only the first two parts. I always think of the third and fourth parts as one unit, kind of a sequel to the tune. I guess that's because I learned them after the first two.

# Posted on March 5th 2005 by Jon Kiparsky

I first heard this from "The Blarney Lads". They played "Maid Behind the Bar" and then this.
Yep! A fiddle tune no doubt but give the guitar a blast while backing and it gives it a lovely effect.
Gonna learn it now!

# Posted on December 17th 2005 by PaddyCmusic

2-part setting in Bm

"The Gravel Path" posted by errik: http://www.thesession.org/tunes/display.php/4104

# Posted on December 18th 2005 by slainte

Fine on flutes

This song is not just for fiddle players, it's fine on boehm flutes, if anyone plays them.

# Posted on April 25th 2006 by Dorkmeister

On bagpipes

On Scottish pipes, it's fun to play this with Andy Renwick's Ferret.

# Posted on January 12th 2007 by beloitpiper

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dwgAVMyfLM&NR=1

# Posted on August 18th 2007 by awildman

Snow on the Hills

I was just searching the database for information on a tune I saw in Krassen's O'Neill's, "Snow on the Hills," and the tune name linking led me here. While the A part is the same as Gravel Walks transposed to G, the B part is completely different, and it's an AABB. Does anyone know more about this variant?
X:1
T:Snow on the Hills, The
M:4/4
L:1/8
R:Reel
S:O'Neill's (Krassen ed.) p. 115
K:G
G2dG BGdG|~G2Bd cAFA|1 (3GGGdG Bcde|fdcB cAFA:|2 ~G2Bc dfeg|fdcA GABc||
d~g3 bgaf|dggf d2cA|d~g3 bgag|fdcA GABc|
d~g3 bgaf|dggf defg|abag (3fga fe|defd cAFA||

# Posted on December 14th 2007 by benhockenberry

When I was in my first band they expected me to learn every tune myself - I think they very impatiently taught me 2 really easy tunes right at the very beginning. So when I met a friend who played the fiddle, he took me through it on my flute. So this was the first tune I was ever 'taught'.

# Posted on April 21st 2008 by An Kammneves