The Chicago

reel

Key signature: Adorian

Submitted on July 15th 2002 by Mark Cordova.

This tune has been added to 258 tunebooks.

Also known as The :l, Chicago, The Chicago , The Portlaw.

Recordings of a tune by this name:

• Albert Fry by Albert Fry
• An Fhidil by Various Artists
• At The End Of The Day by Dervish
• Between The Sets by Barefield Ceili Band
• Boil The Breakfast Early by The Chieftains
• Celtic Dream by Oisin
• Celtic Roots (Spirit Of Dance) by John Whelan
• Champions Of Ireland Concertina by Denise Shiel
• Champions Of Ireland: Flute by Grainne Kelly And Ciaran Madsen
• Classics Of Irish Piping Volume 2 by William Andrews And Liam Walsh
• Dance Music Of Ireland: Volume 11 by Matt Cunningham
• Dance Music Of Ireland: Volume 3 CD Version by Matt Cunningham
• Edel Fox And Ronan O'Flaherty by Edel Fox And Ronan O'Flaherty
• Farewell To Ireland CD 4 (Of A Box Set Of 4) by Various Artists
• Foinn Seisiun 2 by Ceoltóirí Cultúrlainne
• Folktrax-173: Willie Clancy And Bobby Casey by Willie Clancy And Bobby Casey
• Heart Behind The Bow by Kimberly Fraser
• Hell For Leather by Swallow's Tail Céilí Band
• Irish Traditional Music by Paddy Carty
• Maeve Donnelly by Maeve Donnelly
• Makin' The Rounds by Billy McComiskey
• McGreevy And Cooley by John McGreevy And Seamus Cooley
• Memoire Celte by Broken String
• Obadeea by Hom Bru
• Out On The Ocean by Nine-8ths Irish
• Part II: Fire In Our Hearts by Na Connerys
• Pay The Piper: Music For The Sets Volume 3 by Various Artists
• Rogha Scoil Samhraidh Willie Clancy 2008 by Various Artists
• Set Dances Of Ireland, Volume III by Various Artists
• Sporting Nell by Tommy McCarthy
• Step This Way by David Lindquist
• Sunday Night by Robert Chalmers And Friends
• Super Tonic by Elixir
• Temple House 1 by Temple House Ceili Band
• The Bunch Of Keys by Jason O'Rourke
• The Connachtman's Rambles by Martin O'Connor
• The Gentlemen Pipers by Various Artists
• The Irish Concertina by Noel Hill
• The Iron Man by Tommy Peoples And Daithi Sproule
• The Michael Sexton Ceili Band by The Michael Sexton Ceili Band
• The Pipes Are Calling by Peter And Noel Carberry
• The Red Wellies by The Red Wellies
• The Uilleann Pipes Of Ireland by Jean-Yves Le Pape
• The Uneven Bridge by Glen Ayre
• The Wheels Of The World, Early Irish American Music, Vol 2 by Various Artists
• The Wounded Hussar by Pete Cooper
• They Sailed Away From Dublin Bay by Liam Farrell And Joe Whelan
• Traditional Irish Flute Music by Fintan Vallely
• Two Gentlemen Of Clare by Gerard Commane And Joe Ryan

X: 1
T: Chicago, The
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: reel
K: Ador
cded cAGE|~G3E GAcd|ecgc acgc|eaag edcA|
cded cAGE|~G3E GAcd|eaag (3efg ed|cABG ~A3B:|
|:cdef g2ef|gfgd BG~G2|cdef g2fg|eaag aged|
cdef ~g3e|~a3f ~g3e|~f3d efed|cABG ~A3B:|

Good Reel

My version is quite a bit different than Henrick's so this is a bit of a rip off. I used his version. I learned it by ear and as usual I put so much of myself into the tune that I had no I idea where the real tune began and I ended. Henrick Norbeck provides a variation you might be interested in but you will have to go to his site.

Enjoy,
Mark

# Posted on July 15th 2002 by Mark Cordova

The Chicago Reel

This is a version I was taught today in a workshop at the Hibernia Centre in Bristol (UK). I believe it has sufficient differences to merit this posting.

M:C|
K:Ador
cded cAGE|EGGE GAcd|ec (3ccc acgc|eaag eged|
cded cAGE|EGGE GAcd|eaag eged|cABG A3B:|
|:cdef geaf|gedc BAGB|cdef gedg|eaag aged|
cdef ~g3e|~a3f gbag|effe dfed|cABG A3B:||

Trevor

# Posted on May 3rd 2003 by Trevor Jennings

The reel at hand . . .

it sounds good if you play
cd and then cded double fast (sorry don't know notation off top of head) in the 1st 2 beats

# Posted on August 16th 2003 by micelfife

Problematic 3rd bar for the pipes and possible workarounds

Playing a rocking pedal figure from second octave g and a down to a TRUE C natural on the pipes is nigh on impossible even with responsive reeds.

Instead pipers cheat their way through the 3rd part in a number of ways.

I will sometimes do this: ~e2 ge aege l gaag ~e2 is a "shake" or "shiver".

or eg g2 ag g2 l eaag etc. Roll the g2's.

Some pipers with unusually strong masochistic tendencies and lots of time on their hands will develop the ability to play a "tight" c as a pedal tone, in reality a C# but played so staccato and clipped its effect is purely rhythmic rather than melodic in effect. Playing it this way forces the piper to really pay attention to the lengths of the e's, g's, and a's, as these must be given their full value and then some. If you play at a moderate pace with a good swing, this approach can work.

Tom Ennis, a great piper who lived in both Chicago and New York for a time, used to do something like: eAgA eAgA l eaag etc., often popping the g's. He might have substituted tight C's for the A's there, too.

One nit: That long f# in the penultimate bar is NOT played as a true F#, nor is it an F natural, but somewhere between. I usually lift the chanter and shade that f# tonehole to produce a slightly sharp f natural (or a very flat f#). It's a rude rude blue note and not pretty but it's not supposed to be pretty. You want pretty music, go play baroque chamber pieces and leave the gritty stuff alone : P

# Posted on December 8th 2005 by Hanley

More pseudo F naturals

In addition to what was mentioned above about the pseudo F naturals, I've always played the 4th and 7th measures of the A part as:

eaag efed

with the f being natural or something closer to natural than sharp.

I also play an f natural of sorts on both of the f's in the penultimate measure of the B part. I agree that it definitely does give the tune a bit of grit, but that's what makes it fun.

# Posted on December 31st 2005 by Jason G

My banjo version

i love this tune. ive only heard the old Edward Mullaney & Patrick Stack version though.
Ive been playing it a lot on the banjo recently.
I tend to play it like a fast hornpipe, i tend to "squawk" some of the notes and throw in triplets, and grace notes but i changed certain bits to suit the banjo, but its based on the original post by Mark.

T: Chicago, The
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
R: Reel
K: Ador
cded cAGE|GEDE GAcd|eAcd edcA|eaag edcA|
cded cAGE|GEDE GAcd|eaae gedB|cABG A3B:|
|:cdef g2ef|gfgd BGG2|cdef g2fg|eaag aged
|cdef g2fe|(3aaa ef (3ggg ge|fedB gedB|cABG A3B:|

# Posted on February 28th 2007 by DubChieftain

Chicago reel for pipes

anyone know a handier version of this for pipes? the third bar of the first part is doing my head in, i can play it slow but can't get it up to speed, there's bound to be an easier variation, hope someone can help, thanks

# Posted on March 21st 2009 by redness1

the chicago reel for pipes

anyone know a handier version of this for pipes? the third bar of the first part is doing my head in, i can play it slow but can't get it up to speed, there's bound to be an easier variation, hope someone can help, thanks

# Posted on March 21st 2009 by redness1

Re: the chicago reel for pipes

says Michael who knows about such things

# Posted on March 21st 2009 by concertinaplayer

Re: the chicago reel for pipes

heres a quote, from the comments here;

Problematic 3rd bar for the pipes and possible workarounds

Playing a rocking pedal figure from second octave g and a down to a TRUE C natural on the pipes is nigh on impossible even with responsive reeds.

Instead pipers cheat their way through the 3rd part in a number of ways.

I will sometimes do this: ~e2 ge aege l gaag ~e2 is a "shake" or "shiver".

or eg g2 ag g2 l eaag etc. Roll the g2's.

Some pipers with unusually strong masochistic tendencies and lots of time on their hands will develop the ability to play a "tight" c as a pedal tone, in reality a C# but played so staccato and clipped its effect is purely rhythmic rather than melodic in effect. Playing it this way forces the piper to really pay attention to the lengths of the e's, g's, and a's, as these must be given their full value and then some. If you play at a moderate pace with a good swing, this approach can work.

Tom Ennis, a great piper who lived in both Chicago and New York for a time, used to do something like: eAgA eAgA l eaag etc., often popping the g's. He might have substituted tight C's for the A's there, too.

One nit: That long f# in the penultimate bar is NOT played as a true F#, nor is it an F natural, but somewhere between. I usually lift the chanter and shade that f# tonehole to produce a slightly sharp f natural (or a very flat f#). It's a rude rude blue note and not pretty but it's not supposed to be pretty. You want pretty music, go play baroque chamber pieces and leave the gritty stuff alone : P

# Posted on December 8th 2005 by Hanley

# Posted on March 21st 2009 by piobagusfidil

Re: the chicago reel for pipes

Why is this tune difficult on pipes? I learned it from a Paddy Carty recording. No bother. Didn't even have to slow it down with slow down software. I'm sure he plays a version that is feasable on the flute. The other recording I have of it is Peter and Noel Carberry, on a C set of pipes, and nothing tremendously complicated there.

# Posted on March 22nd 2009 by DrSilverSpear

The Chicago Reel

silverspear, i'm sorry i never asked ya at the session last week in sandy bell's, i could have got your version off ya!

# Posted on March 22nd 2009 by redness1

Marty, hope you are well?

Chacigo piper Joe Shannon played a version of this tune. I have a recoeding of him and will try to findit for you.

Meantime, here is more info on Joe:

http://comhaltas.ie/music/treoir/detail/death_of_a_master_piper_joseph_g_shannon/


http://www.uilleannobsession.com/article_joe_shannon.html

# Posted on March 23rd 2009 by Feargal French

The Chicago Reel

thanks feargal!

# Posted on March 23rd 2009 by redness1

The Chicago Reel

thanks feargal!

# Posted on March 23rd 2009 by redness1

Does it go back to early Irish emigarnts to Chicago etc in the 1920s

# Posted on July 23rd 2010 by Michael Sam Wild

The Chicago Reel

Anyone know of the origin of The Chicago Reel or the composer? Does it come from Irish emmigrants to Chicago in the 1920's? Lovely tune

# Posted on August 14th 2011 by whistlemad

Re: The Chicago Reel

No. Google is your friend:

http://www.ibiblio.org/fiddlers/CHER_CHURN.htm

# Posted on August 14th 2011 by ethical blend

Re: The Chicago Reel

Nice one. thanks. have enough info on it now.It seems O'Neill sourced it from The Irish Music Club in Chicago.

# Posted on August 14th 2011 by whistlemad

Re: The Chicago Reel

Maybe. That's a guess. Informed, but still a guess.

# Posted on August 14th 2011 by ethical blend