Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

The Blackbird

reel

Key signature: Dmajor

Submitted on November 3rd 2002 by lazyhound.

This tune has been added to 161 tunebooks.

Also known as An Londubh.

Recordings of a tune by this name:

A Highland Fiddler by Duncan Chisholm, Iain MacFarlane And Bruce MacGregor
A Treasury Of Irish Music 2 by Various Artists
A Tribute To Andy McGann by Joe Burke, Brian Conway And Felix Dolan
A Tribute To Michael Coleman by Joe Burke, Andy McGann And Felix Dolan
An Feochan by Philippe Barnes
An Tobar Gl�é by Neil Mulligan
Angelina Carberry And Martin Quinn by Angelina Carberry And Martin Quinn
At The Feis by John Doonan
Baker's Well by Baker's Well
Bandalised by Vin Garbutt
Between The Showers by Grainne Hambly
Boxed by Anders Trabjerg
Call The Tune: Music For The Sets Volume 4 by Various Artists
Celtic Ceili by Various Artists
Celtic Harp Airs And Dance Tunes by Robin Williamson
Ceol Cill Na Martra by Connie O'Connell
Classic Recordings Of The Irish Fiddle Legend by Paddy Reynolds
Come West Along The Road by Brian O'Connor
Dark Of The Moon by Grey Larsen And Paddy League
De Danann by De Danann
Dead String Rhythm by Flynn Cohen
Deborah Quigley With Martin Gould by Deborah Quigley
Donncha O'Briain by Donncha O'Briain
Drioball Na Fáinleoige by Johnny Connolly
Dublin Banjos by Sully And John Keenan
Eavesdropper by Kevin Burke And Jackie Daly
Far Green Country by John Sherman
Fermanagh Ceili by Pride Of Erin Ceili Band
Fiddle And Concertina Player by John Kelly
Folktrax 154 - The Sligo Fiddler: Michael Coleman by Michael Coleman
Folktrax-074 Johnny Doherty - The Pedlar's Pack by John Doherty
Folktrax-170: Neil Boyle, Fairy Fiddler Of Donegal by Neil Boyle
Fonnsheen by Fiona Davidson
Give It Shtick by Matt Cranitch
Golden, Golden by Silly Wizard
In Safe Hands by Various Artists
Irish Accordion Masters by Joe Derrane And Jerry O'Brien
Irish Button Accordion by Billy Moran
Irish Violin by Jackie Roche
Kevin Burke In Concert by Kevin Burke
Kitty Lie Over by Mick O'Brien And Caoimhin O'Raghallaigh
Leo Rowsome: Classics Of Irish Piping by Leo Rowsome
Like Magic by Todd Denman And Bill Dennehy
Masters Of Irish Music by Martin Byrnes
McGlynn's Fancy by Arty McGlynn
Memories Of Clare by Bobby Gardiner
Mo Chairdin by Paul Brock
Na Fili 3 by Na Fili
Newtown Bridge by Eileen O'Brien
Noonday Feast by Joe Shannon And Johnny McGreevy
Out Of The Wind Into The Sun by The Bothy Band
Over The Edge by Moher
Paddy Keenan by Paddy Keenan
Pedlar's Pack by John Doherty
Rags, Reels And Airs by Dave Swarbrick
Return To Droim by Colm Gannon
Rock And More Roses by Pat Kilbride
Sligo Ceili by Seamus Tansey
Step Into The Beat: Modern Irish Dance Music by Ellery Klein And Ryan Lacey
Step This Way by David Lindquist
Stormy Weather by Beginish
The Best Of by The Bothy Band
The Bucks Of Oranmore by Joe Burke
The Bunch Of Keys: The Complete Recordings Of Johnny Doran by Johnny Doran
The Celtic Harp by The Chieftains
The Clare Shout by Bobby Gardiner
The Classic Recordings Of Michael Coleman by Michael Coleman
The Coolin': Classic Slow Airs And Laments by Various Artists
The Dear Little Isle by Inishbofin Ceili Band
The Enduring Magic by Michael Coleman
The Hidden Note by Jacqueline McCarthy
The Horse's Tail by Zoe Conway
The Lark In The Clear Air by Various Artists
The Liffey Banks by Tommy Potts
The Master Pipers Volume 1 by Johnny Doran
The Music Of Kevin Keegan by Kevin Keegan
The New Road by Charlie Piggot And Gerry Harrington
The Red Wellies by The Red Wellies
The Road To Glenlough by James Byrne
The Sligo Champion (CD 2) by Michael Gorman
The Sligo Indians by Tony DeMarco
The Star Above The Garter by Denis Murphy And Julia Clifford
The Thorn Tree by Grainne Hambly
The Wandering Minstrel by Seamus Ennis
To Hell With The Begrudgers by Seamus Tansey And Jim McKillop
Traditional Irish Music From County Clare by Micho Russell
Traditional Irish Sessions by Various Artists
Traditional Irish Tunes Played On The Tin Whistle (2/2) by Geraldine Cotter
Traditional Music Of Ireland And The Bucks Of Oranmore by Joe Burke And Charlie Lennon
Traditional Music Of Ireland, Vol. 1 by Sean Ryan And P. J. Moloney
Traditional Music Of Ireland, Vol. 2 by Sean Ryan And Peter Carberry
Turning The Tune by Charlie Lennon
Up And Away by Paul Smyth
Virtuoso Of The Irish Accordion by John Kimmel
Where I Am by Brendan Callahan
Witt's End by Hell On The Nine Mile
Wooden Flute Obsession: Volume 2, Disc 2 by Various Artists
Yeh, That's All It Is by John Carty

Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

The Blackbird

Although listed as a reel The Blackbird is in fact a set dance. Micheal Coleman's old recording of the tune is talked about at length in the "Microtones on the fiddle" in the discussion section on this site, which is one reason why I've posted this excellent tune. What you see here is the O'Neill version. Note for note it's not all that different from Micheal Coleman's recording but of course lacks his detailed ornamentation.

-m

# Posted on November 3rd 2002 by lazyhound

I don't know Michael Coleman's recording, but I do know that there are countless different settings of this tune. The main difference between this version and others I have heard or seen notated is that, in the last bar of the A-part, where this version has a dotted minim (dotted 1/2 note), other versions have a single crotchet (1/4-note), effectively making it one bar of 2/4. For this reason, the whole tune is often notated in 2/4 rather than 4/4 (which, for the purpose of posting in The Session would make it a polka, Heaven forbid!).

# Posted on November 4th 2002 by granama

David,
The O'Neill source was in 2/4, with 1/16 notes, so, realising that this was closer to a reel in 4/4 with 1/8, I changed it accordingly in case the system forced it to appear as a polka. Micheal Coleman's playing actually sounds closer to a hornpipe than a reel, but that may be a characteristic of MC's playing in this instance.

-m

# Posted on November 4th 2002 by lazyhound

Micheal Coleman and The Blackbird

Further to my last comment, Micheal Coleman's intonation on his recording is quite a bit off target in places. Some of the low F#'s sound more like F-naturals, and it's sometimes a lottery whether he meant C# or C-natural! See the Microtones on the Fiddle discussion for more on the topic of MC's recording of The Blackbird.

-m

# Posted on November 4th 2002 by lazyhound

I have not heard the Michael Coleman recording you mention, but have heard countless other recordings of this tune. Everyone seems to play the eighth notes in the style of a hornpipe, so I would say that it is not just a case of MC's style on this tune...

# Posted on November 10th 2002 by violynnsey

The Blackbird

The discussion above assumes that the Blackbird is Irish. In fact its much more widely known as a hornpipe across all of the UK. Thje Irish set dance playing is what we would call a hornpipe on this side of the Irish Sea.
It needs to swung a lot to make it work.
Noel Jackson
Angels of the North

# Posted on November 10th 2002 by noelbats

Reel or hornpipe?

My mom and sister are Irish dancers and they dance this song as a hornpipe at the fesianna. I looked and played the music and it is the same song- perhaps the reel version is more session sounding!

# Posted on January 28th 2003 by rhonwen

The Blackbird is played as a hornpipe for the stepdancers. It's one of An Coimisiun's six traditional set dances, I don't know who the dance master was who choreographed it, but it was a very long time ago. This means that the dance is pretty much the same, give or take a few regional differences, all over the world. There are adjudicators who prefer to see it danced almost sean-nos in style: low to the ground, kicks staying low, and danced very bouncy and perky, as the traditional sets are the stepdancer's link to the ancestral tradition of sean-nos dancing that modern stepdancing sprung from.

Stepdancers would need three repetitions of the A part (one time through for an intro, and two times through for the step) and then a single time through the B part (one time through for the right foot of the set) for competition purposes. Many stepdancers never learn to dance the set on the left foot, and most modern stepdancers aren't even aware that there are other sets out there for this traditional set.

Zina

# Posted on January 28th 2003 by Zina Lee

And, btw, when playing this for a stepdancer for the traditional set, you would short the first part by two beats for 7 and a half measures.

# Posted on September 20th 2003 by Zina Lee

The Blackbird Set Dance

One of the great set dances. Always played just a bit slower than hornpipe tempo. The dance had a set of steps that were danced to the tune. My mother danced it when she was young and she was born in 1905. It was also another of those tunes that was always requested by people trying to see how good you were on the instrument: you know ...if you can't play the Blackbird, you can play nothing syndrome.....

# Posted on July 29th 2007 by Free Reed

Bothy Band

The sleeve notes on Out of the Wind into the Sun (1977) say: "Certain dance-tunes are sometimes played as slow airs; this is the case with The Blackbird. The basic melody is treated as an air, then as a set dance, and finally as a reel. This Donegal verison of the reel was heard from the playing of Johnny Doherty". Proceeding beyond the album cover there is a wonderful slow air rendition from Paddy Keenan

# Posted on October 28th 2007 by Edgar Bolton

"Set Dance" ~ in the style of a hornpipe ~ SWUNG!!! >

I hav eheard it endless times and it has never been played straight, as a 'reel'. Why, after all these pleas is it still sitting here filed under 'reel'? :-/ I love this old codger. I'll have to add another take on it sometime, as nobody else has yet, but I can promise you, it won't be as a reel...

Here's one tempo from an early recording (40s, 50s & swung) ~

L: 1/4 = 160 beat per minute
L: 1/2 = 80 bpm

# Posted on February 9th 2008 by ceolachan

The Blackbird - Swung!

You can listen to Tim Collins play this on the concertina: http://www.suttnerconcertinas.com/sounds/Tim_Collins_A2-2.mp3
From Suttner Concertinas Catalogue: http://www.suttnerconcertinas.com/catalogue.html

# Posted on February 9th 2008 by slainte

Nice one Hiro, I enjoyed that... ;-)

# Posted on February 9th 2008 by ceolachan

That last D of the 1st part should be D2, not D6. It sounds silly held on for that long. I think the barlines could have been better placed to reflect the phrasing as well, but that's being picky...

# Posted on March 10th 2008 by Dow

'c', Tim Collins sounds to me like he's playing it pretty straight on that recording, in a similar rhythm to a reel but a bit slower. There's a bit of swing there, but really not much at all.

So is that the first time you've heard it played like that??

# Posted on March 10th 2008 by Dow

"The Blackbird" ~ D Mixolydian & swung & not rushed

Sorry Dow, I don't agree... I hear him swinging it, and the prevalence of triplets supports this futher, also when played at half speed... I have usually known and heard this, normally, swung, with triplets being common. Oh yeah, I've heard it roasted a few times too, taken fast, as if a reel, but prefer it as a set dance, 4/4 and swung...

Here is another take, borrowing some triplets and variations from older players, including Leo Rowsome, and Joe Derrane & Jerry O'Brien, and a little bit added myself 8-) ~

# Posted on March 10th 2008 by ceolachan

Sure he swings it a tad, I think we all do, but why would you need to even try to notate it that way?

# Posted on March 11th 2008 by Phantom Button

ceol... you better take a second look at those ABCs.

# Posted on March 11th 2008 by Phantom Button

Nah, 'c', he's really not swinging it all that much, no more than you would a reel, even though there are triplets in there. He does give the impression of swinging by emphasising the backbeat though.

# Posted on March 11th 2008 by Dow

The triplets are more like N/N/N, not (3NNN.

# Posted on March 11th 2008 by Dow