Tell Her I Am

jig

Key signature: Gmajor

Submitted on June 29th 2001 by Miss Lonelyhearts.

This tune has been added to 180 tunebooks.

Recordings of a tune by this name:

1891-1945 Disc 2 by Michael Coleman
60th Anniversary Celebration by The Tulla Ceili Band
A Dark Horse by Martin Murray
Aileach by Aileach
áthas by áthas
Dancing Through Ireland by Various Artists
Dearga by Matt And Shannon Heaton
Draw The Bow by Malachy Bourke
Echoes Of Erin by The Tulla Ceili Band
Foinn Seisiun 2 by Ceoltóirí Cultúrlainne
Folktrax 154 - The Sligo Fiddler: Michael Coleman by Michael Coleman
Folktrax-077 The Jolly Tinker: Michael Gorman, Irish Fiddler by Michael Gorman
Fortune Favours The Merry by Peter Horan And Gerry Harrington
Give It Shtick by Matt Cranitch
IAANJ Session V by Mike And Mary Rafferty And Session Musicians
Memories Of Hughie Gillespie by Frank Kelly
Memories Of Sligo by Tommy Healy And Johnny Duffy
Reed Only by Tim Collins/Brian McNamara
Soltré by Soltré
The Apple In Winter by Brian Conway And Tony DeMarco
The Barley Grain by Larry Kinsella
The Classic Recordings Of Michael Coleman by Michael Coleman
The House by Dennis Botzer
The Iron Man by Tommy Peoples And Daithi Sproule
The Lonesome Touch by Martin Hayes
The Sligo Champion (CD 1) by Michael Gorman
The Wheels Of The World, Early Irish American Music, Vol 2 by Various Artists
Traditional Music On Fiddle, Banjo, And Harp by Oisin MacDiarmada, Brian Fitzgerald, And Michael O Ruanaigh
Tripswitch by John McSherry And Dónal O'Connor
With Friends Like These by James Keane

Details ABC Sheetmusic Comments

Tell Her I Am

Another Martin Hayes arrangement from The Lonesome Touch. He plays it in a set after Gallagher's Frolics, and highlights how to play a tune beautifully with little to no ornamentation. Our local session does a slow jig set starting with the Kerfunken, then Tell Her I Am, and then into Paddy Fahy's Jig. Fiddlers will want to decide when to hit those "e" notes with the fourth finger, second string, and when to just catch the open "e" string. To my ear, when this tune's played as slowly as Hayes does it, the fingered "e"s sound better, except for a few open ones as variations. If you have intonation problems reaching that fourth finger "e," try aiming for the sound rather than some physical spot on the fingerboard.

# Posted on June 29th 2001 by Miss Lonelyhearts

Tell Her I Am

Story has it that a fine, young woman was in the audience at a Michael Coleman performance in NYC and was quite taken by the dashing fiddler. She begged a mutual friend to go up to the stage as ask whether Coleman was betrothed. His reply was to play this jig.

# Posted on June 29th 2001 by Miss Lonelyhearts

It's a Zen-like title of great profundity.

# Posted on March 24th 2004 by Test

Thanks for enlightening us as to the source of this tune, I had always assumed it was the title of a song which had been adopted as a tune, thanks to its beautiful melody.

# Posted on May 9th 2004 by Cath

You'll even hear it on a Peter Sellers recording. :-)

# Posted on May 9th 2004 by Back for a while

Gorman recording

The Sligo style duet on the Michael Gorman recording is worth a listen (with Mick Flynn on flute). It's an antidote to the Hayes recording, i suppose - which I also like. Just a great tune!

# Posted on December 13th 2004 by kris

Tell Her I Am

I learned this piece from Francis McPeakes Tin Whistle Tutor. I've been playing it for a while. I use to like to play this tune slow...almost as an air. At this point in time I enjoy playing this jig (a double jig I believe) fast...really fast. Putting all things together, 1-the note arrangement/rythem, 2-Francis McPeake tutor and 3-quick playing sounds good--> I believe this to be a piping tune thoug I've never heard it played by anybody but myself.

# Posted on March 31st 2005 by Pete D

Tell Her I Am (alternative setting)

Maybe it's because I learn't it from O'Neill's but I much prefer the 2 part version notated there - it was also recorded by the Northern trad group (fogotten their name but Pat McCabe played piano box with them) back in the early eighties as a two part jig and sounded brilliant. The setting is as follows:-

d|edB GAB|DED GAB|DED cBA|BGE E2d|
edB GAB|DED GAB|AGE cBA|BGG G2 :||
d|Bdd def|gfe dBG|A2A AGA|BGE E2d|Bdd def|gfe dBG|AGE cBA|BGG G2 :||

It also sounds great played slow with emphasis on the E minor bit at the end of the fourth bar!

# Posted on March 31st 2005 by Bannerman

That group was probably Aileach.

# Posted on March 31st 2005 by LongNote

Yes...slow with emphasis on the E minor bit! I agree!

# Posted on March 31st 2005 by Pete D

Thanks Longnote, now you mention it, Aileach was the name I couldn't remember - I've long since lost their cassette but there was some great music on it.

# Posted on April 1st 2005 by Bannerman

Aileach

Aileach were also a great favourite of mine in my teens. In the past year or two former Aileach fiddler Dinny McLaughlin has released a solo CD and now, I hear, he has a book out, either written by him or by someone else about him. CD contains some great tunes including some of Dinny's own compositions and he is joined on it by a few of his many former pupils.

# Posted on April 1st 2005 by LongNote

Tell her I Yam what I Yam

Here's my transcription... for what it's worth.

X: 1
T: Tell Her I Am
M: 6/8
L: 1/8
R: jig
K: Gmaj
edB ~G3|DED ~G3|DED c2 d|BGE E B/c/d|
|edB ~G3|DED ~G3|AGF GBA|1 GFE D B/c/d:|2 GFE D2 A||
~B3 dBG|~B2e dBG|AcB AGA|BGE E2 c|~B3 deg|
|age d2 B|cBA GBA|1 GFE D2 A:|2 GFE D B/c/d||
|efg efg|dBG G B/c/d|e2 a aga|bge e2 d|efg efg|dBG G e/f/g|
|agf gba|gfe d B/c/d|efg efg|dBG G B/c/d|e2 a aga|
|bge e2 B|def gba|gfe d2 B|cBA GBA|GFE D B/c/d||

# Posted on April 18th 2006 by Phantom Button

Dinny Book

LongNote - the book is written by Liz Doherty and it's called "From Barefoot Days - a life of music, song and dance in Inishowen".

# Posted on May 8th 2006 by Lizzy