Apples in Winter

Jig, E Dorian, Irish Traditional
TrailJams Tune of the Week for October 31, 2021 & November 20, 2022.

A sweet Irish jig in celebration of apples. Apples can hang on the tree long after they are ripe and the weather has turned icy. Or they can be stored cool and dry and kept through the winter. And in those winter months they can be made into pie and cider, of course.

About the illustration: The photograph of robins eating apples in winter is by Julie Lay, taken in January 2017, and used with her permission. B & P Hitz Fruit Farm’s apple orchard is in Oregon, on the road between Woodburn and Mt. Angel, near the Pudding River. When the photo was taken, there was snow on the ground under the apple trees.

Fat red robins eating fat red apples
Crows, like burnt paper, swooping in the breeze
A marching band of geese, honking, trumpeting, beating their wings up the river

“Birds of Autumn,” by Jonathan Lay, October 2019

Recordings

• Audio – Tommy Hayes: Apples In Winter/Gillian’s Apples – from the album Apples in Winter
• Video – Eileen Ivers: Apples in Winter / Frost is All Over / A Merry Christmas (Jigs). From the album An Nollaig: An Irish Christmas by Eileen Ivers
• Video – Tunes from Doolin: Apples in Winter (Jig) Played on concertina

Dots (Music Notation)

As always for traditional tunes, the musical notation and chords do not indicate the “right” way to play the tune, but are a useful reference.

Sets

Examples of sets that include this tune.

• Apples in Winter / Kitty Lie Over (The Frost is all Over)
• Apples in Winter / Gillian’s Apples
• Apples in Winter / Scotsman Over the Border / Langstrom’s Pony

References and Resources

For those who want to dig deeper, here are some other resources.

• More recordings
  • Video – Kevin Griffin, Eoin O’Neill and Quentin Cooper: John McHugh’s / Apples in Winter (Live) – played on tenor banjo by Kevin Griffin. From the album Live at the Burren Centre, Kilfenora. (Apples in Winter starts at time 1:34 in this recording.)
  • Audio – Tunes in the Church: Jigs – Apples in Winter / Gillan’s Apples. From the album Tunes in the Church, recorded at St. Nicholas’ Collegiate Church, Galway, Ireland.
  • Video – Cynthia Wyatt: Apples In Winter / The Monaghan Jig (Medley). From the album Celtic Harp Traditions.
  • Video – The Whistler: Apples in Winter (Jig). Apples in Winter played on tin whistle.
• Books
  • Book & Audio – Matt & Shannon Heaton: In Harmony  – sheet music with chords and audio tracks
  • Book: Stephen Ducke: Irish Music 400 Traditional Tunes – sheet music with audio tracks. Played on tin whistle.
• Lessons
  • Lesson – Shannon Heaton: Apples in Winter [Jig] – Tune of the Month with Shannon Heaton – the tune taught phrase-by-phrase on flute
  • Lesson – Kevin Elam: Apples in Winter – Accompaniment Tutorial – guitar accompaniment, starting with a basic simple version, then a more interesting version
  • Lesson – Kevin Elam: Apples in Winter – Melody Tutorial – taught phrase-by-phrase, first on D tin whistle, then on tenor banjo
  • Video – St. Louis String Collective: Apples in Winter – Melody Tutorial & Play-Along for violin. Taught by Sarah Vie.
• Other resources
  • Article – TrailJams (Jonathan Lay): Dorian, Mixolydian, Oh My: Modes in a Nutshell – a brief and painless guide to modes in Celtic, English, and American tunes
  • Webpage – Tunes from Doolin: Apples in Winter (Jig). Sheet music, video, and more information
  • Webpage – The Session: Apples in Winter (Jig) – crowdsourced sheet music, comments and more.
  • Webpage- The Irish Traditional Music Tune Index: Apples in Winter – curated archival information about the tune.