Si Bheag Si Mhor

Slow Air, D, by Turlough O’Carolan (1670 – 1738)
Also known as: Sheebeg, Sheemore; Shee Beg & Shee Mor

Pronounced “Sheebeg, Sheemore,” the name of this tune refers to a little (bheag) fairy hill and a big (mhor) fairy hill. The tune was crafted by Ireland’s famous harpist and composer, Turlough O’Carolan (1670 – 1738). It is not a waltz. Rather, it is a slow air in three-four time, composed before the invention of waltzes.

A bit of trivia: The word “turlough” (O’Carolan’s first name) is an Irish term that refers to a seasonal lake. It comes from the Irish words “tur,” meaning “dry”, and “loch,” meaning “lake”. These lakes appear or disappear depending on the level of the water table.

Recordings

• Video – Planxty: Si Bheag, Si Mhor – from the album Planxty (1973)
• Video – Deer Crow: Dear Crow // Si Bheag Si Mhor / Hunting The Buffalo – played on fiddle (Penka Jane Culevski) and guitar (Brian Lindsay). (Olympia, Washington, USA)
• Video – Jack Isidore: O’Carolan: Si Bheag, Si Mhor – Classical Guitar – with free tabs – guitar solo with downloadable tablature

Sheet Music

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.

• Si Bheag Si Mhor / Give Me Your Hand
• Fanny Power / Si Bheag Si Mhor
• Si Bheag Si Mhor / Fanny Power
• Planxty Irwin / Si Bheag Si Mhor
• Si Bheag Si Mhor / Sonny’s Mazurka

References and Resources

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

• More Recordings
  • Audio – California Carolan Consort: Si Bheag Si Mh​ó​r – from the album Turlough O’Carolan – Irish Folk & Baroque
  • Video – Paul Young: Si Bheag, Si Mhor (O’Carolan, Irish) accordion, melodeon – the tune played on a D/G button accordion
  • Video – Kevin Lees: Si Bheag, Si Mhor Played On The Fiddle
  • Video – Comhaltas: Sí Beag Sí Mór – session recording, from the album Foinn Seisiún 3, published by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann
• Books
  • Book – Gary Coover: 75 Irish Session Tunes for Anglo Concertina (Rollston Press). One of a series of Anglo concertina tune books by this author.
  • Book & Audio – John Weed and Stuart Mason: Slow & Easy Volumes 1 and 2
  • Book – Comhaltas: Foinn Seisiún, Volume 3 
• Lessons
  • Lesson – Chris Haigh (The Fiddle Channel) – Si Bheag Si Mhor (Irish fiddle lesson) – video lesson for fiddle, with suggestions for ornamentation.  Sheet music is shown in video and available by subscription to The Fiddle Channel (Patreon).
  • Lesson – Baron Collins-Hill (MandoLessons): Si Beag Si Mhor (With Tabs) – Mandolin Lesson – video lesson with downloadable sheet music and play-along audio tracks. (Basic tune without ornamentation.)
  • Lesson – Tim Connell: Mandolin Lesson: Si Beg Si Mor Irish – video demonstrating mandolin technique and embellishments
  • Lesson – Enda Scahill: How To Play Sí Bheag Sí Mhór on Mandolin – A Waltz by Turlough O’Carolan – video lesson with sheet music in video. Basic tune followed by suggestions for embellishments and ornamentation.
  • Lesson – Shannon Heaton: Si Beag Si Mor [Waltz] – Tune of the Month with Shannon Heaton – video flute lesson, with tune taught phrase by phrase
• Additional Resources
  • Web page – irishtune.info: Sí Bheag, Sí Mhór – Archival information about the tune, curated by Alan Ng
  • Web page – The Session: Sí Bheag Sí Mhór – crowdsourced sheet music, comments and more
  • Article – Wikipedia: Turlough O’Carolan – a brief biograph
  • Article – Wikipedia: Turlough (lake) – about the meaning of the word “turlough” (a seasonal lake)