Sonny’s Mazurka

Mazurka, D, Traditional Irish
Also known as: Sonny Brogan’s; Garret Barry’s Mazurka; The Irish Mazurka
TrailJams Tune of the Week for November 28, 2021; March 10, 2024

Mazurkas originated in Poland, and spread over Europe in the 1800s, both as tunes and as a dance form. They found their way to Ireland in the mid-1800s, and have become a traditional tune form there, particularly in county Donegal. This tune comes from those roots and traditions. It is named for Irish accordion player Sonny Brogan (1906 – 1965).

Recordings

• Video – The Good Tune: Sonny’s Mazurka. Kevin Lees (fiddle) and Sebastian Bloch (guitar).
• Video – Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann: Sonny’s Mazurka from the album Foinn Seisiún 1: Traditional Irish Session Tunes, le Ceoltóiri Cultúrlainne
• Video – Kieran Fahy: Sonny Brogans – John Doherty’s Mazurka from the album Irish Fiddle – Man From the West

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.

• Sonny’s Mazurka Set: Sonny’s Mazurka (D) / John Doherty’s Mazurka (D)
• Si Bheag, Si Mhor (air) / Sonny’s Mazurka

References and Resources

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

• More Recordings
  • Video – Jacob deGroot-Maggetti: Sonny’s Mazurka, played on mandolin
  • Video – Willie Clancy – Garret Barry’s Mazurka, played on uilleann pipes. From the album The Pipering of Willie Clancy, Volume One
• Books
  • Book – Foinn Seisiún, Volume 1 — Published by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann.
  • Book & audio – Peter Cooper: The Complete Irish Fiddle Player  – tune is titled “Sonny Brogan’s Mazurka” (Mel Bay Publications)
• Lessons
  • Lesson – Chris Haigh (The Fiddle Channel): Sonny’s Mazurka (fiddle lesson) – video demonstration of two versions of the tune played on fiddle
  • Lesson – Jean Banwarth: Sonny’s Mazurka – Irish Guitar – DADGAD Fingerstyle Mazurka – Video lesson. Audio track is available on the album Just Sound by Jean Banwarth. Guitar tab, musical score, and notes are available in his book Irish Fingerpicking Guitar vol. 2.
  • Lesson – hatao: 013 Sonny Brogan’s (Mazurka, D Ionian) Learn an Irish Tune Every Day – video demonstration of the tune played at slow and full tempo on flute and guitar, with musical score.
  • Lesson – Irish Guitar Podcast, Lesson 70. Sonny’s Mazurka, by Tony O’Rourke. Audio with discussion and example of the tune played slowly and then up to tempo.
• Additional Resources
  • Webpage – The Session: Sonny’s Mazurka – crowdsourced sheet music, comments and more
  • Article – Wikipedia: Mazurka – about the origin of the Mazurka and its migration from Poland to Ireland and other parts of the world.
  • Article – Wikipedia: Sonny Brogan – about the Irish musician for whom the mazurka is named, Patrick Joseph (Sonny) Brogan