The Earl’s Chair

Reel, D, Irish, attributed to Patrick Moloney
TrailJams Tune of the Week: January 15, 2023; August 24, 2025

The Earl’s Chair is an elegant and sturdy tune that is very popular in session playing.

The composition of the tune is attributed to Patrick (“Pakie” or “Patto”) Moloney, of Woodford, East Galway, in the 1940s or 1950s. The tune is said to be named for a rock formation called Earl’s Chair, in Derrycrag Woods, County Galway, Ireland.

What key is it in? The tune floats ambiguously in D major, B minor, and G major. Having no C or C# notes in the tune, it could be transcribed with a G major (one sharp) or or D major (two sharps) key signature. As an opening chord to start the tune, either G major or B minor is equally appropriate. As a D Major tune that doesn’t start or end on D, The Earl’s Chair serves as a good connector between other tunes in a set.

Recordings

• Video – The Bloomers: Earl’s Chair / Frank’s Reel – played on flute and fiddle with guitar backing.
• Audio – Comhaltas: Earl’s Chair – session recording from the album Foinn Seisiún Volume 1
• Audio – Stephen Ducke: The Earl’s Chair (Reel) – played on tin whistle. From the book Irish Music – 400 Traditional tunes

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.

• Dunmore Lasses Reel Set: Dunmore Lasses (Em) / The Earl’s Chair (D) / The High Reel (A Mixolydian)
• Silver Chair Reel Set: The Silver Spear (D) / The Earl’s Chair (D) / The Musical Priest (Bm)
• The Earl’s Chair / Frank’s Reel
• The Earl’s Chair / Rolling In The Ryegrass / Palmer’s Gate
• The Earl’s Chair / The Pigeon On The Gate / The Four Kisses
• Jenny Picking Cockles / The Earl’s Chair

References and Resources

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

• More Recordings
  • Video – Liz Carroll: The Silver Spear/The Earl’s Chair/The Musical Priest (Reels) from the album Lost in the Loop.
• Books
  • Book & Audio – Matt & Shannon Heaton: In Harmony 
  • Book – Foinn Seisiún, Volume 1 — Published by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann
  • Book – Irish Music 400 Traditional Tunes – by Stephen Ducke
  • Book – 100 Essential Irish Session Tunes, by Dave Mallinson (Mally Productions)
• Lessons:
  • Lesson – MandoLessons: The Earl’s Chair – full mandolin lesson taught by Baron Collins-Hill. Taught by ear, with sheet music, tab, chords and play-along tracks. (Free, with option to contribute or purchase tracks.)
  • Lesson – Kevin Burke: The Earl’s Chair – partial lesson for playing the tune on fiddle. Full lesson requires subscription to Fiddlevideo.
  • Lesson – Sean Cunningham (whistletutor): Flute Lesson – Using the Keys / Reel: The Earl’s Chair – video lesson, flute technique
  • Lesson – Flynn Cohen (Peghead Nation): The Earl’s Chair – Irish Backup Guitar – video lesson with downloadable sheet music and audio tracks. Part of the course “Irish Backup Guitar with Flynn Cohen.” (Requires subscription to Peghead Nation.)
  • Lesson – Enda Scahill: The Earl’s Chair – A Clip from my Beginner Banjo Course – tenor banjo lesson, excerpt video. The full lesson is in Enda’s Complete Beginner Irish Tenor Banjo Course (subscription to Irish Banjo Lessons with Enda Scahill required).
  • Lesson – James Finnegan (The Banjo Buddy): The Earl’s Chair – Irish Music Tutorial – tenor banjo video lesson, with on-screen tablature. Printed sheet music is available in The Banjo Buddy Tune Book.
  • Lessons – Online Academy of Irish Music: The Earl’s Chair – lessons for accompanying the tune on guitar and bouzouki; virtual pub-session and play-along tracks. (Requires subscription to OAIM.)
• Additional Resources
  • Web page – The Session: The Earl’s Chair Reel – crowdsourced sheet music and information
  • Web page – Traditional Tune Archive: The Earl’s Chair – archival information about the tune
  • About the Earl’s Chair stone formation:
    • Video – Martin Fahy Ballinakill Heritage: Local History Video No. 10. The Earl’s Chair. The Gamble Line. The Amber Neckace
    • Blog post – Jason Keane: The Earl’s Chair in Derrybrien – a first-hand visitor’s description with photos.