Reel, A Dorian, Traditional Irish
Also known as: The Gravel Walk
An exuberant Irish reel in four parts, this tune sounds wonderful blazing out at a brisk speed.
Recordings
- Video – Comhaltas: The Gravel Walk – session recording from the album Foinn Seisiún 3, published by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann
- Video – Ciaran Tourish & Dermot McLaughlin: The Boys of Malin, The Gravel Walks – from the album Fiddle Sticks: Irish Traditional Music from Donegal. (The Gravel Walks starts at time 1:13 in this recording. The pitch of the tunes in this recording is 24 cents below standard tuning.)
- Video – Alban Fuam: The Dusty Windowsill / The Gravel Walk – from the album From Galway to Dublin. (The Gravel Walk starts at time 1:29 in this recording.)
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. The version here is the basic melody, without ornamentation. The tutorial in the TrailJams Tune Camp library includes a second version of the tune, ornamented with triplets, and also includes a high-melody variation of the ending.
Play-along Tracks
Sets
Examples of sets that include this tune.
- Dust & Gravel Set: Dusty Windowsills (Jig, A Dorian) / The Gravel Walks (Reel, A Dorian)
- Toss the Feathers / The Gravel Walks / The Virginia
- George White’s Favourite / The Boys of Malin / The Gravel Walks
- The Boys of Malin / The Gravel Walks
- The Gravel Walks / The Musical Priest
References and Resources
For those who want to dig deeper, here are some other resources.
- More Recordings
- Audio – Tim Ball and Sophie Orzechowski: Far From Home / Lady Anne Montgomery / The Gravel Walk – played on fiddle and flute with guitar. From the album Life of Their Own. (Ithaca, New York, USA.)
- Video – Niilo Sirola: Reels – Toss The Feathers / The Gravel Walks / The Virginia – solo tenor banjo, with backing.
- Video – Shane Farrell: The Gravel Walks Reel – tenor banjo solo
- Books
- Book – The Portland Collection, Volume 1 – Contra Dance Music in the Pacific Northwest. By Susan Songer with Clyde Curley.
- Book – Comhaltas: Foinn Seisiún, Volume 3 — Published by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann. (D Mixolydian setting.)
- Book & Audio – Grey Larsen: Essential Guide to Irish Flute and Tin Whistle (also available from the author’s website)
- Book – Michael D. Long: The King Street Sessions Tunebook (Interactive edition by Michael Eskin) – free downloadable book in PDF format. The Interactive edition by Michael Eskin adds playable ABC transcriptions.
- Book & Audio – Stephen Ducke: Irish Music – 400 Traditional Tunes – sheet music with tin whistle recordings
- Lessons
- Lesson – Peakfiddler: Fiddle Lesson – Irish reel – The Gravel Walks – video lesson with links to sheet music and mandolin tab
- Lesson – Mossie Martin: The Gravel Walk (reel) – video demonstration of the tune played on tin whistle
- Lesson – Mando Mike: The Gravel Walks – A 4 part Irish Reel – Mandolin Lesson (Advanced)
- Lesson – Tergal14 Mandolin: Irish mandolin lessons for beginners : how to play The Gravel Walk (with tabs) – video lesson for mandolin, with tablature displayed on-screen
- Lesson – Niall Murphy (Fiddlevideo): The Gravel Walks – Trad Irish Fiddle Lesson – lesson includes video instruction, downloadable sheet music, and audio recordings. (Subscription to Fiddlevideo required.)
- Lesson – Hatao (hatao’s Irish tune of the day): The Gravel Walk (Single Reel, A Dorian) – video lesson. Tune played on flute with on-screen sheet music.
- Lesson – Niilo Sirola (Niilon irkkusivut): Toss the Feathers / Gravel Walks / Virginia – video demonstration of the three-tune set played on tenor banjo, with downloadable sheet music for the set.
- Additional Resources