Barndance, G, A, Traditional Irish
Also known as Gypsy Queen
TrailJams Tune of the Week for July 3, 2022
This is a traditional Irish tune that sparkles and strides. The tune has been most often recorded in the keys of G and A, with neither of those keys standing out as the tune’s “usual” key.
Recordings
- Key of G Major
- Video – Three Mile Stone: Gipsy Princess/Granny in the Corner/Fleur de Mandragore – played on mandolin, fiddle & guitar. From the album Three Mile Stone. (Three Mile Stone is Marla Fibish, Erin Shrader and Richard Mandel)
- Video – Colin Botts and Alan Colfer: Joe Bane’s & Gypsy Princess (barndances) Weber octave mandolin
- Video – Copley Street: The Old / Gypsy Princess / The Noon Lasses – from the album Copley Street, by Copley Street (Nathan Gourley and Joey Abarta), with Owen Marshall
- Key of A Major
- Video – Bobbi Nikles: Gypsy Princess – from the album Fire in the Air
- Audio – Randal Bays: Gypsy Princess – Woman Of The House – from the album The Salmon’s Leap
- Video – The Two Tap Trio: The Road to the Isles / The Gypsy Princess (barn dances)
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.
Play from the Dots
Sets
Examples of sets that include this tune.
- Home Ruler (Hornpipe, D) / The Gypsy Princess (G)
- Gypsy Princess / Woman of the House
- The Road to the Isles / The Gypsy Princess
- Bill O’Malley’s (Barndance, A, a.k.a. Joe Bane’s) / The Gypsy Princess (A)
References and Resources
For those who want to dig deeper, here are some other resources.
- More Recordings
- Video – Jack Talty and Cormac Begley: Joe Bane’s / Gypsy Princess – from the album Na Fir Bolg. Played in F Major.
- Video – John Williams: The Gypsy Queen (Barndance) – from the album Raven. Played in A Major.
- Video – Benedict Gagliardi: The Gypsy Princess (barn dance) – played on concertina (Benedict Gagliardi) with fiddle (Armand Aromin) and mandocello (Jeff Davis). Played in G Major.
- Musicians
- Copley Street (Nathan Gourley and Joey Abarta, Boston, Massachusetts, USA)
- Bobbi Nikles (Port Townsend, Washington, USA)
- Randal Bays (Olympia, Washington, USA)
- Three Mile Stone (Marla Fibish, Erin Shrader and Richard Mandel. San Francisco, California, USA)
- Other Resources
- Webpage – The Session: Gypsy Princess (Barndance) – crowdsourced sheet music, comments and more
- Webpage – The Irish Traditional Music Tune Index: Gypsy Princess