The Man of the House

Reel (Single), E Dorian, Traditional Irish
Also known as: Carthy’s; Paddy Carthy’s Reel

TrailJams Tune of the Week: The Man of the House. Traditional Irish Reel. Play it together September 25, 2022. TrailJams. trailjams.org copyright 2022 Jonathan Lay

A popular session tune, The Man of the House is straightforward to learn and play, and it’s a tune that invites repetition and variation.

Recordings

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. See the About the Chords section below for insight into the chords used in this arrangement.

Sheet music for The Man of the House, traditional Irish Reel in E Dorian. Arrangement by Jonathan Lay, September 17, 2022. Chords for The Man of the House. trailjams.org

Play from the Dots
Slow tempo 65bpm
Moderate tempo 85bpm

About the Chords
This arrangement includes some chords that might be unfamiliar. The Am7 and Dsus2 chords are quite easy to play on a guitar in standard tuning. As the chord diagrams here show, each chord just requires two fingers.

Sets

Examples of sets that include this tune.

  • Come West Along the Road / The Man of the House / The Congress Reel
  • The Old Bush / Castle Kelly / The Man of the House
  • Castle Kelly / The Man of the House / Come West Along the Road
  • The Ashplant / The Woman of the House / The Man of the House

References and Resources

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