The Merry Blacksmith

Traditional Irish Reel, D
TrailJams Tune of the Week for October 7, 2021

The Merry Blacksmith is a very popular tune in Irish sessions, but it is also played in old-time music jams, and for contra dance. In the context of American old-time music, the tune goes by the name of “Eminence Breakdown.”

Recordings

• Audio – Olympia Traditional Music Sessions: The Merry Blacksmith, Mountain Road from the album Round Tower. (Olympia, Washington, USA.)
• Video – John Redmond (accordion) + Matt Stapleton (guitar): Virtual Irish Music Session #50, The Merry Blacksmith / Sporting Paddy / Speed The Plough (reels)

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

Here are some examples of sets that include The Merry Blacksmith

• The Merry Blacksmith Reel Set: The Merry Blacksmith (D) / Drowsy Maggie (E Dorian) / The Wind that Shakes the Barley (D)
• The Merry Blacksmith (D) / The Wind that Shakes the Barley (D) / Rolling in the Ryegrass (D)
• The Merry Blacksmith (D) / The Mountain Road (D)
• The Merry Blacksmith (D) / Sporting Paddy (A Dorian) / Speed The Plough (D)

References and Resources

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

• More Recordings
  • Audio – John Weed and Stuart Mason: The Merry Blacksmith – played slowly on fiddle with guitar. From the album Slow & Easy Volume 1 (San Luis Obispo, California)
• Books
  • Book & audio – Complete Irish Fiddle Player, by Peter Cooper (Mel Bay Publications. With downloadable audio.)
  • Book & audio – Irish Music 400 Traditional Tunes, by Stephen Ducke (With audio CD)
  • Book – John Weed and Stuart Mason: Slow & Easy Volumes 1 and 2
  • Book & audio – Old-Time Favorites for Fiddle and Mandolin, by Dan Levenson (Mel Bay Publications. With downloadable audio. Also see clawdan.com.)
• Lessons
  • Lesson – Red Desert Fiddle: Fiddle Tune a Week: Merry Blacksmith slow (Instructional video. Also see reddesertviolin.com.)
  • Lesson – Red Desert Fiddle: Fiddle Tune a Week: Merry Blacksmith medium (Instructional video. Also see reddesertviolin.com.)
  • Lesson – Tom Morley: Learn an Irish Trad Fiddle Tune – The Merry Blacksmith (Instructional video. Also see irishtradfiddle.com.)
  • Lesson – Aodan Coyne (DADGAD): The Merry Blacksmith Irish Guitar Tutorial (DADGAD Tuning) – video tutorial for DADGAD guitar
• Additional Resources
  • Article – Dan Levenson: The Merry Blacksmith. From: Banjo Newsletter, the 5-String Banjo Magazine. With an audio track of John Hartford playing the tune on fiddle as “Eminence Breakdown,” and another track with Dan Levenson playing it on five-string banjo.