Jig, D, Traditional Irish

The title of this cheerful Irish jig may seem at first to be completely whimsical. But “rambling pitchfork” is an expression that refers to an itinerant farm laborer — one who works from farm to farm, with a pitchfork being a common and simple tool of the trade.
Recordings
- Audio – Comhaltas: The Rambling Pitchfork – session recording. From the album Foinn Seisiún Volume 1
- Video – Kevin Burke & Ged Foley: The Rambling Pitchfork – played on fiddle with guitar backing. From the album In Tandem. (The Rambling Pitchfork, in D Major, begins at time 2:47 in this recording.)
- Audio – Stephen Ducke: The Rambling Pitchfork (Jig) – played on tin whistle. From the book Irish Music – 400 Traditional Tunes.
Sheet Music (Dots)
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.
- Rambling Rogue Jig Set: The Rambling Pitchfork (D) / The Black Rogue (D) / The Blackthorn Stick (G)
- Jerry’s Beaver Hat / Kesh / Rambling Pitchfork
- Tatter Jack Walsh / The Rambling Pitchfork
- The Rambling Pitchfork / The Sporting Pitchfork
- Connaughtman’s Rambles / The Rambling Pitchfork
References and Resources
For those who want to dig deeper, here are some other resources.
- More Recordings
- Video – Shannon & Matt Heaton: Sept 26 Virtual Guided (Slow) Session – The Rambling Pitchfork – played on flute with bouzouki accompaniment. (The Rambling Pitchfork starts at time 27:00 in this video.)
- Video – Séamus Egan: Tatter Jack Walsh / The Rambling Pitchfork – played on tenor banjo & harmonica. From the album In Your Ear. (Portland, Oregon, USA. The Rambling Pitchfork starts at time 1:29 in this recording.)
- Video – Chris Smith: The Rambling and Sporting Pitchforks – from the album Coyotebanjo, Irish Traditional Music from America, Chris Smith with Roger Landes and Randal Bays. Played on tenor banjo and fiddle with bouzouki backing.
- Audio – Castlerock: – Jig: Rambling Pitchfork – played slowly on flute and fiddle. From the album Slowplayers: Session Tunes volume 1. (Castlerock is William Bajzek and Angeline LeLeux, Mt. Vernon, Washington, USA)
- Video – Shane Farrell: The Rambling Pitchfork Jig. Irish Tenor Banjo Music – played on tenor banjo, with variations.
- Books
- Book – The Portland Collection, Contra Dance Music in the Pacific Northwest, Volume 2, by Susan Songer with Clyde Curley.
- Book – Foinn Seisiún, Volume 1 — Published by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann
- Book & Audio – Grey Larsen: 150 Gems of Irish Music for Tin Whistle – with audio tracks of the tunes played on tin whistle
- Book & Audio – Stephen Ducke: Irish Music 400 Traditional Tunes – with audio tracks of the tunes played on tin whistle
- Lessons
- Lesson – Pat Barton: How to play ‘The Rambling Pitchfork’ – jig on Irish b/c Accordion – demonstration video of the tune played slowly on button accordion
- Lessons – Online Academy of Irish Music: The Rambling Pitchfork – lessons for fiddle and flute. (Requires subscription to OAIM.)
- Lesson – James Finnegan (The Banjo Buddy): The Rambling Pitchfork & Right Hand Technique – Traditional Irish Music Tutorial – tenor banjo lesson
- Lesson – Niall Murphy (Fiddlevideo): The Rambling Pitchfork (Jig) – Trad Irish Fiddle Lesson – video lesson & sheet music. (Requires a subscription to Fiddlevideo.)
- Additional Resources
- Webpage – The Session: The Rambling Pitchfork (Jig) – crowdsourced sheet music, comments, and other information about the tune
- Webpage – Slowplayers: The Rambling Pitchfork (D) – background information, audio tracks, and sheet music for the tune