The Salamanca

Reel, D, Traditional Irish

This traditional Irish reel gets its name from the ancient Spanish city of Salamanca. Perhaps the title commemorates a battle, a racehorse, or the college and Catholic seminary in that city. Because of the popularity of The Bothy Band’s recording of the tune on their album “1975,” the tune is often played in the set from that album. That set of tunes: The Salamanca / The Banshee / The Sailor’s Bonnet.

Recordings

• Video – The Bothy Band: The Salamanca / The Banshee / The Sailor’s Bonnet – from the album 1975.
• Audio – Comhaltas: Salamanca – session recording from the album Foinn Seisiún Volume 1
• Video – Pat Barton Accordion: Irish Reel: The Salamanca on button accordion – played on d/d# diatonic button accordion.

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 of the tune here is simplified, based on The Bothy Band’s recording of the tune on their 1975 album.

Sets

Examples of sets that include this tune.

• Salamanca Reel Set: The Salamanca (D) / The Banshee (G) / The Sailor’s Bonnet (D)
• The Salamanca / Over the Moor to Maggie / Chicago Reel
• The Salamanca / The Banshee / The Sailor’s Bonnet
• The Wise Maid / The Sally Gardens / The Salamanca
• The Salamanca / The Sally Gardens
• The Salamanca / The Merry Blacksmith

References and Resources

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

• More Recordings
  • Video – Gadan: Salamanca reel/Julia Delaney/Frank’s Reel – live performance
  • Audio – Sugar Beat: The Salamanca Reel​/​Paddy on the Turnpike​/​The Tartar Frigate – from the album Wait ’til You Hear This One! (Sugar Beat is Elke Baker, Susan Brandt, Marc Glickman. Maryland, USA.)
• Books
  • Book – Foinn Seisiún, Volume 1 — Published by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann. 
  • Book – Chris Smith: Celtic Backup for All Instrumentalists
• Lessons
  • Lesson – Kevin Burke (Fiddlevideo): The Salamanca (Reel) – fiddle tutorial, with downloadable sheet music and audio. (Full lesson requires subscription to Fiddlevideo.)
  • Lesson – Chris Haigh (The Fiddle Channel): Salamanca (Fiddle lesson) – fiddle tutorial video includes playing the tune set: The Salamanca / The Banshee / The Sailor’s Bonnet.
  • Lesson – Tergal14 Mandolin: Mandolin lesson. The Salamanca – mandolin lesson video with tab in the video
  • Lesson – Ian Walsh (OnlineLessonVideos): 3 Irish Reels – for Fiddle – Salamanca, The Banshee, The Sailor’s Bonnet – fiddle lesson sample video. Full lesson available for purchase.
• Additional Resources
  • Webpage – The Session: The Salamanca Reel – crowdsourced sheet music, comments, and other information