Traditional Irish Reel, A Dorian
Also known as: The Bright Star Of Munster
TrailJams Tune of the Week: August 26, 2021; December 21, 2025
The Star of Munster is a beautiful Irish reel with entirely too many notes. But the tune really shines when you extend, omit, and ornament some of those notes, turning speed into grace and swing rather than sheer velocity.
Taming the Torrent: As the tune is usually written out in sheet music, it has an unrelenting sequence of eighth notes. But you can consider many of those notes as optional, replacing them with extended notes, gaps for breath, and ornamentation. Playing the tune with an ample amount of swing, and perhaps at a slightly slower tempo, also eases the torrent of notes. In the second half of the tune, the repeated reaches up to a high B note are challenging for stringed instrument players — consider shifting your left hand up to second position for portions of the tune’s B part.
Recordings
- Video – Kevin Burke: The Star Of Munster / John Stenson’s no.1/ John Stenson’s no.2
- Video – The Star of Munster and the Maid Behind the Bar by Tony McManus & Julia Toaspern
- Video – Anthea Lawrence: The Unfortunate Cup of Tea/Ships are Sailing/The Star of Munster from the album Fiddlehead (Olympia, Washington, USA. The Star of Munster starts at time 3:02 in this recording.)
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.
Play from the Dots
Sets
Here are some examples of sets that include The Star of Munster.
- Far From Home Reel Set: Far from Home (G) / The Silver Spear (D) / Star of Munster (A Dor)
- The Unfortunate Cup of Tea / Ships are Sailing / The Star of Munster
- Paddy on the Railroad (D) / Star of Munster (A Dor) / Masons Apron (A)
- Star of Munster / Maid Behind the Bar
- The Star Of Munster (A Dor) / John Stenson’s no.1 (D) / John Stenson’s no.2 (A)
References and Resources
For those who want to dig deeper, here are some other resources.
- More Recordings
- Video – Shane Farrell (Traditional Irish Music): The Star of Munster Reel – played on tenor banjo
- Books
- Lessons
- Lesson – Mikela Valenzuela: The Star of Munster – slow and fast — fiddle rendition
- Lesson – Mike Giverin (Mando Mike): Lesson -The Star of Munster — advanced mandolin lesson video with downloadable sheet music and notes (free)
- Lesson – Kevin Burke: Lesson – The Star of Munster (Gm) — lesson (free excerpt; full lesson by subscription)
- Lesson – Shannon Heaton: Star of Munster [Reel] – Tune of the Month – taught phrase by phrase on flute. Tune variation starts the B part with A major chord notes.
- Lesson – Ben Hockenberry: Star of Munster (Reel) on Irish tenor banjo for the Rochester CCE Learners Session – video, tune played slow and fast with on-screen sheet music
- Lesson – Enda Scahill (Irish Tenor Banjo Lessons): The Star of Munster – lesson with video and Soundslice requires subscription to Irish Tenor Banjo Lessons.
- Other Resources