An Dro, Em, traditional Breton dance tune
This tune comes from Brittany, the Celtic region of France. It is an “an dro,” a tune to accompany a traditional Breton line or circle dance that is also called an an dro. (In the Breton language, “an dro” means “the turn.”) The tune is typically played in the keys of E minor, B minor, or (less often) A minor.
Recordings
- Video – Liz Faiella: The Wren, Traditional melody – solo fiddle in Em
- Video – Athas: The Wren / Anything for John Joe / The Devil’s Dream (An Dro / Reels) (Live) – from the album 10 for 10: Live Tracks and Rarities. In this recording The Wren is in Bm.
- Audio – Baron Collins-Hill (MandoLessons): The Wren (Fast): Mandolin & Guitar – in Bm, this is a play-along audio track for the MandoLessons lesson for playing the tune The Wren.
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-along Tracks
Sets
Examples of sets that include this tune.
- Aughrim March Set: The Wren (Em) / The Battle of Aughrim (March, A Dorian)
- The Wren (Em) / King of The Fairies (set dance, E Dorian)
- Song of the Chanter (March, D Dorian) / The Wren (Bm)
References and Resources
For those who want to dig deeper, here are some other resources.
- Books
- Book & audio – Shannon Heaton: The First 50 – PDF book; sheet music for 50 tunes with audio tracks for each tune. The Wren is in E minor in this book.
- Lessons
- Lesson – Liz Faiella: How to play The Wren, Traditional melody, Fiddle tutorial – taught phrase by phrase (in Em)
- Lesson (video) – Julia Plumb (Free Fiddle Lessons): The Wren (an dro) – Free Fiddle Lesson – taught phrase by phrase (in Em)
- Lesson – Baron Collins-Hill (MandoLessons): The Wren (With Tabs) – Mandolin Lesson – video lesson with downloadable sheet music and play-along audio tracks. Taught in Bm.
- Additional Resources
- Webpage – North Atlantic Tune List: Wren, The – sheet music and audio tracks in Em, with fiddle and with harmony arrangement of second fiddle and cello
- Article – Wikipedia: Brittany – about the region of France
- Article – Folkdance and Footnotes: An Dro & An Dro Retourné, [L] (Changerais Tu, Chañj Tu, [S*]) – Brittany – about the an dro dance, including videos and a step-by-step description of the dance