The Maid Behind the Bar

Reel, D, Irish Traditional
TrailJams Tune of the Week for July 8, 2021

The Maid Behind the Bar is one of the most popular traditional Irish reels.

Recordings

• Audio – Comhaltas: The Maid Behind the Bar – from the album Foinn Seisiún Volume 1
• Audio – Stephen Ducke: The Maid Behind the Bar (Reel) – played on tin whistle. From the book Irish Music – 400 Traditional Tunes

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.

Suggested Sets

Companion tunes and sequences that work well for this tune.

• Cooley’s Reel / The Maid behind the Bar
• The Maid behind the Bar / The Banshee
• The Banshee (G) / Cooley’s (E Dor) / Maid behind the Bar (D)
  Jump to the Banshee Reel Set

References and Resources

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

• More recordings
  • Video – Irish Reels – Maid Behind The Bar & The Banshee (Aaron Brown, Alanna Jenish, Philip Provencher)
  • Video – Stockton’s Wing: The Maid Behind The Bar
  • Video – The Maid Behind the Bar ft. Liam O’Connor | McNeela Music (Whistle & fiddle)
  • Video – Rapalje: Cooley’s – Maid Behind the Bar – Two Irish Reels
• Books
  • Book – Stephen Ducke: Irish Music 400 Traditional Tunes
  • Book – James Finnegan: The Banjo Buddy Tune Book – 365 Traditional Irish Tunes – sheet music with tablature for tenor banjo or mandolin
• Lessons
  • Lesson – Shannon Heaton: Learning Irish Flute – Tune of the Month with Shannon Heaton – Maid Behind the Bar [Reel] – video lesson
  • Lesson – Chris Haigh: Irish fiddle lesson; learn The Maid behind the Bar – video lesson
  • Lesson – Red Desert Fiddle: Irish Tune a Week: Maid Behind the Bar – video lesson.
  • Lesson – James Finnegan (TheBanjoBuddy): Learn The Maid Behind the Bar – Trad Tutorial – video tutorial for tenor banjo with on-screen sheet music and tab, and phrase-by-phrase instruction. Printed sheet music is available in The Banjo Buddy Tune Book.
  • Lesson – Conor Lamb (Whistle Workshops): The Maid Behind The Bar (Reel) – Slow – demonstration of the tune played slowly on tin whistle. Also see the full-speed demonstration video.
  • Lesson – Aodan Coyne – How To Play The Maid Behind The Bar – Full Irish Guitar Backing Tutorial – DADGAD guitar tutorial video