Irish Traditional Music Tune Index
Tune ID# 1845 (Strike the Gay Harp)

RhythmBars8-bar phrase structureMode
Double jig48AABBCCD Major
Transcription of first 2 bars of Strike the Gay Harp
 about these two bars

These two bars are the start of my transcription of how this tune was played – the first time through – on the recording Ch 3 (details in the Discography below).

Where do you get the tune titles?
Titles given to this tune in the sources listed below (plus notes of mine about this tune):
Strike the Gay Harp / Strike the Young Harp / The Night Dance / The Piper's Welcome (also in C) (compare The Piper's Welcome included here in book 1001) (composed by Walker Jackson ca. 1774)
What do the "track#tune" codes mean?

cd Discography

Here are all recordings of this tune considering only the indexed recordings. I have discovered by careful listening that these sources are in fact musically the same tune, regardless of the tune titles they use, key changes, retuning, etc. They are listed in order of when they were recorded.

Year
Recorded
Track
#Tune
[Album code] Artist. Title. Primary musicians (instruments). Album details
and contents
~19731#1[Ch 3] The Chieftains. 3. Michael Tubridy (flute, concertina, whistle), Seán Potts (whistle), Paddy Moloney (pipes, whistle), Martin Fay (fiddle), Seán Keane (fiddle), Peadar Mercier (bodhrán, bones).View album details
~199011#2[SK 2] Seán Keane. Jig It in Style. Seán Keane (fiddle).View album details
~19948#2[JCt 1] John Carty and Brian McGrath. The Cat that Ate the Candle. John Carty (banjo, fiddle), Brian McGrath (piano, banjo).View album details
~199726#1[Shskn 10] Shaskeen. Music for Set Dancing and Listening. Tom Cussen (banjo, mandolin), Benny O'Connor (drums, bodhrán, bongos), Seán Conway (flute, whistle, guitar), Eamonn Cotter (flute), Mike Fahy (guitar), Charlie Harris (accordion), Geraldine Cotter (piano), Carl Hession (piano).View album details
20006#1[KC 2] Kevin Crawford. In Good Company. Kevin Crawford (flute, whistle).View album details
~20045#1[DF] The Dunne Family. Legacy. Mickey Dunne (pipes, fiddle, whistle), Niamh Dunne (fiddle, vocals, viola), Brid Dunne (fiddle).View album details

Bibliography

Here are all transcriptions of this tune under any title whatsoever – considering only the indexed books – listed in chronological order. I have discovered by careful comparison that these are very similar to this tune as played on the recordings listed above.

As tune #1052 in [1850] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. [available]
As tune #256 in [1001] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. The Dance Music of Ireland. 1001 Gems. [available]
As tune #320 in [1001] Francis O'Neill and James O'Neill. The Dance Music of Ireland. 1001 Gems. [available]
On page 62 of [Krsn] Miles Krassen. O'Neill's Music of Ireland. New and Revised. [available]
As tune #29 in [DM 2] Dave Mallinson. 100 Enduring Irish Session Tunes. [available]
As jig #171 in [Cobb] Dan Cobb. Cobb's Music of Ireland. [available]
As tune #209 in [Raff] Lesl Harker. 300 Tunes from Mike Rafferty. [available]

If you are considering using the above transcriptions to help you learn this tune, I invite you to check these practical Tips for Learning Irish Traditional Music. See also: So why do you bother indexing books and abc?

Year of the oldest source for this tune, considering the recordings and transcriptions listed above (note that I concentrate on sources after 1900): 1903