%%abc-version 2.1
%%abc-copyright (C) Copyright Ben Paley 2026
%%writefields X
%%writefields N
%%writefields D
%%measurenb 0
%%partsbox 1

X:1
T:Ship In The Clouds
L:1/8
M:C|
C:Trad arr. ©2026 Ben Paley
N:I love this tune. It's quite irregular but it doesn't <em>sound</em> irregular, it just works.
N:What a fully joyous melody. And what a great name for a tune, eh?
N:Notice: no repeats in the A part, that's not a mistake.
Q:1/2=90
R:Reel
D:Andy Cahan, Laura Fishleder and Lisa Ornstein, "Ship in the Clouds", 1978
Z:Ben Paley <ben.paley@benpaley.com>
K:D
P:A
fg [| a2fg a2ab | agfe d4 | bagf gabg |
agfe d2fg | a2fg a2ab | agfe d4 |]
P:B
[|: ded=c Bcd2 | g6 AB | =c2cA BGAF | GFGA B=cdc |
AGFE D4 | fedf edce |1 d6 A2 :|2 d6 |]


X:2
T:Bull at the Wagon
L:1/8
M:C|
C:Trad arr. ©2026 Ben Paley
N:This spiky reel was recorded in Texas in 1929 by the Lewis Brothers, and it's been played and
N:recorded by many people since then. I learnt it from my dad, who played it on the fiddle. I
N:think, as a result, my version is a little spikier than the way most people play it, while also
N:closer to the 1929 recording, but that's pretty subjective. It always feels to me like a
N:crooked tune, and I have to count to remind myself that it's totally straight.
O:New Mexico/Texas, USA
Q:1/2=98
R:Reel
Z:Ben Paley <ben.paley@benpaley.com>
K:A Major
P:A
AB |: c2 cB c2 cB | ceag fecA | B2 BA BcBA | Befg fecB |
c2 cB cdcB | ABcd edcA | B2 ea- agfe | cABc A3B :|
P:B
|: cBce agfa | gefg fece | fgfe cBAF | BzFB- B4 | 
cAce agfa | gefg fece | fgfe cBAG |1 A6 AB :|2 A6 EC |
P:C
|: A,4- -A,B,C2 | B,6 E2- | -EFGA Bcdf | edce- -edc2 |
A4- -ABc2 | B6 GF | EFGA BcdB |1 cBAG A2EC :|2 cBAG A2 |]


X:3
T:Trips Around the Sun
L:1/8
M:C|
C:©2018, Andrew Marlin
N:This is a tune by Andrew Marlin, from his terrific 2018 album "Buried in a Cape". It's not
N:difficult for the fingers, but there's lots of syncopation and anticipation. That's what gives
N:it its charm, of course, but it can also make it trickier to learn.
N:I've left the long E notes at the end of the [A] section alone, but you probably wouldn't want
N:to play them that way very often. There are lots of little fills and tricks and things you can
N:do to ornament that space. Definitely start by listening to Andrew Marlin himself play it!
Q:1/2=110
R:Reel
D:Andrew Marlin, "Buried in a Cape", 2018
Z:Ben Paley <ben.paley@benpaley.com>
K:A Dorian
I:linebreak $
P:A
|: EG A2 A2 Ac | BAGB AGEG | AdBA GBAG | A6 AB |$
cd e2 g4 | B3d BAGB | A2 E6- |1 -E8 :|2 E6 e2- |$
P:B
|: -e2 d2 ^cA-Ag- | -g2 f2 ed2B- | -BABd BAGB | A2 A2- -A2 eg |$
M:3/2
a2 ab age^c d2g2 |
M:C|
B8 | B6 dd | d2^c2 BA3 |1 A6 e2- :|2 A8 |]


X:4
T:Skrammelpolskan efter Karl Lindblad
T:Rattle-polska from the playing of Karl Lindblad
L:1/16
M:C|
C:Trad arr. ©2026 Ben Paley
N:This is a lovely big polska. Lots of shifts of tonality, but on the other hand the rhythm is
N:pretty straight.
O:Gästrikland, Sweden
Q:1/4=95
R:Polska
D:Tony Wrethling, Ulf Hermansson and Per Börjesson, "Felan Går - Danslåtar från
D:Gästrikland", 1979
D:Sven Ahlbäck, "Gästriketon", 1981 (as "Polska efter Karl Lindblad")
Z:Ben Paley <ben.paley@benpaley.com>
K:A
P:A
|: A4 c2Ac e4- | -e2a2 gegb a4 | e3=c ABcd e2c2 | B2AG A2E2 =C2A,2 |
A4 c2Ac e4- | -e2a2 gegb a4 | e3=c ABcd e2c2 | B2AG A8 :|]
P:B
|: A2Bc d2A2 B2=c2 |  B3A =G2F2 G4- |1 =G4 e2B2 c2d2 | c2BA GABG A4 :|2 =G4 e4 d4 | c3c B2cB A4 |
P:C
|: D3D F2DF A2F2 | E2A,2 A,CEC A,CEC :|
P:D
|: D3D F2DF A2FA | d2Ad f2df a4 |
|1 b2ge a2fd =g2ec | dcdf edcB A=GFE :|2 b2ge a2fd =g2ed | c2Bc d8 |]


X:5
T:Faut Margit lieken efter Einar Britt
T:Margit the Bailiff's tune (?) from the playing of Einar Britt
L:1/16
M:3/4
C:Trad arr. ©2026 Ben Paley
N:This tune looks a little simple and repetitive written down. It's not complicated at all, apart
N:from being a polska, but there is so much that can be done with it. I first heard it on the
N:1989 album by Simon Simonssons kvartett, <em>Längs gamala stigar och färdevägar</em>, and
N:they turn this little tune into a jewel.
N:I've transcribed it in D Major just to avoid accidentals, but it doesn't seem to me to spend
N:much time actually in D.
N:The second part does a little XXY thing I really like, that always reminds me of the trilithons
N:at Stonehenge: a short phrase that's played twice like the sarsen stones, then a single short
N:phrase to cap them off, like the lintel stone.
N:Finally: it's a polska, the beats are not all the same length: please please please don't try
N:and play it without listening to Simon Simonsson's Quartet first. I've tried using triplets to
N:express the rhythm of some bars, do you think it works?
O:Älvdalen, Dalarna, Sweden
Q:1/4=110
R:Polska
D:Simon Simonssons Kvartet, "Längs Gamla Stigar och Färdeväger", 1989
D:Filip Jers Quartet, "Filip Jers Quartet Plays Swedish Folk", 2015
D:Tant Parant, "Ro och trevnad, lycklig levnad", 2024
Z:Ben Paley <ben.paley@benpaley.com>
K:D
P:A
|: (3 A4 c4 d4 e3c | (3 d4 B2 G6 B4- | -B4 f2gf e2fe | d4 B8 :|
P:B
|: B4 G2FG A3F | (3 F4 E4 G4 B4- | -B4 G2FG A3F |
(3 F4 E4 G4 B4- | -B4 G2FG A3F | FE3 E8 :|


X:6
T:Äppelbo Gånglåt
T:Walking tune from Äpplebo
L:1/8
M:C
C:Trad arr. ©2026 Ben Paley
N:This is a very popular tune in Sweden, and relatively well-known elsewhere. One of those tunes
N:that probably gets overplayed because it's really good.
O:Äpplebo, Dalarna, Sweden
Q:1/4=150
R:March
D:Ben Paley, "Swedish Fiddle Music", 1993
Z:Ben Paley <ben.paley@benpaley.com>
K:G
V:M clef=treble name="Melody" snm="M"
V:H clef=treble name="Harmony" snm="H"
%%score M|H
P:A
[V:M] D2 |: G3 D G2 B2 | d6 Bc | d2 dB d2 de | c2 cB A2 AB |
[V:H] D2 |: B,3 G, B,2 D2 | G6 GA | B2 BG B2 Bc | A2 AG F2 FG |
%
[V:M] c2 cd e2 dc | Bc BA G2 FG | AB AF D2 EF |1 G6 D2 :|2 G6 Bd |
[V:H] A2 AB c2 BA | GA GD B,2 DG | F2 FD C2 A,2 |1 B,6 A,2 :|2 B,4 D2 G2 |
P:B
[V:M] |: g2 g2 g2 fe | f2 f2 f2 gf | e2 ec eg fe | ed d^c d2 =cB |
[V:H] |: B2 B2 B2 AG | A2 F2 F2 AB | c2 c2 ce dc | cB BA B2 cB |
%
[V:M] c2 cB A2 Ac | Bc BA G2 FG | AB AF D2 EF |1 G6 Bd :|2 G6 |]
[V:H] A2 AF DF AF | G2 DB, G,B, DG | F2 FD C2 A,2 |1 B,4 D2 G2 :|2 B,6 |]


X:7
T:The Providence Reel
T:The Rossport Reel
L:1/8
M:C|
C:John McGrath, arr. ©2026 Ben Paley
N:This is another tune which I first heard on the album <em>Traditional Music From Ireland</em>
N:by Séamus Creagh and Aidan Coffey. There's not a bad track on that album, by the way. The tune
N:was composed by John McGrath, some time in the 1920s or '30s, and it's sometimes called the
N:Rossport Reel, after his birthplace.
O:Rossport, Mayo, Éire
Q:1/2=90
R:Reel
D:Séamus Creagh and Aidan Coffey, "Traditional Music From Ireland", 1999
D:Actually, there are so many, just go and have a look at
D:https://thesession.org/tunes/376/recordings
Z:Ben Paley <ben.paley@benpaley.com>
K:D
P:A
|: E3F DEFA | d2fd gdfd | edBd A2FA | (3 Bcd AF GFED |
E3F DEFA | d2fd gdfd | edBd A2FA |1 (3 Bcd AG FDD2 :|2 (3 Bcd AG FDDg |
P:B
|: fd-dg fdge | fddf ecAe | fd (3 ddd gfec | dcde fd-dc |
dfaf gfec | dcAF G2FG | (3 ABA ^GB ABdf |1 afeg fd-de :|2 afeg fd3 |]


X:8
T:The Rover in the Bog
T:Broadway
L:1/8
M:C|
C:Trad arr. © 2021 Ben Paley
N:I got this brilliant sparkling reel from anglo concertina player Mandy Murray in Brighton. 
O:Ireland
Q:1/2=87
R:Hornpipe
D:Le Chéile, "Lord Mayo", 2006
D:Eamon McGivney, John Kelly and Peadar Ó Riada, "The Drôle", 2013
D:Ben Paley, "Homunculus Mellitus", 2019
Z:Ben Paley <ben.paley@benpaley.com>
K:G
P:A
(3 DEF |: G2BG ABcA | defa gfdc | BABd cAFG | ABAG FDEF |
G2BG ABcA | defa gfdc | BABd cAFG |1 AGGF G2(3DEF :|2 AGGF G2Bd |
P:B
|: g3a gfdf | gbaf gfde | fefg afge | fgfe dBcA |
G2BG ABcA | defa gfdc | BABd cAFG |1 AGGF G2Bd :|2 AGGF G2 |]


X:9
T:The Blackbird
T:Queen of The Earth and Child of the Skies
L:1/8
M:C|
C:Trad arr. ©2026 Ben Paley
N:This tune is so amorphous, it's hard to write down because there are just so many different
N:things to do. When John Carty plays it, it's almost unrecognisable at times from the sheer
N:exuberance of his variations and as for Tommy Potts' version, I'm not even completely sure it's
N:the same tune. I've chosen to write it here without repeats so as to include a couple of
N:different ideas. It's not just an Irish tune, you'll hear versions of it from all around these
N:islands, and there's even an American version called "Queen of The Earth and Child of the
N:Skies".
O:These Islands
Q:1/2=75
R:Set dance or Hornpipe
D:Edden Hammons, "The Edden Hammons Collection", 1999 (as "Queen of The Earth and Child of the
D:Skies")
D:Seán Ryan and P.J.Moloney, "Traditional Music of Ireland Vol.1", 1960
D:Seán Ryan and Peter Carberry, "Traditional Music of Ireland Vol.2", 1960
D:Tommy Potts, "The Liffey Banks", 1971
D:Finbar and Eddie Furey, "The Dawning of the Day", 1972
D:John Carty, "Yeh, That's All It Is", 2005
D:The Expatriate Game, "Traditional Irish & American Music", 2005
Z:Ben Paley <ben.paley@benpaley.com>
K:D Mixolydian
I:linebreak $
P:A1
dc [| B3d c3B | AGFG A2 B^c | d2 d^c d=cAF | GAGF D3 E |$
FDFG A2fe | d^cde d=cAF |
M:3/2
GcAF (3 DED CE D2 dc |$
P:A2
M:C|
BGAB (3 cdc (3 BcB | A2 AG AB^ce | dfef dcAF | GFEG FD[A,2D2] |$
FD (3 EFG ABcA | d2 dc dcAF |
M:3/2
GAGF D2 D2 D2 de |]$
P:B1
M:C|
[| f2 de fefg | a3 g fgaf | g2 gf gbaf | gagf d3 e |$
f2 de fefg | abag fgaf |
M:3/2
gagf (3 ded ce defg |$
M:C|
a3 g fgaf | g3 e f3 e | dcAB cBcd | ef (3 gfe a4 |$
ABAG FGAB | c3 e dcAF |
M:3/2
GAGF DCEC DFAd |$
P:B2
M:C|
fAde fAgA | abag fdef | gfef gbaf | gfef d3 e |$
f3 e defg | a3 g fgaf |
M:3/2
gagf d2 dc d2 (3 efg |$
M:C|
abag fgaf | gfeg (3 fgf (3 efe | d^cAB =cBcd | efge a4 |$
ABAG FGAc | d2 d^c d=cAF |
M:3/2
GAGF D2 DC D2 |]