The Kesh
Jig in G Major · difficulty 2 of 5
The story of The Kesh
As with many Irish trad tunes, The Kesh has gone by plenty of names. The collector George Petrie first published it as "Tear the Callies" in The Ancient Music of Ireland (1855). "Kerrigan's" was another popular name for it, after Tom Kerrigan, the famous Irish-born New York piper. Now it's primarily known as "The Kesh", named for a small village on the Erne in County Fermanagh.
In 1975 The Bothy Band revived this tune in a big way - The Kesh became the opening track of their debut album. It marked the arrival of one of the most influential Irish trad bands and became one of the most popular jigs in the world. The jig is typically played at a brisk tempo, but it works really well slower too, which gives it a dreamy, wistful mood. That versatility makes it a popular pick among beginners on the tin whistle.
How to play The Kesh on tin whistle
Jigs swing in 6/8: two lilting groups of three per bar. Get that pulse steady at a walking tempo before you push the speed.
The tab under the notes shows the whistle fingering for every note - filled circles are covered holes, and a + means the overblown octave. If you are new to stave notation, you can try reading the stave and tab together which gradually will make you learn the notation.
Start slow with a metronome getting the base melody right. As the fingers learn the tune, try adding some ornaments and gradually increase the tempo without losing control.
Notation is sourced from The Session, the community archive of traditional music.
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