I'll have to find a sound bite so I can get the feel for it but I look forward to digging in.
Probably not the easiest one to find a recording of. I lifted the tune off a John Naughton tape (with P Joe Hayes) and like many of his tunes it was not named so named it after him. There are more than a few named 'John Naughton' that are not this one. A copy of the recording has since been put on the Clare library site but the server is down at the moment so you can't get at it that way. Pat O'Connor plays it (with Maty MacNamara) on his 'Humours of Derrybeha' and possibly Martin Hayes plays it somewhere or other. If the worst comes to the worst I'll put up a clip.
[edit/add: Found one
here: Yvonne Casey and Christy McNamara ]
Another one, from the same tape and Pat O'Connor and Mary Mac play it after the other one (quite possibly they learned both off the same private recording I learned them from) :
T:Lackaroe
M:4/4
L:1/8
R:reel
K:EDor
BEGE DEGA|BEGE d2BA|BEGE DEGA|BGdB A2GA:|
Beed BAGA|(3Bcd ef gfed|Beed BAGA|BedB A2GA|
Beed BAGA|(3Bcd ef ~g3a|bgag fged|BGdB A2GA||
Again very simple in structure, it's all in putting the rhythm on it.
This is more to illustrate the point about simple tunes for learning and not needing tunes that have been done to death. There are more wellknown tunes in similar vein, Ashplant, Morning Star, perhaps. I was working at the computer most of the week, editing a collection of photographs for the Irish Traditional Music Archive and was listening to the CD I mentioned above, that had those tunes on it. That brought them back up and I was playing them a bit over the past few days. But I feel everybody should find their own tunes to play, whatever takes your fancy when you listen to music. It's easier than learning someone else's favourite tunes.
Another one in a Major key that I used when teaching the pipes. One of Séamus Ennis' :
T: I Have No Money
R: reel
M: 4/4
L: 1/8
K: Dmaj
|: FAdB ~A3G | FAdA FE EG | FAdB ABdf | afeg fddA |
| FAdB ~A3G | FAdA FE ~E2 | FAdB ~A3f | afeg fddf ||
|: afef dcdf | afeg fB Bf | afef dcdB | ABAG FDDf |
| afef dcdf | afeg fB Bf | afge dedB | ABAG FDDE ||
Clear phrase structure, simple rhythms. And not played to death. You can build up to more complex ones from that. But take them where you find them, or they find you. Ideally from hearing them played well.
I always like to think tunes find you, it's the ones you hear and they stick when you're ready for them. You can waste a lot of time trying to learn tunes only to find they just won't stay with you or fall in place. It's better to go with the ones that hit you on the spot, ready to go. They may be tunes you have heard for years and then, suddenly, you hear someone play it a certain way and you have it.