The Lads Of Laois in E Minor — Reel | Tenor Banjo TAB & D Whistle Fingering

The Lads Of Laois GDAE tenor banjo TAB, four measures per line

Japanese version: The Lads Of Laois(Eマイナー・Reel)|バンジョーTABとD管ホイッスル運指

“The Lads Of Laois,” an Irish session reel, has been converted with ABC2Tab for D tin whistle and GDAE tenor banjo. The score shows standard notation, note-by-note whistle fingering, and banjo string and fret positions.

Session arrangement and YouTube performance

Fuller session arrangement

A local ABC2Tab arrangement that preserves the written melody and repeats while adding whistle, GDAE tenor banjo, fiddle, accordion, guitar, bass, drone, and a bodhrán-style pulse. It is not presented as generative-AI audio.

The Lads Of Laois — session arrangement

A popular performance on YouTube

A high-view performance selected after checking the tune-title match, public status, and embeddability. 60,727 views when checked on 2026-08-04.

Sarah O' Gorman- Lads of Laois & The Kilavil Fancy | Cork Folk Festival | TG4
Watch on YouTube →

Listen to the score

A practice rendition of the written melody and repeats, voiced with D whistle and GDAE tenor banjo.

The Lads Of Laois — score-faithful practice audio

Basic information

  • Tune type: Reel
  • Time signature: 4/4
  • Key: E Minor
  • Tenor banjo tuning: GDAE
  • Whistle: D tin whistle (zero unsupported notes)

Both the whistle-fingering score and banjo TAB use consistent four-measure systems.

D tin whistle: standard notation and fingering

Six circles appear below every note. A filled circle means covered, an open circle means uncovered, and the top circle is nearest the mouthpiece.

The Lads Of Laois: standard notation and D tin whistle fingering, four measures per line
D tin whistle: standard notation and fingering, four measures per line

Tenor banjo: standard notation and GDAE TAB

Note names appear above the staff and TAB below it. The strings are tuned G-D-A-E from lowest to highest; numbers are frets and 0 is an open string.

The Lads Of Laois: standard notation and GDAE tenor banjo TAB, four measures per line
GDAE tenor banjo: standard notation and TAB, four measures per line

How to practise

  1. Keep a steady 4/4 pulse and begin slowly enough to make every note even.
  2. Repeat each four-measure system, checking whistle fingering and banjo position separately.
  3. Play with the practice audio, then use the fuller arrangement to hear the complete tune flow.

Source and conversion method

The melody was checked against public setting #24068 on The Session.

Source: The Lads Of Laois on The Session

The public ABC notation was entered into ABC2Tab and converted to D-whistle fingering and GDAE tenor-banjo TAB. This article does not reproduce The Session’s page text.

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