p.j., Fionn and anyone else who's interested
Slides are single jigs in 6/8. (I thought about the 12/8 suggestion but it doesn't work- that would be far too complex).These tunes were not ,after all, composed and written down on manuscript paper with a key signature. They were probably composed by a fiddler, playing to fit the rhythm of the dance, and passed on only by ear until very recent times. Accents are in the same place as other jigs i.e. 1st and 4th. Snuffy in his post above summed up the main difference between double and single jigs, clarifying what I said about 'more notes to the bar' in a double jig. This is a generalisation, of course, which is usually true.

But the only way to tell what a slide is, is to listen to lots of slides! It's not just in the key signature, or the position of accented or stressed beats. It's a stylistic difference, which can't be picked up from the dots on manuscript paper.

If I find any links to useful pages I'll post them on this thread. I've found reels, jigs and hornpipes to download but no polkas or slides yet!

Slides originate in the Kerry/ West Limerick area, and are played for the Kerry Set, a very energetic,8-handed dance. There are several variants but they will all have a slide figure, a hornpipe figure and two polka figures. The set is not danced on the toes (like Riverdance!) but on the flat of the foot- in your working boots- the stepping is called 'battering'. I'm getting carried away here thinking back to sets I have watched/ danced/ played for!

Hope this helps-let me know if you're still confused!

Regards

--Noreen