Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: death by whisky Date: 31 Jul 00 - 05:25 AM With the Rocky Road to Dublin,"Hunt the hare and...... ..raaaa"is sung over three bars of 5/4.Christy Moore makes good use of it on his Traveller album. |
Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: Peter K (Fionn) Date: 29 Jul 00 - 07:18 PM Very useful, Oggie. Very persuasive. I did sit through some sessions of the world Irish Dance championships in Belfast a few months ago. The music was from solo fiddle with keyboard accompaniment. The tempi were almost mechanically precise - I evem timed the dances - but no sign of a metronome. What did surprise me was that solo contestants danced in pairs (independently of each other of course) and each pair got a different tune. So dozens of jigs, reels or whatever the category happened to be, strung together end-to-end with barely a pause, and never a list consulted. All this may well be the norm - it's the first time I've seen competition dancing at anything like this level. I must say I found the overall tone of the event slightly disagreeable. There was a huge amount of commercial activity around the edges, with stalls flogging all kinds of specialist kit (even wigs for god's sake), kitch costumes at spectacular prices, etc. And many contestants seemed to have a certain Shirley Temple look about them that I found a bit distasteful, curmudgeonly old fart that I am. The real giveaway was how desperate the parents were to be seen to be not putting their kids under pressure. Sorcha, that's a very big question you've touched on. I'd better PM you or I'll get my knuckles rapped for more thread creep. |
Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: oggie Date: 29 Jul 00 - 06:20 PM The emphasis in a slip jig is also very diferent to the other jigs when used for the 'Feis'. There is a hard beat every other bar (sing Rocky Road to Dublin) which puctuates the dance and changes it's direction. For irish dance music played at dance speeds and emphasis listen to John Doonan 'Flute for th Feis' - he is one of the best dance musicians around and the spare arrangements allow the beat to come through clearly. If you are ever invited to play for a Feis don't!! I did it once and had to play the same 5 tunes, in strict tempo, for 6 hours! All the best Steve |
Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: Sorcha Date: 28 Jul 00 - 09:25 PM Well, hello there to you to Fionn's daughter Sorcha!! (just how do you pronounce it?) |
Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: Peter K (Fionn) Date: 28 Jul 00 - 08:33 PM The air "Rejoice" in Handel's Messiah is a jig. No wonder this oratorio had to have its first performance in Dublin. The heavy-handed editors of the Victorian era must have realised a gig was far too much fun for their gloomy mock-Gothic churches and town halls, 'cos they turned it into a solemn 4/4. Sorcha, my eight-year-old daughter was reading over my shoulder and says hello. She happens to be called Sorcha. |
Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: Sorcha Date: 28 Jul 00 - 08:14 PM Marion, thanks for setting me straight on that before I really did put my foot in my mouth. I know LOTS more about slip jigs now, too!! Cool! |
Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: Noreen Date: 28 Jul 00 - 07:08 PM LOL sophocleese, I'll remember that.
For the sake of completeness: under Jig my (concise) Grove [:o)] expounds thus: Marion, I looked at your earlier thread which Jacob gave the link to. Particular double jigs would probably be played for dancing a heavy (treble) jig, as certain tunes sound better than others at the slower pace. AND slip jigs and hop jigs are both 9/8 tunes, but as I understand it a hop jig is a simpler dance, since kiddies are taught the hop jig as one of their first dances. Does this make sense? Noreen |
Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: Noreen Date: 28 Jul 00 - 05:57 PM oooOOOOOOooo Mbo- mine's out on loan at the moment! :o) Noreen xx |
Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: Mbo Date: 28 Jul 00 - 05:46 PM Noreen, I was using the 12 volume version of New Grove. |
Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: Marion Date: 28 Jul 00 - 05:36 PM Noreen, thanks for the info about treble jigs. And I'm all for fiddling and dancing at the same time - someday I'm going to learn to do that, I swear. But as for singing and dancing - it's hard enough to sing "Rocky Road to Dublin" without gasping for air as it is. Actually the book I found "Rocky Road to Dublin" in introduces it as "a good song for non-smokers..." Marion |
Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: Noreen Date: 28 Jul 00 - 05:24 PM Hi all, lots of stuff here! Jon, thanks for the Ceolas link, very useful. Hello again, Fionn, glad you're happier with it. I agree it's not black & white, a lot of what we talked about before is in the style of playing and small differences in rhythm and stresses. This is indeed, as Jacob said, important in which tune is played for which dance. Keep listening and dancing! Noreen |
Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: GUEST,an actual guest Date: 28 Jul 00 - 05:01 PM there's plenty of 9/8 in Bach, and plenty of jigs, although they're called "gigues" -- IIRC the jig is originally an English dance form. Irish jigs are just one flavor of the form. One place to hear Bach gigues would be the solo cello suites, the final movement of all six is a gigue. There are a few in the solo violin sonatas/partitas as well, but either marked only by tempo, or called "giga". They turn up elsewhere in Bach and the baroque, it's an old and well represented form throughout European music, not exclusively Irish.
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Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: sophocleese Date: 28 Jul 00 - 04:36 PM Yikes a jig played at light speed? then, or whenever, we'd a get a warped jig, no wonder some of those dancers seem to hang in the air for longer than possible. I'm enjoying reading this thread as I find out many different names for jigs. It seems as confusing a terminology as "modal". |
Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: Marion Date: 28 Jul 00 - 04:26 PM Yes, Rocky Road to Dublin is a slip jig, and can be sung quickly enough to dance to - though hopefully not the same person singing and dancing. Bach's Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring is also in 9/8, and is almost all eighth notes. This is probably a coincidence, but one of these days I'm going to try playing it with a jig-accented rhythm and link it to a fiddle tune... that would be fun. Sorcha, regarding your statement: "I think I remember being told that when doing a slip jig, the dancer(lady) slips sideways along a straight line, rather than staying in one place (solo performance) or moving in a circle (contest, aka "feis" jigging). Anybody know for sure?' This is not the case according to my experience. In general, the hard shoe dances are relatively stationary and the dancer mostly faces one direction, whereas the soft shoe dances cover more floor space and involve facing more directions. But I haven't noticed any difference between the slipjig and the soft reels or jigs along these lines. In any rhythm of soft shoe dance, some steps are in place, some go straight forward or backwards or sideways, some are circular, and some follow more varied paths (e.g., straight diagonally then a half circle back home). My influences have been three Irish/Irish-descended women teaching in central Canada, one of whom learned from one of the others; maybe in Ireland or in other circles it's different. It is customary for a solo dance to begin with a circular "lead-around" that is quite simple. However, I danced in a feis once and the lead-arounds were always omitted because for each rhythm you compete in, you get only 32 bars, 16 of which have to be the mirror image of the other 16, so all the dancers want to show their more complicated stuff. And I have a question for those discussing single/double jigs. Does anyone know what a "treble jig" is, musically? In Irish dancing we called a jig done in hard shoes a treble jig. I asked my teacher, who is not a musician (or rather, not an instrumentalist) what made a certain tune a treble jig, and she didn't know except to say that treble jigs are slower than "light jigs". Does anyone know if there is an inherent difference between treble jigs and other jigs, besides their speed? Can any jig be played at treble speed or light speed? Marion |
Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: GUEST,Sheila Date: 28 Jul 00 - 03:37 PM What a WEALTH of knowledge I've gained from what I thought was a simple question! Answers from around the world!! Thanks everyone. Sheila |
Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: Thomas the Rhymer Date: 28 Jul 00 - 03:21 PM Fergie, if you please, tell me how the song goes......... Its a winner, tale spinner, it tingles my toes......... Is there a tune, a recording, a sheet;.......... For to sing its reflections, I won't miss a beat! ttr |
Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: Branwen23 Date: 28 Jul 00 - 03:16 PM isn't "rocky Road to Dublin" a slip jig? -branwen- |
Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: Peter K (Fionn) Date: 28 Jul 00 - 03:01 PM OK, Noreen, I was miles out in that other thread. But from what Mbo says, even Groves is a bit off-beam on this one. I'm now 99 per cent sure you're right, thanks to your patience and Jon's blue clicky (I'd been to that site many times Jon, but always skipping the wordy bits). But even there. it's no quite black and white. Thanks for dragging me back to this little matter Sheila. It's been bugging me for a while, but I never got round to making the effort to go into it in proper detail. |
Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: Malcolm Douglas Date: 28 Jul 00 - 03:00 PM And already in the Database, here: Slip Jigs And Reels |
Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: Reineke Date: 28 Jul 00 - 02:57 PM Roger, "Slipjigs And Reels" written by Steve Tilston, performed by Fairport Convention on "Jewel In The Crown". |
Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: GUEST,Laura Date: 28 Jul 00 - 01:59 PM Sheila et al., Thank you. Questions like yours and answers like all those who responded help to enrich and educate our lives. Laura, from way down in Argentina |
Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: Roger in Sheffield Date: 28 Jul 00 - 01:52 PM Fergie!! I hate it when I read something that I have heard yet cannot remember where or by whom It is gonna bug me all night long You aren't the ex-royal fergie are you?? Anyway thanks for a little more education everyone and where do I go to see ladies dancing Slip Jigs (and is there a bar?) Roger |
Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: Fergie Date: 28 Jul 00 - 01:41 PM Slipjigs and Reels He was barely a man in his grandfather's coat, Sewn into the lining was a ten shilling note, Goodbye to the family, farewell to the shore, 'Til I taste good fortune you'll see me no more. Now the ships on the ocean it tossed like a cork, Then one fine summers morning they sighted New York, He stood on the gangplank and breathed the air, Saying "Hello land of plenty I've come for my share". Chorus And he did like the ladies, and the rise and the fall, Of their ankles and their dresses down on the dance floor, And the roll of the dice and the spin of the wheel, But he took most delight in the slipjigs and reels. There was talk of a pistol and some say a knife, But all are agreed there was somebody's wife, A dreadful commotion a terrible fight, He left one man dead and ran into the night. On a train to St. Louis just one jump ahead, He slept one eye open and a six-gun in bed, He dreamt of the mountains and green fields of home, Crossing the plains where the buffalo roam. A bad reputation's a hard thing to bear, Mothers pour scorn and young children they stare, So he found consolation in flash company, Your life ain't so bad with a girl on each knee. Oh they called him "The Kid" and by twenty one, All that he knew was the power of the gun, And by twenty-three he'd shot five men down, Who got in his way as he rambled around. There's bones on the desert and buzzards that fly, In the highest of circles just wishing he'd die, But in matters of cruelty it must be said, A landlord will pick your bones before you're dead. It was wild Mescaleros I heard someone say, In the deadliest ambush near old Sante Fe, A young buck was taken all dressed in a coat, And inside the lining a ten shilling note.
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Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: Fergie Date: 28 Jul 00 - 01:41 PM Slipjigs and Reels He was barely a man in his grandfather's coat, Sewn into the lining was a ten shilling note, Goodbye to the family, farewell to the shore, 'Til I taste good fortune you'll see me no more. Now the ships on the ocean it tossed like a cork, Then one fine summers morning they sighted New York, He stood on the gangplank and breathed the air, Saying "Hello land of plenty I've come for my share". Chorus And he did like the ladies, and the rise and the fall, Of their ankles and their dresses down on the dance floor, And the roll of the dice and the spin of the wheel, But he took most delight in the slipjigs and reels. There was talk of a pistol and some say a knife, But all are agreed there was somebody's wife, A dreadful commotion a terrible fight, He left one man dead and ran into the night. On a train to St. Louis just one jump ahead, He slept one eye open and a six-gun in bed, He dreamt of the mountains and green fields of home, Crossing the plains where the buffalo roam. A bad reputation's a hard thing to bear, Mothers pour scorn and young children they stare, So he found consolation in flash company, Your life ain't so bad with a girl on each knee. Oh they called him "The Kid" and by twenty one, All that he knew was the power of the gun, And by twenty-three he'd shot five men down, Who got in his way as he rambled around. There's bones on the desert and buzzards that fly, In the highest of circles just wishing he'd die, But in matters of cruelty it must be said, A landlord will pick your bones before you're dead. It was wild Mescaleros I heard someone say, In the deadliest ambush near old Sante Fe, A young buck was taken all dressed in a coat, And inside the lining a ten shilling note.
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Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: Fergie Date: 28 Jul 00 - 01:41 PM Slipjigs and Reels He was barely a man in his grandfather's coat, Sewn into the lining was a ten shilling note, Goodbye to the family, farewell to the shore, 'Til I taste good fortune you'll see me no more. Now the ships on the ocean it tossed like a cork, Then one fine summers morning they sighted New York, He stood on the gangplank and breathed the air, Saying "Hello land of plenty I've come for my share". Chorus And he did like the ladies, and the rise and the fall, Of their ankles and their dresses down on the dance floor, And the roll of the dice and the spin of the wheel, But he took most delight in the slipjigs and reels. There was talk of a pistol and some say a knife, But all are agreed there was somebody's wife, A dreadful commotion a terrible fight, He left one man dead and ran into the night. On a train to St. Louis just one jump ahead, He slept one eye open and a six-gun in bed, He dreamt of the mountains and green fields of home, Crossing the plains where the buffalo roam. A bad reputation's a hard thing to bear, Mothers pour scorn and young children they stare, So he found consolation in flash company, Your life ain't so bad with a girl on each knee. Oh they called him "The Kid" and by twenty one, All that he knew was the power of the gun, And by twenty-three he'd shot five men down, Who got in his way as he rambled around. There's bones on the desert and buzzards that fly, In the highest of circles just wishing he'd die, But in matters of cruelty it must be said, A landlord will pick your bones before you're dead. It was wild Mescaleros I heard someone say, In the deadliest ambush near old Sante Fe, A young buck was taken all dressed in a coat, And inside the lining a ten shilling note.
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Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: sophocleese Date: 28 Jul 00 - 01:31 PM Then there's a tune I wrote which has some bars in 9/8 and some in 6/8 so I generally refer to it as a Slipped Jig. |
Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: Snuffy Date: 28 Jul 00 - 12:38 PM Plenty of 9/8s in English folk dance - "Sir Roger de Coverley" etc, and a few in Morris - "Beaux of London"/"Shooting", "Bean Setting". They seem to be older than the 6/8 and 4/4 Morris tunes, and the dances are more ritualistic and less "showy". Wassail! V |
Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: Jon Freeman Date: 28 Jul 00 - 12:35 PM Jacob B. Here is the relavant info from the Ceolas site I provided a link to. It is not as cut and dried as single jigs are written it 6/8 time. Single Jig: Some confusion exists over the meaning of this term. It sometimes denotes a tune in 12/8. Cranich (1988) classifies single jigs in this way. The reason that this designation is not very common may be that, on the one hand, some tunes in 12/8 can also be thought of as 6/8, thus The Frieze Britches, for example, can be found in 12/8 or 6/8. On the other hand, a tune in 12/8 may sound much like a hornpipe with many triplets. O'Neill's The Quarrelsome Piper, listed as a hornpipe, could be easily written in 12/8. Finally, another category of 12/8 tunes, the slide (see below) exists. Joyce (1873), Lerwick (1985), and others identify the single jig as a 6/8 tune based on a quarter+eighth+quarter+eighth note pattern and the double jig as a 6/8 tune based on eighth+eighth+ eighth+eighth+eighth+ eighth note pattern. Henebry (1928) generally concurs, although he uses the term jig as others use the term single jig. Breathnach (1971) describes the single jig in similar terms and adds in passing that they may be in 12/8. Jon |
Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: Hardiman the Fiddler Date: 28 Jul 00 - 12:26 PM I couldn't pass it up: the tune "Hardiman the Fiddler," is a classic slip jig 9/8 time. |
Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: Mbo Date: 28 Jul 00 - 11:56 AM Sorry, I got my definition from the New Grove Encyclopedia of Music...sue them, not me! |
Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: Jacob B Date: 28 Jul 00 - 11:23 AM Here is a link to a thread with more information about different types of jigs. Fionn, your informant is correct: single jigs go "humpty dumpty" while double jigs go "jiggity jiggity". Both of them are written in 6/8, but the difference in rhythm could certainly affect which dances would go well to which kind of tune. By the way, just because there's no hard-shoe version of a slip jig dance doesn't mean that there are no dancers with hard soled shoes who dance to them. Such as me! Step shuffle, hop shuffle, hop shuffle. Jacob |
Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: Jon Freeman Date: 28 Jul 00 - 11:22 AM A single jig is not in 3/8 time. There is some debate as to whether a single jig is in 6/8 or 12/8. Here is a site with the details: http://ceolas.org/tunes/TuneIndex/intro.html Jon |
Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: MAG (inactive) Date: 28 Jul 00 - 11:18 AM Difference between jingle and double jigs IS the rhythm pattern; in a double jig all 6 beats are accented; in a single jig, it is 1 - 3 - 4 - 6. |
Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: Peter K (Fionn) Date: 28 Jul 00 - 10:54 AM Noreen, I've been meaning to read up on all this and get back to you with apologies if appropriate. Really I have. I have no problem with Mbo's and MMarios's first posts above. But I'm surprised you've let Mbo's second post go unchallenged. Can it really be that a single jig is 3/8 and a double jig 6/8? I could see the logic in this, but I've seen too many 6/8 jigs listed as "single" to be confident about it. On the other hand I still have some difficulty with your teaching, that a single jig is 6/8 but applied in a somehow different, and vaguely defined, rhythm, closer to "Half a pound of tuppeny rice..." (as someone else put it) than "pat a cake, pata cake..." Such a distinction would not need to affect the dance, and seems to be so fine as to be not worth drawing. For the moment I remain puzzled. |
Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: Shanti Date: 28 Jul 00 - 09:41 AM IanS, I'm absolutely astounded by the depth of knowledge in this group. I knew that the slipjig is an Irish dance, but thank you for going into more detail. I love watching Irish dance and have thought about trying to learn it...but I'm not certain I have the stamina for it anymore.
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Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: IanS Date: 28 Jul 00 - 04:00 AM As has already been mentioned the slip jig dance always danced by a girl in light shoes - there is no heavy shoe version (heavy shoes make a noise). The jig and reel have both light and heavy versions (the steps are quite different) and there are also hornpipes and set dances like the Blackbird or Saint Patricks Day for example (both in heavy shoes). There is significant differences in the steps between the slip jig and the light double jig. I always enjoy watching the slip jig and personally I think it is the most graceful of all the Irish step dances. Ian |
Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: Sorcha Date: 28 Jul 00 - 03:30 AM Indeed Jon, but you can still count them in 3. One 2 3,; 2 two three,3 two three. I don't bother, I just count them in a "double three"........oh well, nevr mind. |
Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: Jon Freeman Date: 28 Jul 00 - 02:12 AM A slip jig is a jig with 3 too many beats in the bar. Jon |
Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: GUEST,Sheila Date: 28 Jul 00 - 12:07 AM 'Tis true, from my heart. There is NO other venue to compare! Sheila |
Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: wysiwyg Date: 27 Jul 00 - 11:59 PM Bless you, Sheila, for reminding us of our better selves on this day. ~S~ |
Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: GUEST,Sheila Date: 27 Jul 00 - 11:35 PM I keep returning to The Mudcat because of all the knowledgeable people in this world such as you. In minutes, it seems, you offer succinct, informed answers and explanations. Many thanks, as always. Bless this site. Sheila |
Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: Mbo Date: 27 Jul 00 - 11:00 PM Of course, the beautiful slipjigs from Riverdance are "The Countess Cathleen" and "Dance of the River Woman." --Matt |
Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: Sorcha Date: 27 Jul 00 - 10:56 PM I am not a dancer by any means, but I think I remember being told that when doing a slip jig, the dancer(lady) slips sideways along a straight line, rather than staying in one place (solo performance) or moving in a circle (contest, aka "feis" jigging). Anybody know for sure? |
Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: Malcolm Douglas Date: 27 Jul 00 - 10:35 PM Jigs in 9/8 are common enough in tradition in Scotland and the Northeast of England. We use them not so much for solo dancing, but for social dance; "Strip the Willow" for example. Malcolm |
Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: Marion Date: 27 Jul 00 - 10:08 PM a little more info from my Irish dancing days: Slipjigs are exclusively danced by females (although occasionally a male might learn it if he's a total keener or the only male in the class, only females would compete or perform the slipjig). They are also exclusively danced in soft leather slippers (unlike jigs and reels which have both soft-shoe and hard-shoe versions). The slipjig steps do look quite light and feminine, more like ballet than rhythmic stepdancing. You sometimes see the girls leaping as if they were jumping hurdles, and seeming to remain in the air - that's a slipjig step. And I think - though I'm not absolutely certain - that slipjigs are distinctively Irish. They don't seem to exist here in heavily-Scottish-influenced Cape Breton. Marion |
Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: Homeless Date: 27 Jul 00 - 10:05 PM Is there is difference between a Slip Jig DANCE and a regular jig (which was the original question) other than it being done by a female? |
Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: Noreen Date: 27 Jul 00 - 09:52 PM Click here for the'Kid on the Mountain' set played by 'Tune' and click here for some sheet music of slip jigs. Noreen |
Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: Mbo Date: 27 Jul 00 - 09:07 PM It's right, Mario. Just for anyone who cares or hasn't heard this before: Single jig : 3/8 time Double jig (a regular jig) : 6/8 time Slip Jig: 9/8 time Slide: 12/8 time --Matt |
Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: MMario Date: 27 Jul 00 - 09:03 PM I found this out on another site:
jigs, - generic term for a tune in 6/8 slip jigs, - 9/8 tune (the Butterfly, Rocky Road to Dublin) don';t know if it is correct or not |
Subject: RE: What is a Slip Jig? From: Mbo Date: 27 Jul 00 - 09:02 PM Hello Sheila! A slip jig, is like a regular jig (also know as a double jig) except that a slip jig is in 9/8 time instead of 6/8. Tunes such as "The Humours of Whiskey" are slip jigs. --Matt |
Subject: What is a Slip Jig? From: GUEST Date: 27 Jul 00 - 08:59 PM The other evening, Michael Flatley mentioned his partner excelled in dancing the Slip Jig. What is this? Thank you. Sheila |
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