Airs and Reels and Jigs, Oh My!

[jeffmiester]

I figured out that an air is a slow song, but what is the difference between a jig and a reel. And what is the definition of an air anyway?
thanx,
jeff

jeff = noob

[TelegramSam]

the rhythm (did I spell that right? bleh.)

I can't really explain it really well. Just listen to a jig and then a reel and figure it out yerself...

[Redwolf]

Well, a jig is a dance tune in 6/8 or 9/8 time (jigs in 9/8 are often called "slip jigs"). If it has a repeating pattern of triple eighth notes, it's a "double jig." If the prevailing pattern is eighth note/quarter note, it's a single jig.

Like most Celtic dance tunes, jigs consist of two distinct sections: The "A" and "B" section or the "tune" and the "turn," each typically repeated once before moving to the other.

A "slide" is similar to a jig, but is played in 12/8 time.

A "reel" is a dance tune in 4/4 time, but is typically played so that there are two easy counts to the bar...so they actually sound like they're in 2/4 time. There are usually 8 bars to a section of a reel. As a dance, a "reel" involves two lines of dancers, with couples taking turns dancing down the line.

"Air" is generally used to mean a slower, more lyrical song...intended for listening to or singing with rather than dancing.

Does that help?

Redwolf

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Redwolf on 2002-11-04 15:49 ]</font>

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Redwolf on 2002-11-04 16:01 ]</font>

[Redwolf]

P.S.: For a classic, easy to understand example of a double jig, I usually refer people to "The Irish Washerwoman" (which most people know, even if they don't like to play it!). A basic example of single jig rhythm is the Christmas song "I Saw Three Ships" ("In Dulci Jubilo" is also often played in single-jig style).

Redwolf

[mvhplank]

The device I use to sort them out when listening is this:

jiggity-jiggity = /// ///

(/ = beat or note, each group one foot-tap)

while reels are

watermelon-watermelon //// ////

[Redwolf]

Or, for a single jig:

"juh-jig, juh-jig, juh-jig"



Redwolf

[Tyghress]

good grief...doesn't anyone have it right? Jig: paradimethylaminobenzaldahyde

...and the story behind that...

Isaac Asimov was a phenomenal writer of technical science for the layperson, science fiction, historical analysis, and pretty much any other thing he turned his mind to. But his schooling was in biochemistry.

He went to the department store to get a supply of a certain chemical, paradimethylaminobenzaldahyde, for an experiment. The person who managed the department said, "oh, you mean that Irish washerwoman" and Asimov realized that it could be sung quite nicely to that tune.

Of course it got stuck in his head, and when he went to a dental appointment not long after, the receptionish was patently Irish, and he unconciously started singing it as he waited.

The woman was delighted, and exclaimed,"Ah! You know it in the original Gaelic!"

Asimov, in the article, then goes on to parse the word into its syllables, and explain each in turn.

[Redwolf]

Oh no! And I thought it was bad enough that I always hear that particular jig with the words a kid sang to me at camp!

"Oh O'Reilly is dead and O'Leary don't know it, O'Leary is dead and O'Reilly don't know it, they're both lying dead in the very same bed and neither one knows that the other is dead!"

Now my poor husband is going to hear me singing "O--oh...paradimethylaminobenzaldahyde"!



Redwolf

[TonyHiggins]

da dun, da dun, da dun,
da datidy dun, da dun...

Mexican Hat Dance

My wife was making fun of my playing and did that one. I said, "Excuse me, that's not an Irish one." She didn't care.
Tony

[Bloomfield]

On 2002-11-04 15:48, Redwolf wrote:
Well, a jig is a dance tune in 6/8 or 9/8 time (jigs in 9/8 are often called "slip jigs"). If it has a repeating pattern of triple eighth notes, it's a "double jig." If the prevailing pattern is eighth note/quarter note, it's a single jig.

Like most Celtic dance tunes, jigs consist of two distinct sections: The "A" and "B" section or the "tune" and the "turn," each typically repeated once before moving to the other.

A "slide" is similar to a jig, but is played in 12/8 time.

A "reel" is a dance tune in 4/4 time, but is typically played so that there are two easy counts to the bar...so they actually sound like they're in 2/4 time. There are usually 8 bars to a section of a reel. As a dance, a "reel" involves two lines of dancers, with couples taking turns dancing down the line.

"Air" is generally used to mean a slower, more lyrical song...intended for listening to or singing with rather than dancing.

Does that help?

Redwolf

Redwolf, where do you get your information?

[Redwolf]

Redwolf, where do you get your information?

From the half-dozen or so tune books and tutors I have cluttering up my desk

Redwolf

[mvhplank]

On 2002-11-05 01:34, Redwolf wrote:

Redwolf, where do you get your information?

From the half-dozen or so tune books and tutors I have cluttering up my desk

Redwolf

Redwolf and I must have similar tune books. Mine include O'Neill's and Ryan's (the one Cole is alleged to have copied), among others.

[BrassBlower]

On 2002-11-04 17:23, Redwolf wrote:
Oh no! And I thought it was bad enough that I always hear that particular jig with the words a kid sang to me at camp!

"Oh O'Reilly is dead and O'Leary don't know it, O'Leary is dead and O'Reilly don't know it, they're both lying dead in the very same bed and neither one knows that the other is dead!"

Now my poor husband is going to hear me singing "O--oh...paradimethylaminobenzaldahyde"!



Redwolf

Another funny version of that tune is the Brobdingnagian Bards' "Do Virgins Taste Better", found on MP3.com.